The recipient of the 2024 Humtank Prize is Sverker Sörlin
The society needs humanities knowledge. The humanities need to reach out into society. Therefore, the think tank Humtank annually awards the Humtank Prize to academics who have made significant contributions with important humanities perspectives in societal life.
The recipient of the 2024 Humtank Prize is Sverker Sörlin, a professor of environmental history at KTH. Sverker Sörlin has made many years of diverse contributions to highlight the importance of the humanities in society. His research and active participation in the public sphere have left significant marks on both policy and debates regarding the societal potential and democratic significance of the humanities.
Sverker Sörlin is a professor of environmental history at the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. As an academic builder of environmental knowledge, he has long been a driving force in integrative humanities, where he has become an important voice for research on climate and the environment at the intersection of the humanities and other scientific fields. He has also been influential in Swedish research policy and the knowledge policy debate surrounding the humanities, among other roles as a member of several government research committees and the Climate Policy Council.
Sörlin has also been central to the development of ideas for Humtank. The book that Sörlin co-wrote with Anders Ekström in 2012, "Alltings mått: Humanistisk kunskap i framtidens samhälle" (The Measure of All Things: Humanistic Knowledge in the Society of the Future), specifically, it took the course for Humtank's early work and programmatic direction. The emphasis on an offensive humanities, often operating in border areas, became important for Humtank's efforts to connect humanistic knowledge to pressing societal issues.
According to Humtank, Sverker Sörlin is an indispensable voice for the value of education and the humanities perspective in societal life, and we are pleased to be able to acknowledge him in this anniversary year.
The award ceremony took place in connection with the event "Humanities in Time – Humtank 10 Years" as Humtank celebrated its 10th anniversary.