The premise of this anticipated panel is that Areopagitica is a critical text for our age, so it’s time to reconsider it. John Milton’s 1644 argument against pre-publication censorship is lauded by some as an absolute defense of freedom of speech. But Areopagitica also advocates suppression of Catholic writings and allows for destruction of most everything else after its publication. Scholars have long considered whether this text provides a resource for advocates of freedom of expression and the press, a model of totalitarianism, or something else entirely. How might our own age of media revolution and debates about intellectual freedom recast our understanding of Areopagitica and its legacies? And how does Milton’s text recast the debates of our own moment? Alternatively, how do new critical approaches or archival discoveries deepen our understanding of Milton’s text? For a panel at the Renaissance Society of America Annual Meeting to be held in San Francisco, CA, on February 19-21, 2026, the Milton Society of America invites proposals for 15-minute papers considering these and other questions that explore the history, significance, and impact of Areopagitica. We welcome papers that consider various technologies of publication as well as contexts in which we make our ideas public, including academic institutions and the classroom. Send your paper title (15-word maximum), 200-word abstract, and resume (.pdf or .doc) to MSA Secretary, Marissa Greenberg, at MiltonSocietySec@gmail.com no later than July 1, 2025.