Religious Communication Association
Call for 2024 RCA Scholarship Awards Nominations
RCA invites nominations for the following annual awards, including four inaugural awards, to be presented at its 2024 First-Day Conference which will be held Wednesday, November 20, in conjunction with the National Communication Association Annual Convention:
The deadline for submission of nominations and materials for all awards is Friday, June 26, 2024.
The RCA Book Award is given for the outstanding scholarly book on religious communication published between January 2023 and May 2024. Those wishing to nominate a book for the award should send four copies of the book and a one-page letter of nomination outlining the value of the book in its area of study. For consideration, please include a short synopsis of the book (3-5 double-spaced pages; a PDF attachment is acceptable).
The RCA Article Award is given for the outstanding article on religious communication published between January 2023 and May 2024. Nominators should send a copy of the article as a PDF file along with a one-page letter of nomination (a PDF attachment is acceptable) outlining the significance of the article.
The RCA Dissertation Award is given for the outstanding dissertation on the topic of religious communication successfully defended during the prior academic year. To be eligible the author must have successfully defended the dissertation during the period between January 2023 and May 2024. Dissertation advisors or department chairs should submit a one- to two-page letter of nomination as a supporting document to accompany the nomination. The award committee requires that the nominee or the nominator make available an electronic version (PDF or MS Word format) of the completed dissertation. (A URL address where there is open, online access to the dissertation is preferred).
The RCA Edited Volume Award is given for the outstanding edited book on religious communication published between January 2023 and May 2024. Those wishing to nominate a book for the award should send four copies of the book and a one-page letter of nomination outlining the value of the edited book in its area of study. For consideration, please include a short synopsis of the book (3-5 double-spaced pages; a PDF attachment is acceptable).
The RCA Book Chapter Award is given for the outstanding book chapter on religious communication published between January 2023 and May 2024. Nominators should send a copy of the chapter as a PDF file along with a one-page letter of nomination (a PDF attachment is acceptable) outlining the significance of the chapter.
The RCA Journal of Communication and Religion (JCR) Article of the Year Award is given for the JCR article recognized for exceptional insight, rigor, and relevance to the field. Nominators should send a copy of the article as a PDF file along with a one-page letter of nomination (a PDF attachment is acceptable) outlining the significance of the article.
The RCA Mentor Award is given to individuals who have demonstrated exceptional dedication to nurturing the next generation of scholars and professionals in the field of religious communication. Recipients of this award embody the highest ideals of mentorship, providing invaluable support, guidance, and encouragement to their mentees. Outstanding mentors go above and beyond in fostering a supportive and inclusive environment for learning and growth. They generously share their expertise, wisdom, and resources, while also advocating for the needs and aspirations of their mentees. To nominate an individual, send a letter of nomination (a PDF attachment is acceptable) along with the names (with contact information) of 2-4 additional individuals who can speak to the nominee’s qualifications.
Deadline: Friday, June 26, 2024, is the deadline for the submission of nominations and materials for all awards.
RCA encourages self-nominations for each category of awards. Individuals may make one submission per category, but they may submit to multiple categories. Past winners of the annual RCA Scholarship Awards may be viewed on the association website.
Recognition: RCA will recognize award recipients at the RCA 2024 Annual Awards Banquet to be held Wednesday, November 13, during the association's Annual Conference. Each award category carries a cash award.
Inquiries: Theon E. Hill, RCA 2nd Vice President, theon.hill@wheaton.edu
Send letters of nomination and materials to:
Theon E. Hill
Associate Professor
Communication Department
Wheaton College
501 College Avenue
Wheaton, IL 60187
Theon.hill@wheaton.edu
(630) 752-5093 (o)
2023 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Luke Powery, Becoming Human: The Holy Spirit and the Rhetoric of Race (Westminster John Knox, 2022)
Dissertation of the Year: Dorji Wangchuk, University of Macau, Of Identity, Spirituality, Community, and the Sacred Chronotope in Bhutan
Article of the Year: Sonia Hazard, Florida State University, "The Politics of Media Format: Printing Poor Sarah During the Removal Crisis in Cherokee Nation," Church History, 91, 824-863.
