CAA News Today
CAA Supports Free Speech Protection Act of 2008
posted by Christopher Howard — September 30, 2008
On September 25, 2008, Paul Jaskot and Linda Downs, respectively CAA’s president and executive director, sent the following letter to the US Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary in support of S. 2977, the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008:
The Hon. Arlen Specter, Sponsor
The Hon. Patrick Leahy, Chairman
Members of the Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
S. 2977: The Free Speech Protection Act of 2008
We write in support of the proposed Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 (S. 2977). We are a professional organization of over 16,000 members that represents the interests of scholars, authors, artists, libraries, museums, and other individuals and institutions who work in the arts in the United States. We publish three scholarly journals, and support the publication of books and other scholarship through grant programs, an influential annual conference, a website, and other activities. As publishers, and as the representative of authors, artists, and scholars, we urge the Senate to approve S. 2977 expeditiously in this congressional session.
The United States is a beacon of free and open discourse. We produce some of the most widely respected and valued scholarship in the world, as well as some of the most influential art. Other countries and individuals worldwide look to us to set the highest standard for the free exchange of ideas, and our Constitution and Bill of Rights give us the ability to meet that standard.
Now, as publishing becomes ever more globalized, our freedom to publish under United States law is threatened. Libel suits filed in foreign countries pose a grave danger to the free speech rights of American authors, journalists, publishers, and readers. S. 2977 provides authors and publishers with urgently needed protections. This is an excellent bill, and its broad bipartisan support shows that Americans are united in our respect for and reliance on our cherished independence. We must not allow the libel laws of other countries to undermine American laws or chill protected speech.
We concur with the American Association of University Professors, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Association of American Publishers, Association of American University Presses, the National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN American Center, and others, who wrote to you on September 10, 2008, stating: “Increasingly in recent years, individuals who challenge the accuracy of published materials have attempted to strike back at their authors by filing lawsuits in foreign countries, most commonly England. U.S. law requires the party alleging libel to prove that the statements objected to are actually false. To avoid this burden, libel plaintiffs have engaged in forum shopping—filing lawsuits in countries with either different burdens of proof or different definitions of libel or both.”
S. 2977 is modeled on the recent New York state law that broadens the jurisdiction of New York courts to ensure that foreign libel judgments not be enforced unless they meet New York and U.S. constitutional standards. S. 2977 adds further force to this excellent law by authorizing authors to countersue foreign plaintiffs in a U.S. court for damages of up to three times the amount of the foreign judgment if the foreign plaintiff acted to suppress the speech of the U.S. person.
Passage of S. 2977, the Free Speech Protection Act, is essential to ensure that weaker protections for free speech in other countries do not undermine our fundamental First Amendment freedoms.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Jaskot, CAA President and Professor of Art and Art History, DePaul University; and Linda Downs, Executive Director
CAA Supports Free Speech Protection Act of 2008
posted by Christopher Howard — September 30, 2008
On September 25, 2008, Paul Jaskot and Linda Downs, respectively CAA’s president and executive director, sent the following letter to the US Senate’s Committee on the Judiciary in support of S. 2977, the Free Speech Protection Act of 2008:
The Hon. Arlen Specter, Sponsor
The Hon. Patrick Leahy, Chairman
Members of the Committee on the Judiciary
United States Senate
433 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
S. 2977: The Free Speech Protection Act of 2008
We write in support of the proposed Free Speech Protection Act of 2008 (S. 2977). We are a professional organization of over 16,000 members that represents the interests of scholars, authors, artists, libraries, museums, and other individuals and institutions who work in the arts in the United States. We publish three scholarly journals, and support the publication of books and other scholarship through grant programs, an influential annual conference, a website, and other activities. As publishers, and as the representative of authors, artists, and scholars, we urge the Senate to approve S. 2977 expeditiously in this congressional session.
The United States is a beacon of free and open discourse. We produce some of the most widely respected and valued scholarship in the world, as well as some of the most influential art. Other countries and individuals worldwide look to us to set the highest standard for the free exchange of ideas, and our Constitution and Bill of Rights give us the ability to meet that standard.
Now, as publishing becomes ever more globalized, our freedom to publish under United States law is threatened. Libel suits filed in foreign countries pose a grave danger to the free speech rights of American authors, journalists, publishers, and readers. S. 2977 provides authors and publishers with urgently needed protections. This is an excellent bill, and its broad bipartisan support shows that Americans are united in our respect for and reliance on our cherished independence. We must not allow the libel laws of other countries to undermine American laws or chill protected speech.
We concur with the American Association of University Professors, American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, American Library Association, American Society of Newspaper Editors, Association of American Publishers, Association of American University Presses, the National Coalition Against Censorship, PEN American Center, and others, who wrote to you on September 10, 2008, stating: “Increasingly in recent years, individuals who challenge the accuracy of published materials have attempted to strike back at their authors by filing lawsuits in foreign countries, most commonly England. U.S. law requires the party alleging libel to prove that the statements objected to are actually false. To avoid this burden, libel plaintiffs have engaged in forum shopping—filing lawsuits in countries with either different burdens of proof or different definitions of libel or both.”
