Edwin Amenta

Biography

Edwin Amenta, Ph.D., is Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. A scholar of social movements, political sociology, and U.S. social policy, Amenta has spent over three decades examining the political consequences of social movements, the development of American social policy, and the relationship between social movements and news media coverage. His research employs comparative and historical methods to analyze how movements influence policy and public discourse.

Amenta is an elected member of the Sociological Research Association. He has received multiple grants from the National Science Foundation to support his research on social movement organizations and media coverage, including collaborative projects examining collective action dynamics and qualitative research methods. His article "Age for Leisure? Political Mediation and the Impact of the Pension Movement on Old-Age Policy" received the Best Article of 2005 award from the ASA Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements. His book "Bold Relief: Institutional Politics and the Origins of Modern American Social Policy" received the Distinguished Publication Award from the ASA Section on Political Sociology.

Amenta has served as chair of the ASA Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements and chair of the ASA Section on Political Sociology. He has held visiting positions at the Russell Sage Foundation and the University of Tokyo. Amenta received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Chicago.

Education

• PhD in Sociology, University of Chicago, 1989
• MA in Sociology, Indiana University, 1982
• AB in Sociology, Indiana University, 1979

Distinctions

• ASA Section on Political Sociology, Distinguished Publication Award (Best Book), Co-Winner, for Bold Relief, 1998-1999
• ASA Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements, Best Article of 2005, for 'Age for Leisure?', 2006
• ASA Distinguished Publication Award, Finalist, for Bold Relief, 1998-1999
• Visiting Scholar, Russell Sage Foundation, 2000-2001, 2018-2019
• Elected Member of the Sociological Research Association, 2008
• Distinguished Lecture in Social Movements, Vanderbilt University, 2019
• Fernand Braudel Fellowship, European University Institute, 2011-2012
• University of Chicago, Susan Colver Rosenberger Award, for constructive and original research in sociology, 1990
• SSHA President's Book Award, Honorable Mention, for Bold Relief, 1998-1999
• Choice: An Outstanding Academic Book for 1998, for Bold Relief, 1998-1999
• Associated Graduate Students of UCI, Faculty Mentor Award, 2015-2016
• Professor of the Year, NYU Department of Sociology's Graduate Student Association, 2000, 2003
• Phi Beta Kappa, 1979