Princeton’s Viviana Zelizer was awarded the title “Doctor Honoris Causa” at Sciences Po University, Paris. In a November 13 ceremony, two scholars were recognized with this distinction, Professor Zelizer and Economics Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz. Zelizer was cited for her work as “the founder of a new school in economic sociology”, introducing novel frameworks for economic sociology that have opened whole areas of research to social scientists beyond capitalist markets and high finance. In particular, she showcases the importance of economic spheres that are typically marginalized, including household economies, caring work, gift exchange, informal economies, and consumption. Sciences Po president Frédéric Mion noted both honorees share an “open conception of their fields, they. . . brilliantly champion the need for disciplinary de-compartmentalization in order to address major contemporary political, economic, and social issues.” Zelizer, the Lloyd Cotsen ’50 Professor of Sociology, is the author of five classic books including Morals and Markets, Pricing the Priceless Child, The Social Meaning of Money, The Purchase of Intimacy, and Economic Lives.
