Assistant Professor Jake Dionne Wins National Distinguished Publication Award

Terrell Jake Dionne.

Jake Dionne, assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Arkansas, has been honored with the 2024 Distinguished Publication Award from the Communication and Law Division of the National Communication Association for his article, “Houston Community College vs. Wilson: Race, Cancel Culture & the Censure,” published in Communication Law Review in 2023.

In his article, Dionne offers a nuanced analysis of the legal communication surrounding the 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case, Houston Community College System v. Wilson, which centered on whether the First Amendment permits elected school board officials to censure — or publicly reprimand — each other.

Dionne interrogates whether the case should be understood as part of the broader cultural debate on “cancel culture.” His analysis highlights how legal commentators often framed the censure in Wilson as an example of cancel culture, despite this framing not being adopted by the court. Dionne argues that it was beneficial that the courts did not conflate the two, emphasizing that censure, historically rooted in “colonial democratic bodies” like legislatures and courts, is distinct from canceling, which he describes as a “Black discursive accountability praxis” that has been co-opted by White elites.

By conflating the two, Dionne suggests that commentators risk erasing the origins of cancel culture in Black rhetorical traditions and undermining its power as a tool for marginalized communities. His research ultimately distinguishes the institutional nature of censure from the public critique embodied in cancel culture.

This project is part of a broader body of work on communication, law, power and identity that professor Dionne and his students in COMM 41103/58403: Legal Communication have created since he revived the course in spring 2022.

Noteworthy student projects include “Temporal Containment in Campus Public Memory: The Case of Silas Hunt,” co-authored by Nabiha Khetani, Jake Woods, Kendal Curtis, Carter Quandt, and Stormie Owens, which was named to the top papers panel of the Communication and Law Division at the 2022 National Communication Association conference and was a runner-up for the 2022 James L. Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric Award.

Another notable project, “The Business of Interviewing: The HIPAA Metaphor in Sports Journalism,” co-authored by Elizabeth White, Elizabeth Berry, Holly Marr, and Margot Reemtsen, was featured on the top papers panel of the Sports Communication Division at the 2023 Central States Communication Association conference.

Lastly, the project “The Case Against Leftist Lunacy: A Metonymic Criticism of Libs of TikTok’s Forensic Rhetoric,” co-authored by Alondra Gilbrech and Reaves Robinson, was the runner-up for the 2023 James L. Golden Outstanding Student Essay in Rhetoric Award by the National Communication Association.

Dionne will receive his award on Nov. 22 at the 110th annual Convention of the National Communication Association in New Orleans.

This story also appeared in the University of Arkansas News publication.