Campus Life

Essay contest encourages students to explore civil rights rhetoric

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — A new essay contest sponsored by the Center for Democratic Deliberation will award more than $1,000 in prizes for essays that examine speeches, writings and other artifacts from the civil rights era.

The contest is open to all undergraduate students at Penn State and is coordinated by Jack Selzer, Paterno Family Liberal Arts Professor Emeritus of Literature and principal researcher on the Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement project.

To enter the contest, students should write a scholarly analysis on a piece from the Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement or the Voices of Democracy research collaborative. Essays should be anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 words and be framed as an authoritative source on the chosen piece of rhetoric.

The contest’s first prize is $1,000. The authors of the second and third place essays will each receive $250. Essays must be submitted by March 15 to civilrightsrhetoriccontest@gmail.com.

The Rhetoric of the Civil Rights Movement project and the essay contest grew out of Selzer’s teaching and research and was supported by the work of many Penn State colleagues. He made the project’s website available to the public this summer as he saw a need for greater understanding about the civil rights movement and the key arguments that have animated it.

“It is a rather unique and continuing struggle to create a national community, a national identity even, by people of disparate ethnicities, religions, and cultural backgrounds. And that struggle has been conducted through rhetorical means,” Seltzer said.

For more information about the essay contest, visit the McCourtney Institute for Democracy website or contact Selzer at jls25@psu.edu

Last Updated December 9, 2020