Student Paper of the Year: Erica Kolson, University of Illinois, "White Christian Nationalism’s Rhetorical Strategies and Their Impacts on Marginalized Communities"
Scholar of the Year: Amardo Rodriguez, Syracuse University
2022 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Corrina Laughlin, Redeem All: How Digital Life is Changing Evangelical Culture (University of California Press, 2021)
Dissertation of the Year: Thomas M. Fuerst, University of Memphis, Words from Elsewhere: The Rhetoric of Nineteenth-Century African American Prophetic Call Narratives
Article of the Year: Michael Kearney, "Melanchthon’s Didactic Genre and the Rhetoric of Reformation," Rhetorica, 40, 23-42.
Student Paper of the Year: Hannah Tabrizi, University of Memphis, “'Grass Stands Up to Testify': The Rhetoric of Redemption in Rev. Dr. Heber Brown III's 'Redeeming Deserted Places'”
Scholar of the Year: Steven A. Beebe, Texas State University
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ronald C. Arnett, Duquesne University
2021 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Andre Johnson, No Future in This Country: The Prophetic Pessimism of Bishop Henry McNeal Turner (University Press of Mississippi, 2020)
Dissertation of the Year: Justin Bonanno, Duquesne University, Communication in the Ruins: Walker Percy and the Art of Symbolic Mediation
Article of the Year: Kristina Lee, “Theistnormativity and the Negation of American Atheists in Presidential Inaugural Addresses,” Rhetoric & Public Affairs, 23(2), 255–292.
Student Paper of the Year: Phillip Lindia, Wheaton College, "Recovering the Rhetorical Insight of David Walker for a Season of Racial Unrest"
Scholar of the Year: Terry Lindvall, Virginia Wesleyan University
2020 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Kevin Healey and Robert Woods Jr, Ethics and Religion in the Age of Social Media: Digital Proverbs for Responsible Citizens (Routledge, 2020)
Dissertation of the Year: Kelsey Minnick, University of Denver, “Femme Fatales of Faith": Queer and "Deviant" Performances of Femme within Western Protestant Culture
Article of the Year: Mark Ward Sr, "Sermons as Social Interaction: Pulpit Speech, Power, and Gender," Women & Language, 42(2), 285-316
Paper of the Year: Tsuriel Rashi, Ariel University; Hnanel Rosenberg, Ariel University, and Menachem Blondheim, Hebrew University, "Shaming in Judaism: Past, Present, and Future"
Student Paper of the Year: Jared Worwood, Illinois State University, and Anjali Patel, Illinois State University, "'We are strangers who happen to care a lot about whether the other one is happy': Interaction Styles of Ex-member Children with their Member parents in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints"
Scholar of the Year: Andre Johnson, University of Memphis
2019 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Christopher Oldenburg, The Rhetoric of Pope Francis: Critical Mercy and Conversion for the Twenty-first Century (Lexington Books, 2018)
Dissertation of the Year: Cathy Rosenholtz, University of Missouri-Columbia, This Great Prayerful Tradition: American Presidents Preaching Public Theology at the National Prayer Breakfast
Article of the Year: Mark Ward Sr, "A New Kind of Church: The Religious Media Conglomerate as a 'Denomination,'" Journal of Media and Religion, 17(3/4), 117-133
Student Paper of the Year: Janice Hersey, University of New Mexico, "Leave-taking, Survival, and Religious Politics of Gender: A Qualitative Sensemaking Exploration"
Scholar of the Year: Susannah Heschel, Dartmouth College
2018 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Monique Moultrie, Passionate and Pious: Religious Media and Black Women’s Sexuality (Duke University Press, 2017)
Dissertation of the Year: Heather Stone, University of Utah, Young Women in Mormon Homelands, 1975-2000: An Oral History Project (Director: Kimberley Mangun)
Article of the Year: Paul Lynch, "On Care for Our Common Discourse: Pope Francis’ NonModern Epideictic," Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 47, 463–482
