Quinsaat’s Book Wins Recognition
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Congratulations to Associate Professor of Sociology Sharon Quinsaat, whose 2024 book, Insurgent Communities: How Protests Create a Filipino Diaspora, has been widely praised and has won multiple honors from professional organizations. The book explores the dynamic process by which immigrants create diasporas through political activism.
As an immigrant herself, Quinsaat says she was fascinated by the subject of migrants and activism. She came to the United States from the Philippines in 2008 for graduate school as a Fulbright scholar.
At its award presentation, the American Sociological Association Section on Global and Transnational Sociology praised Quinsaat’s book, which was chosen to receive the section’s 2025 Best Scholarly Book Award. The committee called Insurgent Communities “beautifully written and thoroughly researched,” and went on to say, “Insurgent Communities stands as a model of transnational and intersectional scholarship. It is an astute and invaluable contribution, and a vital resource for scholars of migration, diaspora, social movements, and activism.”
Other honors for Insurgent Communities include:
- 2025 Best Book Award, RC31 Sociology of Migration, International Sociological Association
- 2025 Charles Tilly Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award, Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements, American Sociological Association
- 2025 Honorable Mention for Outstanding Book Award, Global Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems
- 2025 Honorable Mention for Distinguished Book Award, Midwest Sociological Society
- 2025 Honorable Mention for Lee Ann Fujii Book Award, International Studies Association
Quinsaat has presented 23 book talks in the United States, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Latvia, Poland, and the Philippines, as well as online. Ateneo de Manila University Press published a Philippine edition this year.
Quinsaat received support from several grants, including a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant (SES-1434119), the National Endowment for the Humanities’ Summer Stipend, the American Philosophical Society’s Franklin Grant, the American Association of University Women’s American Postdoctoral Fellowship, and 91’s Harris Fellowship, which allowed her to go on leave for one year with salary.
Published by The University of Chicago Press, the book is available at and on Amazon.