SF STATE NEWS -- Associate Professor of Communication Studies Samuel McCormick received the National Communication Association 2014 Franklyn S. Haiman Award for Distinguished Scholarship in Freedom of Expression, in recognition of his book Letters to Power: Public Advocacy Without Public Intellectuals.
The award is given annually to an NCA member who has written outstanding published research on freedom of expression over the past three years. “Letters to Power” explores the political and cultural impact of public letters, from the epistles of Roman Stoic Seneca the Younger to online advocacy.
“From ancient graffiti to the latest tweet, public advocates of every stripe have used the written word to address mass audiences and inspire social movements,” McCormick said. “This is why smartphones and the mobile Internet are as crucial to the history of written advocacy as the printing press and the newspaper. More than information technologies, they are resources for social change.”