The paper “O urbano nas margens do campo: por uma sociologia dos espaços e vidas residuais”, by Wellington Ricardo Nogueira Maciel (Universidade Estadual do Ceará) is the winner of the 2024 edition of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais Prize. 

In the amount of 1000 euros, the Prize honors the best article published between 2022 and 2023 in this internationally recognized journal, which is edited by the Centre for Social Studies of the University of Coimbra.

The Prize Jury highlighted the theoretical solidity and originality of the article, as well as “the convincing way in which it articulates the conceptual framework with the fieldwork”, while also mentioning that “the relevance and complexity of the addressed topic, combined with its manifest emancipatory potential, constituted determining factors” in the decision reached. “The interdisciplinary nature of the work, establishing a fruitful dialogue between critical urban sociology and Giorgio Agamben’s studies of power, proves to be particularly well-executed” and was another reason cited for the decision, along with the clarity of the writing.

In the winning article, Wellington Ricardo Nogueira Maciel discusses the concept of the field based on the transformations of urban space caused by the politics of life and death on the outskirts of Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil. The author presents the results of a research conducted in the Jangurussu neighborhood with the aim of outlining the contours of what he calls the sociology of spaces and residual lives.

Two honorable mentions have been attributed to the papers “Masculinidades no sistema socioeducativo do Rio de Janeiro: disputas e polarizações”, by Jimena de Garay Hernández (Instituto de Psicologia, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro) and Juliana Vinuto (Programa de Pós-graduação em Antropologia, Universidade Federal Fluminense), and “Pandemia, crise económica e o novo papel do Estado”, by Nuno Teles (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade Federal da Bahia).

Comprised of three specialists from the social sciences and humanities: Álvaro Garrido (Faculdade de Economia, Universidade de Coimbra), Idalina Baptista (University of Oxford) and Marta Fernández (Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro), and presided over by Tiago Pires Marques, Editor-in-chief of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais, the Jury met on February 19 by teleconference, having decided unanimously.

About the Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais

Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais (RCCS), edited by the Centre for Social Studies, publishes three times a year original papers presenting advanced research and creative theoretical thinking with respect to the Social Sciences and the Humanities. The journal favours works with a transdisciplinary approach and that contribute to the theoretical discussion, epistemological thinking and critical knowledge of contemporary reality on a global scale. Accepting submissions that cover all geographical contexts, RCCS gives special emphasis to works that contribute to the Global South debate.

RCCS is available in open access (through the Diamond Open Access model) and publishes in Portuguese, Spanish and English, with all collaborations being subjected to a demanding selection process based on a double-blind peer review process.

RCCS’ high standards of quality and rigour are substantiated by its inclusion in the Eurozine network and being indexed in Scopus, Web of Science-Clarivate (Emerging Sources Citation Index – ESCI and SciELO Citation Index), SciELO, DOAJ, ERIH Plus, Sociological Abstracts, International Bibliography of the Social Sciences, and EBSCO, Qualis-CAPES, among others.