S. 2977 is modeled on the recent New York state law that broadens the jurisdiction of New York courts to ensure that foreign libel judgments not be enforced unless they meet New York and U.S. constitutional standards. S. 2977 adds further force to this excellent law by authorizing authors to countersue foreign plaintiffs in a U.S. court for damages of up to three times the amount of the foreign judgment if the foreign plaintiff acted to suppress the speech of the U.S. person.
Passage of S. 2977, the Free Speech Protection Act, is essential to ensure that weaker protections for free speech in other countries do not undermine our fundamental First Amendment freedoms.
Yours sincerely,
Paul Jaskot, CAA President and Professor of Art and Art History, DePaul University; and Linda Downs, Executive Director
CAA Summary of Editorial Workshop
posted by Christopher Howard — September 24, 2008
CAA held an editorial workshop in July to discuss the advantages and legal risks of publishing—journals, websites, conference sessions, publications, and the like—in an international environment, and to explore protective practices and policies that could be considered by CAA in the future. The workshop brought together legal experts, censorship experts, free-speech advocates, and commercial and university-press publishers together with members of the CAA Board of Directors, the editors and reviews editors of Art Journal, The Art Bulletin, and caa.reviews, and CAA staff.
CAA has prepared and is making available this summary of the workshop discussion to inform CAA and its members, as well as other organizations and individuals, when considering these issues. These notes do not represent CAA policy, nor do they constitute legal advice. CAA hopes, however, that they will be of use to authors and editors in developing and implementing appropriate editorial processes in connection with their publishing activities.
CAA Seeks Award Nominations
posted by CAA — August 12, 2008
Recognize someone who has made extraordinary contributions to the fields of art and art history by nominating him or her for one of twelve CAA Awards for Distinction. Award juries consider your personal letters of recommendation when making their selections. In the letter, state who you are; how you know (of) the nominee; how the nominee and/or his or her work or publication has affected your practice or studies and the pursuit of your career; and why you think this person (or, in a collaboration, these people) deserves to be recognized. We also urge you to contact five to ten colleagues, students, peers, collaborators, and/or coworkers of the nominee to write letters. The different perspectives and anecdotes from multiple letters of nomination provide juries with a clearer picture of the qualities and attributes of the candidates.
The twelve Awards for Distinction are:
- The Distinguished Feminist Award honors a person who, through his or her art, scholarship, or advocacy, has advanced the cause of equality for women in the arts
- The Charles Rufus Morey Book Award honors an especially distinguished book in the history of art, published in the English language. (To give the jury the full opportunity to evaluate each submission fairly, please send your nomination by July 31, 2008)
- The Alfred H. Barr, Jr., Award for museum scholarship is presented to the author or authors of an especially distinguished catalogue in the history of art, published in the English language under the auspices of a museum, library, or collection. (To give the jury the full opportunity to evaluate each submission fairly, please send your nomination by July 31, 2008)
- The Arthur Kingsley Porter Prize is awarded for a distinguished article published in The Art Bulletin by a scholar of any nationality who is under the age of thirty-five or who has received the doctorate no more than ten years before the acceptance of the article for publication
- The Art Journal Award is presented to the author of the most distinguished contribution (article, interview, conversation, portfolio, review, or any other text or visual project) published in Art Journal
- The Frank Jewett Mather Award is awarded to an author of art journalism that has appeared in whole or in part in North American publications
- The Distinguished Teaching of Art Award is presented to an individual who has been actively engaged in teaching art for most of his or her career
- The Distinguished Teaching of Art History Award is presented to an individual who has been actively engaged in teaching art history for most of his or her career
- The Artist Award for a Distinguished Body of Work is given to a living artist of national or international stature for exceptional work through exhibitions, presentations, or performances
- The Distinguished Artist Award for Lifetime Achievement celebrates the career of an artist who has demonstrated particular commitment to his or her work throughout a long career and has had an impact nationally and internationally on the field
- The CAA/Heritage Preservation Award for Distinction in Scholarship and Conservation honors outstanding contributions by one or more persons who, individual or jointly, have enhanced understanding of art through the application of knowledge and experience in conservation, art history, and art
- The Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing on Art celebrates the career of an author of note and includes the publication of art criticism, art history, art biography, and/or art theory
All nomination campaigns should include one copy of the nominee’s CV (limit: two pages). Nominations for book and exhibition awards should be for authors of books published or works exhibited or staged between September 1, 2007, and August 31, 2008. No more than ten letters per candidate are considered. For more information, please write to Claire Vancik, CAA programs assistant. Deadline: July 31, 2008, for the Morey and Barr awards; August 31, 2008, for all others.