The Podgórecki Prize 2024 was awarded to Julia Dahlvik and Edvaldo Moita. Here we publish the Prize Committee’s laudatio on Edvaldo Moita, as well as Edvaldo’s acceptance statement.
Laudatio
Edvaldo Moita’s CV is most impressive. His nominators describe his research on the phenomenon of informality as groundbreaking. We endorse their comments that, based on a comprehensive empirical study of street vending together with a solid mastery of the legal theory and sociology, his book provides ‘a thorough understanding of how informality (and noncompliance with legal norms in general) affects behaviours and the legal system in contexts of fragile rule of law’. We considered that the book’s employment of a case method applying the tools of urban anthropology represents an excellent balance between individual and context dependent experience and high-level theory building. His theoretical construction is very solid and draws on knowledge from his recent degrees, which allows him to make interdisciplinary approaches that include law, philosophy, history, anthropology and other disciplines in the field of social sciences. While the findings are drawn from specific Latin-American experience, they are also relevant for other regions of the world and can therefore contribute to the diffusion of socio-legal studies at the international level.
The 2024 Podgórecki Prize Committee: Hilary Sommerlad (chair), Balázs Fekete and Laura N. Lora
(Source: RCSL Newsletter 2024 (2), p. 14)
Acceptance Statement by Edvaldo Moita
As the saying goes, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants that we can see further. This sentiment resonates deeply with me as I accept the 2024 RCSL Podgórecki Prize. I am profoundly honored by this recognition, which reflects not only my efforts but also the contributions and support of the giants who have guided me throughout my academic journey.
My nominators, Professors Alfons Bora and Marcelo Neves, have been those shoulders, carrying me for at least seven years. Their belief in my work indeed has been an immense source of encouragement, but it is their experience and wisdom that created the shortcuts, making my path easier. Words cannot fully express how much they have contributed to my career and research, and for that I can only offer my deepest thanks. Looking at the list of past prize winners, it becomes evident how much I have benefited from the scholarly community that has built the field. For instance, the insights of Blankenburg, the first Podgórecki laureate, and Friedman, the 2017 recipient, on the distinction between rules of conduct and offers of regulation have greatly influenced my observation of how structural noncompliance pragmatically transforms rules of conduct into offers of regulation. The connections continue: Kiyoshi Hasegawa (2006) is a colleague I have been following since we met at the LSA in Toronto in 2018; Sousa Santos (2009), David Nelken (2011), Volkmar Gessner (2013), and André-Jean Arnaud (2015) are recurring references I work with in my writing and teaching. If we were to include the broader active community of the RCSL, the list would be even longer. Suffice it to say, my work is a product of the collective intellectual effort of these giants.
Reflecting on my journey, I am also reminded of the communities who have played an integral role in shaping my academic path. Special thanks go to the Postgraduate Program in Law from the University of Brasília (PPGD/UnB), the Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology (BGHS), and the Brazilian Association of Researchers in Sociology of Law (ABraSD), which welcomed me in 2016 when I first presented my research and which now I have the honor to serve as its President. It is on the shoulders of the people in these communities that I stand today, and their wisdom and support have been crucial to the development of my work.
And of course, this journey would not have been possible without the unwavering support of my wife, Fernanda Castelo Branco Araujo. She has been with me since the very beginning, and every prize I’ve received is, in truth, also hers. As a fellow researcher, Fernanda has been much more than a partner; she has been a constant peer, collaborator, and intellectual companion. This is the kind of privilege shared by few and for which I am deeply grateful.
This prize is as much a testament to the influence of these people and institutions as it is to my own efforts. Thank you once again for this prestigious honor. I look forward to continuing this journey and expanding the boundaries of our field.
(Source: RCSL Newsletter 2024 (2), p. 14-15)
This page last updated 5 January 2025