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ARSTM Book Award

Accepting Nominations for the 2024 ARSTM Book Award

The Association for the Rhetoric of Science, Technology, and Medicine invites nominations for this year’s book award. The ARSTM Book Award celebrates outstanding books that advance the understanding of rhetoric within science, technology, and medicine. This year’s book award committee consists of Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, Armond Towns, and Abbie Shew.

Books published within the past two calendar years are eligible for consideration. For example, books eligible for the 2024 award would have been published in 2023 or 2022. 

Evaluation Criteria:

  • The book’s contribution to practical and theoretical knowledge in the rhetoric of science, technology, and medicine.
  • Its potential to foster interdisciplinary connections and/or engage the public.
  • Its suitability for teaching future scholars in the field.
  • The accuracy, clarity, and structure of the book’s presentation.
  • The overall quality of its writing and ideas.

Nomination Process:

  • Nominations can be submitted by someone familiar with the book or by self-nomination.
  • The process involves two stages of review.

Initial Submission Requirements:

Submit an electronic nomination package by July 31, 2024, including:

  • A cover letter (up to two pages) detailing the rationale for nomination.
  • A table of contents.
  • The introduction and one representative chapter.

These materials should be sent via email to the selection committee chair, Ashley Rose Mehlenbacher, at ashley.mehlenbacher@uwaterloo.ca.

Further Review:

  • Finalists will be notified by August 30, 2024.
  • Full copies of books advancing to the final round must be provided to committee members by September 15, 2024.
  • Winners will be notified by October 15, 2024, and announced at ARSTM@NCA 2024.

Award Details:

  • Recipients will receive a plaque and a one-year ARSTM membership.
  • Recognition will occur at the ARSTM business meeting during the National Communication Association conference in November.
  • Lead authors who have won previously cannot be nominated again for five years.

Previous Book Award Winners

2023: Armond R. Towns

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On Black Media Philosophy, University of California Press, 2022.

Honorable Mention:

  • Jenell Johnson, Every Living Thing, Penn State University Press, 2023.

2022: Stephanie R. Larson

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What It Feels Like: Visceral Rhetoric and the Politics of Rape Culture, Penn State University Press, 2022.

2021: Allison L. Rowland

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Zoetropes and the Politics of Humanhood, The Ohio State University Press, 2020.

Honorable Mention:

  • Nathan R. Johnson, Architects of Memory: Information and Rhetoric in a Networked Archival Age University of Alabama Press, 2020.
  • Heidi Yoston Lawrence, Vaccine Rhetorics, The Ohio State University Press, 2020.

2020: John Lynch

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The Origins of Bioethics: Remembering When Medicine Went Wrong, Michigan State University Press, 2019.

Honorable Mention:

  • Emma Bloomfield, Communication Strategies for Engaging Climate Skeptics, Routledge, 2020.
  • Morgan G. Ames, The Charisma Machine, MIT Press, 2019.

2019: Christa Teston

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Bodies in Flux: Scientific Methods for Negotiating Medical Uncertainty, University of Chicago Press, 2017.

Honorable Mention:

  • Amy Koerber, From Hysteria to Hormones: A Rhetorical History, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018.
  • Ian E. J. Hill, Advocating Weapons, War, and Terrorism: Technological and Rhetorical Paradox, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2018.