The Nebraska Governance and Technology Center has launched an inaugural writing competition, with a $4,000 first prize, that is open to any Husker who was enrolled as a law or graduate student during the 2020-21 academic year.
The prompt for papers is “How technology regulates.” Papers should be submitted before June 30 and can be uploaded as a Word document here.
Submissions should use a clear methodology to provide insight into underlying theories of technology and regulation. Preference will be given to papers written in a style suitable for essay-style law review publication, especially those that range from 6,000-10,000 words and include proper Bluebook citations. Co-authored papers are welcome. Papers co-authored with non-students, in which the student author was the primary contributor, may be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Paper topics might include the following:
- How technologies are designed to directly enable or prohibit certain types of human activity
- How technologies are used instrumentally to monitor or control activity
- The effects of digital platforms’ content moderation on the information economy and democratic policy
- Ways that technologies support, undermine or confound existing regulations and regulatory norms (e.g., decentralizing currency, eroding distinctions between employees and independent contractors)
Along with a $4,000 first prize, the competition will award second- and third-place finishers $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. Papers will be judged by Nebraska Governance and Technology Center faculty — who hail from across the University of Nebraska–Lincoln — with input from the center’s academic advisory board and editors of the Nebraska Law Review.
Winning papers that meet its requirements will be considered for publication in the Nebraska Law Review. Questions can be directed to Elsbeth Magilton, executive director of the Nebraska Governance and Technology center, at elsbeth@unl.edu.
