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August 30, 1999
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Monica J. Casper, an assistant professor of sociology at UCSC, has received two of her profession's highest honors for her new book on fetal surgery.
Casper received the 1998 C. Wright Mills Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) for her book The Making of the Unborn Patient: A Social Anatomy of Fetal Surgery, which explores the ethics and politics of performing surgery on unborn fetuses. The book is the first in-depth sociological examination of fetal surgery, a procedure that is still largely experimental.
The SSSP established the C. Wright Mills Award in 1964 to recognize one book annually that critically addresses an issue of contemporary public importance and that brings a fresh, imaginative perspective to the topic. The award carries with it a stipend of $500.
Founded in 1951, the SSSP promotes research on problems of social life and publishes the journal Social Problems. The organization's members contribute to the development of "informed social policy."
Casper also received the Distinguished Book Award from the Sex and Gender Section of the American Sociological Association (ASA) during the group's annual meeting August 6-10 in Chicago.
The Sex and Gender Section is the largest of ASA's sections, reflecting the amount of interest in the topic. Casper's book was selected by a four-person committee. Rose M. Brewer, an associate professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota and chair of the committee, said the panel thought Casper's book was "in the best tradition of creative sociological thinking."
Casper "asks tough questions, and her research goes a long ways towards answering these questions," said Brewer.
Last year, Casper's colleague Candace West, a professor of sociology, received the annual Distinguished Article in Gender Award from the Sex and Gender Section of the ASA.