Student Paper of the Year: Dorji Wangchuk, University of Macau, "WeChat Buddhism: Of Changes, Continuity, and Technological Affordances in Bhutan"
Scholar of the Year: Walter Jost, University of Virginia
Book of the Year: Craig Maier, Communicating Catholicism: Rhetoric, Ecclesial Leadership, and the Future of the American Roman Catholic Diocese (Fairleigh Dickinson University Press, 2016)
Dissertation of the Year: Joshua Hill, Duquesne University, The Return of Participatory Scriptural Hermeneutics in Evangelicalism: An Augustinian Philosophy of Communication (Director: Janie Harden Fritz)
Article of the Year: Kevin Coe and Christopher Chapp, "Religious Rhetoric Meets the Target Audience: Narrowcasting Faith in Presidential Elections," Communication Monographs, 84, 110-127
Student Paper of the Year: Dorji Wangchuk, University of Macau, "Buddhism and Its Influence on Communication in Bhutan: Search for the Middle Path in the Age of the Social Media"
Scholar of the Year: Heidi Campbell, Texas A & M University
Book of the Year: Terry Lindvall, God Mocks: A History of Religious Satire from the Hebrew Prophets to Stephen Colbert (New York University Press, 2015).
Dissertation of the Year: Mark Paustian, Martin Luther College, The Beauty of the Veil: Validating the Strategies of Kierkegaardian Indirect Communication through a Close Christological Reading of the Hebrew Old Testament.
Article of the Year: Scott Stroud, "Pragmatism and the Pursuit of Social Justice in India: Bhimrao Ambedkar and the Rhetoric of Religious Reorientation," Rhetoric Society Quarterly, 46, 5-27.
Student Paper of the Year: No award given
Scholar of the Year: Tony Campolo, Eastern University
2015 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Michael John DePalma and Jeffrey M. Ringer (Eds.), Mapping Christian Rhetorics: Connecting Conversations, Charting New Territories (Routledge, 2015)
Dissertation of the Year: Sunny Lie, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Beholders of the Truth, Predestined to Be Saved: The Communication of Chinese Indonesian Reformed Evangelical Christian (CIREC) Identity (Director: Donal Carbaugh)
Article of the Year: John B. Hatch, "Incongruity, Irony, and Maturity in Contemporary Worship Music: An Extended Burkean Analysis of A Collision," Journal of Communication and Religion, 37, 68-101.
Student Paper of the Year: No award given
Scholar of the Year: E. James Baesler, Old Dominion University
2014 RCA Scholarship Awards
2013 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: William D. Romanowski, Calvin College, Reforming Hollywood: How American Protestants Fought for Freedom at the Movies (Oxford University Press, 2012)
Dissertation of the Year: Christy E. Mesaros-Winckles, Bowling Green State University, Only God Knows the Opposition We Face: The Rhetoric of Nineteenth Century Free Methodist Women's Quest for Ordination (Director: Ellen Gorsevski)
Article of the Year: Margaret M. Poloma and Matthew T. Lee, University of Akron, "Prophetic Prayer as Two-Way Communication with the Divine," Journal of Communication and Religion, 35, 271-294
Student Paper of the Year: Jamie Downing, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, An Ancient Modern Rhetoric: Calling upon Traditional Rhetorical Practice in the Fight for Jewish Emancipation
Scholar of the Year: Robert H. Woods Jr., Spring Arbor University
2012 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Thomas M. Lessl, University of Georgia, Rhetorical Darwinism (Baylor University Press, 2012)
Dissertation of the Year: Elizabeth Molina-Markham, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Listening Faithfully with Friends: An Ethnography of Quaker Communication Practices (Director: Donal Carbaugh)
Article of the Year: Jon P. Radwan, Seton Hall University, "Contact Rhetoric: Bodies and Love in Deus Caritas Est," Rhetoric & Public Affairs 15, 41-93
Student Paper of the Year: Marissa E. Lowe, University of Illinois, Billy Graham's Cold War Rhetoric: Evangelical and Civil Religious Revival
Scholar of the Year: Fr. James Martin, S.J.
