James Madison Prize for Outstanding Research in 1st Amendment Studies

James Madison Prize for Outstanding Research in First Amendment Studies is awarded for the top publication (book, article, or book chapter) published on First Amendment/freedom of expression issues by a member of SSCA during the previous calendar year.  

2024 - Meredith Neville-Shepard, University of Arkansas

            Ryan Neville-Shepard, University of Arkansas

Outfitting the conservative civil rights movement: Rehearsed white victimhood and the MAGA hat. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 25(4), 35-64.

2023 - John Banister, University of Georgia 

On Performativity and Compelled Commercial Speech, Communication Law 2022

2022 -  Joshua Guitar, Young Harris College

Dissent, Discourse, and Democracy: Whistleblowers as Sites of Political Contestation

2021 - Ben Medeiros, State University of New York at Plattsburgh

           Pawan Singh, Deakin University

Addressing Misinformation on Whatsapp in India Through Intermediary Liability Policy, Platform Design Modification, and Media Literacy, Journal of Information Policy

2020 - No Award Given

2019 - Stephen A. Smith, University of Arkansas

Freedom of Religion: Foundational Documents and Historical Arguments, Oxbridge Research Associates

2018 - Pat Arneson, Duquesne University

“Supreme Court Justices Antonin Scalia and Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Communicating the Virtue of Friendliness.” Communication Law Review, vol. 16, no. 2, 2017, pp. 41–60.

2017 - David R. Dewberry, Rider University

The American Political Scandal: Free Speech, Public Discourse, and Democracy. Rowman & Littlefield, 2015.

2016 - Rebekah L. Fox and Ann E. Burnette, Texas State University

“Reframing Corporations as Individuals: The ‘Persuasive Marvels’ Unleashed by the Citizens United Ruling.” First Amendment Studies, vol. 47, no. 2, 2017, pp. 153–169.

2015 - Stephen A. Smith, University of Arkansas

First Amendment Studies in Arkansas: The Richard S. Arnold Prize Essays. University of Arkansas Press, 2016.

2014 - Mark Grabowski, Adelphi University

“Applying Common Carriage to Network Neutrality.” In Zack Stiegler, ed., Regulating the Web: Network Neutrality and the Fate of the Open Internet. Lexington Books, 2014. 71-94.

1995 - Sean Patrick O'Rourke, Vanderbilt University 

            Ron Manuto, University of Texas-Pan American

"Dancing with Wolves: Nudity, Morality, and the Speech/Conduct Doctrine" Free Speech Yearbook, 32, 1994. 86-109.