Theda Skocpol is an American sociologist

Sociology

Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...

 and political scientist

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 at Harvard University

Harvard University

Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

. She served from 2005 to 2007 as Dean

Dean (education)

In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...

 of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

The Graduate School of Arts and Sciences is the academic unit responsible for many post-baccalaureate degree programs offered through the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University...

. She is influential in sociology as an advocate of the historical-institutional

Historical institutionalism

Historical institutionalism is a social science method that uses institutions in order to find sequences of social, political, economic behavior and change across time...

 and comparative

Comparative sociology

Comparative sociology generally refers to sociological analysis that involves comparison of social processes between nation-states, or across different types of society ....

 approaches, and well-known in political science for her "state autonomy theory". Skocpol has written widely for both popular and academic audiences.
In 2007, Skocpol was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science

The Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science was established in 1995 by the Johan Skytte Foundation at Uppsala University. The foundation itself goes back to the donation in 1622 from Johan Skytte , politician and chancellor of the university, which established the Skyttean professorship of...

, one of the world's most prestigious prizes in political science.