2011 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Kristy Maddux, University of Maryland, The Faithful Citizen: Popular Christian Media and Gendered Civic Identities (Baylor University Press, 2010)
Dissertation of the Year: Jason R. Moyer, University of Iowa, Not Just Civil Religion: Theology in the Cases of Woodrow Wilson, John Kennedy, and Barack Obama
Article of the Year: Andre E. Johnson, Memphis Theological Seminary, "The Prophetic Persona of James Cone and the Rhetorical Theology of Black Theology," Black Theology, 8, 266-285
Student Paper of the Year: Cathy Rosenholtz, University of Missouri-Columbia, A Pastor, a Rabbi and an Imam walk into a Newscast: A Content Analysis of the Use of Religious Experts on the U.S. Evening News
Scholar of the Year: Tina Harris, University of Georgia
2010 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Michael P. Graves, Liberty University, Preaching the Inward Light: Early Quaker Rhetoric (Baylor University Press, 2009)
Dissertation of the Year: Walter Thomas Viner, University of Memphis, Logic of the Heart: Alexander Campbell's Rhetoric and Hermeneutics on Christian Identity, Slavery, and Church Organization (Director: John A. Campbell)
Article of the Year: Thomas M. Lessl, University of Georgia, "The Innate Religiosity of Public Life: A Fortiori Argument," Journal of Communication and Religion, 32, 319-346
Student Paper of the Year: Michael Souders, University of Kansas, Truthing it in Love: Henry Ward Beecher's Homiletic Theories of Truth, Beauty, Love, and the Christian Faith
Scholar of the Year: Richard J. Mouw, Fuller Theological Seminary
2009 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Paul Marshall, Senior Fellow, Hudson Institute; Lela Gilbert, Hudson Institute; and Roberta Green Ahmanson, Journalist, Blind Spot: When Journalists Don't Get Religion (Oxford University Press, 2009)
Dissertation of the Year: Brian T. Kaylor, University of Missouri-Columbia, I'm a Believer: Presidential Campaign Rhetoric in an Age of Confessional Politics (Director: Mitchell S. McKinney)
Article of the Year: James M. Farrell, University of New Hampshire, "The Rhetoric(s) of St. Augustine's Confessions," Augustinian Studies, 39, 265-291
Student Paper of the Year: Pavica Sheldon, Louisiana State University, Jesus Matters: Gender and Religiosity Impact on Forgiveness Behavior and Conflict Avoidance
Scholar of the Year: Charles Taylor, McGill University
2008 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Terry Lindvall, Virginia Wesleyan College, Sanctuary Cinema: Origins of the Christian Film Industry (New York University Press, 2007)
Dissertation of the Year: Craig Maier, Duquesne University, Seizing the Catholic Moment: Kairos and the Rhetoric of Diocesan Administration
Article of the Year: Michael P. Graves, Liberty University, "Travelers Here in this Vale of Tears: William Penn Preaches a Funeral Sermon," Quaker Studies, 12, 7-25
Student Paper of the Year: Andrew Swenson, Concordia University, Uncovering Hidden Tensions in University Discourse: A Case Study Using an Unconventional Reading of McGee's Ideograph
Scholar of the Year: No award given
2007 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Mark Allan Steiner, Christopher Newport University, The Rhetoric of Operation Rescue: Projecting the Christian Pro-Life Message (Blooomsbury Academic, 2006)
Dissertation of the Year: Christine Gardner, Wheaton College, Choosing to Wait: Rhetorical Agency as Persuasion in the Evangelical Sexual Abstinence Movement in the United States and Africa
Article of the Year: Richard Hardin, University of Kansas, "Apocalypse Then: Tamburlaine and the Pleasures of Religious Fear," Baylor Journal of Theatre and Performance, 3, 31-42.
