Sophie Cardin with Best Paper Award

Congratulations to Brasenose College doctoral student Sophie Cardin who has been awarded the American Political Science Association’s (APSA) Foundations of Political Theory Section Best Paper Award for her paper on ‘Utopia and the History of Yiddish Political Thought’.

In the paper, Sophie (pictured in Brasenose Dining Hall with friends – she is second on the right) utilizes Kalman Zingman’s influential utopian science fiction Yiddish novel Edenia (published 1918), which imagines an ideal future society, to explore three important ideas in Yiddish political thought: Yiddishism, Autonomism, and Doikayt.

By showing what these ideas might look like in everyday life, the novel helps bring them to life for readers. It also illuminates a rich tradition of Yiddish political thinking that may have been overlooked.

Sophie said: “’The award is an encouraging recognition of my work. It attests to the continuing relevance of Yiddish political thought as a resource for imagining alternative forms of social organisation that embrace cultural particularity and that strive to accommodate our complex and overlapping commitments to different communities. Utopia is having a moment in political theory, and I’m glad I can contribute to it. I am very grateful that so many people have taken the time to make this paper better by commenting on drafts, inviting me to workshops, and sharing their insights at conferences. Special thanks are due to my supervisor, David Leopold, who encouraged me to study utopia in the first place.”

Furthermore, she comments: “There are many senses in which this paper begins with Brasenose. Even before arriving, Brasenose’s David Rechter played an important role in encouraging me to study Yiddish political thought at Oxford. I first presented the research that became the basis for this paper at Brasenose’s Blurbs series as an MPhil student. And in the Graduate Common Room, I found a stimulating and friendly intellectual community that improved this paper over many cups of coffee. I also wish to express my gratitude to Principal John Bowers for his interest in my work throughout my years at Brasenose Sophie will receive the award at a ceremony during APSA’s Annual Meeting in Boston in September.”