African Peacebuilding & Developmental Dynamics (APDD) Fellows

The Rachel Tanur Memorial Prize for Visual Sociology celebrates innovative visual scholarship in social sciences. It rewards undergraduate and graduate students worldwide for sociological analyses of visual media, including original photography, with a focus on Rachel Tanur’s work and its legacy. The prize includes monetary awards, honorary membership, and publication in a specialized journal, alongside travel support for the top winner to attend a global sociology conference in South Korea in 2027.⁠‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌⁠

What it offers

• $5,000 USD for the first prize, $2,500 USD for the second prize, and $1,500 USD for the third prize.
• Two years of honorary Board Membership to the ISA’s Visual Sociology Research Committee.
• Publication of the winning essay as a “picture talk feature” in the journal Visual Studies, with an associated DOI.
• Student membership to the ISA and Visual Sociology Research Committee for all winners.
• Travel expenses covered for the first-place winner to attend the ISA XXI World Congress of Sociology in Gwangju, South Korea (July 4–10, 2027).

Who can apply

This prize is open to worldwide undergraduate and graduate students in any social science discipline, provided they are enrolled in a degree-bearing program (BA, MA, or PhD) at the time of application. Applicants must be open to incorporating visual media into their scholarship and not submit AI-generated photos.

What you'll do

Applicants must submit two short commentaries (up to 500 words each):

• One based on Rachel Tanur’s original photograph (from her 2008 collection Visualizing Social Science).
• One based on an original photo taken by the applicant, analyzed through sociological theory and methods.

The judges (appointed by the ISA’s Research Committee on Visual Sociology) will evaluate submissions based on sociological rigor, visual analysis, and originality. Winners’ work will be publicly accessible on the prize’s website as a memorial to Tanur.

How to apply

1. Submit two commentaries (500 words max each) in English, analyzing visual material (one from Tanur’s archive, one original).
2. Ensure submissions comply with the no-AI-photos rule and include permission for public use of submitted images.

Good to know

• The prize is awarded biennially (next deadline: February 9, 2027).
• No formal application form is required; submissions must be emailed directly to the judges.
• No prior publication history is required, but originality and depth of analysis are prioritized.