Student Paper of the Year: Katie Rush, University of Georgia, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and its Quest For Unity
Scholar of the Year: Michael Casey, Pepperdine University
2006 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Peter A. Verkruyse, Illinois College, Prophet, Pastor, and Patriarch: The Rhetorical Leadership of Alexander Campbell (University of Alabama Press, 2005)
Dissertation of the Year: Jin Kyu Park, University of Colorado-Boulder, Media, Religion, and Culture in Contemporary Korea: Production and Reception of Religious Symbolism in a Daily TV Serial
Article of the Year: Ned O'Gorman, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne, "Telling the Truth: Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Rhetorical Discourse Ethic," Journal of Communication and Religion, 28, 224-248
Student Paper of the Year: Penelope Helen Sheets, University of Washington, Presidential Religious Speech: An Historical and Legal Context for the Use of Religious Language in State of the Union Addresses
Scholar of the Year: Martin J. Medhurst, Baylor University
2005 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Stephen Webb, Wabash College, The Divine Voice: Christian Proclamation and the Theology of Sound (Brazos Press, 2004)
Article of the Year: Thomas Lessl, "The Mythological Conditioning of Scientific Naturalism," Journal of Communication and Religion, 28, 23-46
Dissertation of the Year: Kristin Emery Saldine, Princeton Theological Seminary, Preaching God Visible: Geo-Rhetoric and the Theological appropriation of Landscape Imagery in the Sermons of Jonathan Edwards
Student Paper of the Year (Tie): Monika Alston, University of Maryland, Exploring the Rhetorical Form of "Testifyin" in the Rhetoric of Maria W. Stewart; Benjamin Kruger, Pennsylvania State University, Strategic Prophecy and the Rhetoric of Arab Pan-Nationalism: The Case of Saddam Hussein's September 5, 1990 Call for Jihad
Scholar of the Year: Ronald C. Arnett, Duquesne University
2004 RCA Scholarship Awards
Book of the Year: Quentin Schultze, Calvin College, Christianity and the Mass Media in America: Towards a Democratic Accommodation (Michigan State University Press, 2003)
Article of the Year: David A. Frank, University of Oregon, "The Jewish Countermodel: Talmudic Argumentation, the New Rhetorical Project, and the Classical Tradition of Rhetoric," Journal of Communication and Religion, 26, 163‑194
Dissertation of the Year: Thomas J. Carmody, Regent University, "Arise and Stand Forth": A Fantasy Theme Analysis of American Clergy and Their Calls for Social Action in the Nineteenth Century Anti‑dueling Movement, 1804‑1856
Student Paper of the Year: Samuel McCormick, University of Iowa, On Awakening the Numinous in Others
Scholar of the Year: Quentin Schultze, Calvin College
2003 RCA Awards
Book of the Year: Robin Riley, University of Cincinnati, Faith, Film, and Cultural Conflict: The Case of Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (Praeger, 2003)
Article of the Year: Nancy Eckstein, Wheaton College, and Paul Turman, University of Northern Iowa, "Children are to be Seen and not Heard: Silencing Students' Religious Voices in the University Classroom," Journal of Communication and Religion, 25, 166-192
Dissertation of the Year: Kevin D. Miller, University of Kentucky, Religious Identity and Discourse of the Other: A Narrative Analysis of the Subordinate Role of the Jew in the Apocalyptic Texts of Two Christian Groups
Lifetime Achievement Award: Em Griffin, Wheaton College