Assignment: The Miller Test is aging - and not particularly well. It turned 48 in June. Most importantly, the test does not account for networked communication. Sexually explicit material is more accessible than ever. Communities are no longer solely based in geographic locations. Definitions of what qualifies as having literary, artistic, political, or scientific value vary from person to person.

It's time for a new test. Your assignment is to A) construct a revised test for identifying what is obscene, and therefore not protected by the First Amendment, and B) to support your reasoning for this revised test.

Part A: A new test

• Your new test must account for networked communication and other changes in how information is exchanged in the twenty-first century.
• It must be original (you can't copy the Miller Test or a classmate's test and call it yours). The test can, however, rework elements from the Miller Test that you believe still work.
• The test must be simple and clear. It must be informed by previous attempts to limit obscene content in society.
• Be creative. Think critically. There are a lot of ways to approach this assignment.

Part B: Supporting your new test

• Explain your new test. How does it compare to the Miller Test? How does it improve upon that test? What were the crucial challenges you faced in creating the new test?

The Miller Test

• "Whether the average person, applying contemporary community standards would find that the word, taken as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest."
• "Whether the work depicts or describes, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by...state law."
• "Whether the work, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.

Objective: The goal of this assignment is for students to become more aware of the boundaries and the problems associated with the current obscenity test.