ABOUT THE AWARD
The award was established in 2018 to honor Joshua A. Fishman’s intellectual contribution to research on the sociology of language, the field that he so prominently shaped for many decades. With this award, De Gruyter Mouton aims to ensure that his legacy continues to thrive among emerging scholars in the field.
The award is intended to support scholars at the early stages of their careers. Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of external reviewers. Final acceptance for publication will be at the sole discretion of De Gruyter Mouton in light of peer review.
The award carries a cash prize of € 1,000 plus a € 150 book voucher. Up to three awards may be granted. Moreover, award recipients will be invited to publish a revised version of their dissertation as a monograph in De Gruyter Mouton’s Contributions to the Sociology of Language (CSL) book series founded by Fishman and publishing leading research in the sociology of language for over 50 years.
Deadline for submissions: to be announced in 2026
REQUIREMENTS
The award is open to scholars based in any country at the early stages of their careers. There are no restrictions on the nationality, ethnicity, age, gender or employment status of the author of the nominated dissertation.
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To be eligible, a dissertation must have been completed and successfully defended in recent years (concrete dates to be announced in 2026). The dissertation must have been accepted as part of the requirement for a Ph.D. or comparable doctoral degree.
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Dissertations may be written in any language. All materials submitted for the first round of judging (see point 5 below) must be written in English. Full dissertations will be solicited from finalists, and they will be evaluated by referees with reading knowledge of the language in which it is written.
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Submissions must be delivered electronically in one single PDF file to De Gruyter Mouton.
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The submitted single PDF file should include the following information (in the order indicated):
a) Cover page that includes in this order:
i. Title of the nominated dissertation
ii. Author’s name and e-mail address
iii. University at which the dissertation was completed
iv. Names, affiliations, and e-mail addresses of all dissertation supervisors and all examiners
b) Summary of the nominated dissertation, including a description of the topic studied and its importance, the employed methodology, and the most important findings and their relevance (500 - 1,000 words)
c) Brief explanation of the contribution the dissertation makes to the sociology of language (1,000 - 1,500 words)
d) Table of contents of the nominated dissertation
