IAMCR 2012 - Law Section Call for Papers

erythrina_caffraThe Law Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites submissions for the IAMCR 2012 conference to be held from July 15-19, 2012 at the Howard College Campus of the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in Durban (South Africa). The deadline for submissions of abstracts and panel proposals is February 14, 2012.

The Law Section focuses on communication laws and regulations, policies and policy-making principles, and decision-making processes and institutions, and on the social, cultural, economic, and political dimensions of law-state-society relations.  Legal and policy issues of interest to the Section may arise at the infra-state, state, supra-state, international or global levels, or out of interactions and policy transfers within and across levels.  The span of issues of concern ranges from traditional and enduring problems of free speech and access to information to new problems generated by technological change.  The Section is open to all theoretical and methodological approaches.

In addition to the open call for papers on any topics of interest, the Law Section also welcomes papers specific to the conference theme, 'South-North Conversations.'  This theme emphasizes the two-way nature of flows between those who are at the center of power and those who are marginalized within and across societies.  Research illuminating how those in the North are affected by, or learn from, those in the South or the margins is of particular interest.  Any papers dealing with the conference theme from a legal or policy perspective are welcome.  Topical areas suggested by the theme that are appropriate for this section include but are not limited to:

  • Flows of legal concepts, institutions, texts, and practices across national borders
  • Global equity and intellectual property rights
  • International trade and free speech
  • Patent wars and power
  • International arbitrage in speech and privacy rights
  • Technologies as global tools for implementing and for evading the law

Submissions for program collaborations with other sections are also sought:

  • Emerging scholars are encouraged to submit papers to the section.
  • For a joint panel with the Political Communication Research Section on 'Electoral Law and Political Communication' (see the Joint Session specific CFP), proposals can be submitted to either section and should be accompanied by a note to the pertinent section chair regarding your interest in this panel.
  • For joint panels with the Communication Policy and Technology Section on legal issues raised by the Occupy movements and on developments in European privacy law, proposals can be submitted to either section and should be accompanied by a note to the pertinent sectio nchair regarding your interest in these panels.

Finally, the Law Section will be continuing the tradition of offering a "state of the law" panel with succinct country reports on significant legal developments from around the world.  Please contact Sandra Braman if you are interested in being a part of this panel.

Submission information

To propose a paper for the Law Section, submit an abstract of 300-500 words. Abstracts should state the title, the methods or approach used, and briefly introduce the theoretical framework and empirical research on which the paper will be based. The scholarly presentation of accepted submissions can take place in several types of sessions: Paper presentation sessions (i.e. 4-5 presenters each with 12-15 minutes, requiring full paper submitted on time) and High intensity sessions (i.e. 6-8 presenters each with 5-7 minutes). While IAMCR accepts presentations and papers in English, French and Spanish, it is requested that abstracts and panel proposals, if at all possible, be submitted in English to facilitate the reviewing process.

Proposals for panels are also welcome. A proposal should have four to five papers and should provide: (1) a panel title, (2) a framing text and (3) short abstracts for all the papers with paper titles and authors. The framing text (maximum 500 words) should contain the overall idea and goal of the panel as well as how it responds to the Law Section CFP.  A panel chair and a discussant should also be proposed. The 500 word panel framing text and the individual paper abstracts need to be submitted separately. They will be reviewed and based on this review we will accept, accept with revisions, or decline the panel.

Submission of abstracts, panel proposals and (once accepted) full papers can only be done online through IAMCR Open Conference System (OCS). The OCS system at opened on 1 December 2011 and will close on 14 February 2012. Submissions via e-mail will not be reviewed.

It is expected that, normally, only one abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. However, under no circumstances should there be more than three abstracts bearing the name of the same proposer either individually or as part of any group of authors. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to other IAMCR Sections or Working Groups for consideration, after an initial submission. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be automatically rejected by the Open Conference System (OCS), by the Head of the Section or by the Conference Programme Referee. Applicants submitting multiple abstracts for papers risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.

The deadlines are:

  • February 14, 2012: Submission of abstracts via OCS (papers and panel proposals will be assessed by double blind review).
  • March 12, 2012: Announcement of acceptances and start of conference registration.
  • June 10, 2012: Full papers due via OCS (around 7,500 words, excluding notes and references). There is no second round of reviewing for acceptance.

If a proposal is accepted, the presenter must also register for conference participation in order to be included in the final conference programme of the Section.

For additional information about the Law Section in general or Law Section sessions for the IAMCR 2012 conference, contact Chair Sandra Braman (braman[AT]uwm.edu), Co-Vice Chair Slavka Antonova (slavka.antonova[AT]und.edu), or Co-Vice Chair Mohammed Ullah Sahid (ullah_sahid[AT]yahoo.co.uk).

For further information on the conference (registration, theme, location, etc.), please contact the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) or consult the Conference Organizers via the website at:  http://www.iamcr2012.ukzn.ac.za or by email at IAMCR2012[AT]ukzn.ac.za.