Steve Brown earned his Ph.D. in political science at the University of Missouri in 1968, where he also studied journalism and, as a result, met William Stephenson who was then a member of the J-school faculty. Steve went on to take several courses from Professor Stephenson; and, for a time, they were backyard neighbors. Steve did his dissertation in political science using Q and thereafter went on to become arguably the most careful student — and, at times, articulate translator — of Professor Stephenson’s evolving views on Q and the human sciences. In 1967, Professor Brown’s began his formal career at Kent State University in political science. In the course of his four and one-half decades, he has published three books, and approximately 100 refereed journal articles and book chapters on Q methodology per se or on topics in which Q has been used. Though it is currently out of print, his Political Subjectivity (Yale, 1980) is easily the most thorough and authoritative account of the principles and technical aspects of Q. He continues to be a prolific author and teacher, tutoring dozens of students in and out of political science and education at KSU. He is probably the most frequent responder to the Q-list, for example. The Q community depends on Steve to remind us of major Q events and William Stephenson milestones.
Brown was a founder of the International Society for the Scientific Study of Subjectivity and for more than 15 years was editor of its journal, Operant Subjectivity. He was also a founder of the International Society of Political Psychology, for 10 years was Book Review Editor for its journal, Political Psychology, and served as the Society’s Executive Director. He has also served as a member of the Editorial Boards of Public Opinion Quarterly, Experimental Study of Politics, Political Methodology, Journal of Melanie Klein and Object Relations, Policy Sciences, and Electronic Journal of Communication, and as contributing editor to Communication Yearbook. His methodological interests can be seen in his co-authored monograph on Experimental Design and Analysis and in courses and workshops on Q methodology recently presented in Taiwan, Essex (UK), Ankara, and Lima. Professor Brown’s interest in the role of subjectivity in political and social life is manifest in articles and book chapters on topics such as political psychology, group psychology, literature, policy science, and theory and methodology. He is past editor of Policy Sciences and founding member of the Society for the Policy Sciences. Brown just recently stepped down as the managing editor of Operant Subjectivity: The International Journal of Q Methodology. He was last year’s recipient of “The Harold D. Lasswell Award” for lifetime contributions to the study of political psychology. And now it is only fitting that he be awarded the first Stephenson Award for lifetime contributions to Q methodology.
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