IAMCR 2015: International Communication Section - CfP - Deadline 9 February

The International Communication Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites submissions of abstracts for papers and panel proposals for the IAMCR 2015 conference to be held in Montreal, Canada, from 12th to 16th July 2015. The deadline for proposal submissions is 9 February 2015.

Conference theme: “Hegemony or Resistance? The Ambiguous Power of Communication”

See the conference key dates and deadlines: http://iamcr.org/congress/montreal2015-keydates

See all Calls for Papers for IAMCR 2015: http://iamcr.org/congress/montreal2015-cfp

Visit the conference website: http://congresiamcr.uqam.ca

The conference will be held under the general theme “Hegemony or Resistance? The Ambiguous Power of Communication” and the general CFP is available at http://congresiamcr.uqam.ca/en/about/theme.html

While proposals on any topic within the area of International Communication will be considered, proposals relating to the Conference theme will receive priority. We are especially interested in proposals that examine questions of hegemony and resistance within the globalized media landscape, the shifting geopolitics away from the metropolitan centres of the Global North to nations and regions of the ‘Rest’, and the media practices that emerge in these new transnational spaces.

In the changing global landscape, shifting configurations of power are facilitated through changing communication practices. The ambiguous role of communication can be seen in many recent cases of political transitions, geopolitical shifts and changing international relations. Communication can serve to entrench structures of power and hegemony during and after such transitions. Despite several highly-publicized transitions in political systems, the long aftermath of the global economic crisis and the tilting of geopolitical formations to new regions such as the BRICS countries, global media continue to be dominated by companies based in the Global North and discourses informed by metropolitan histories. Whether it’s the Ebola crisis, issues of citizenship and migration, global sports events or terrorism, it is arguably frames defined in the North that dominate global news coverage. At the same time, the rapid development of media platforms that have enabled citizens around the world to communicate horizontally and ‘speak back’ to power, has been hailed by many as revolutionising the way in which ordinary people can stake a claim in communication networks, disseminate alternative information and perspectives, and mobilize to resist and overthrow political regimes.

As communication scholars, we should also ask how adequate our theories of understanding and explaining communication on a global scale are in the wake of these changes. To what extent are communication theories still dominated by outdated worldviews or skewed understandings of communication and social, political and economic life? Are current theorizing meeting the challenge of rapidly changing global communications landscapes, the emergence of new transnational political and economic alliances, seismic shifts in the relations between citizens and political systems and questions of identity in transnational contact zones? To what extent are theories of global communication still entrenched in epistemological regimes of power and how should hegemonic theoretical frameworks be challenged?

The International Communication Section aims to provide a space for researchers to discuss questions around power, hegemony and resistance in international communication, through the presentation of empirical and theoretical papers.

Possible themes include:

Patterns of power and resistance in transnational communications
Power and resistance in the representation of the ‘Other’ in global communications
Media freedom, hegemony and resistance in various regions of the world
BRICS, shifting geopolitics and its implications for hegemony and resistance
The political economy of regional and transnational media
Hegemony and resistance in theoretical and methodological approaches to global communication
Ethical challenges in global media spaces
Contested norms and practices in global communications

We welcome individual papers and panels, but all proposals must be submitted through the online Open Conference System at http://iamcr-ocs.org from 1 December 2014 – 9 February 2015. Early submission is strongly encouraged. There are to be no email submissions of abstracts addressed to the Section Heads directly.

Submissions Format:

All proposals must include title, author/coordinator name(s), institutional affiliation(s) and full contact information (mailing address, email address, and telephone number).

For individual or co-authored papers, applicants must submit a 300-500 word abstract.

For panel proposals, the panel coordinator must submit a well-defined statement of purpose (150-300 words), a complete list of panel participants, and full abstracts (as above) for each presentation in one document.

For all applicants: Please indicate if you would be willing to chair a session.

Language: This section accepts abstracts in English, French or Spanish, but an English translation of the title is required to facilitate the international peer review process. We will arrange for presentations in English, French or Spanish. However, we will arrange sessions in languages other than English if the number of qualified proposals warrants it. Please indicate if you would be willing to make your presentation in English if we are unable to accommodate your first choice.

Mode of submission: via IAMCR Open Conference System at http://iamcr-ocs.org only.

It is expected that for the most part, only one (1) abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. And, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same applicant 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 Sections or Working Groups of the Association 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, by the relevant Head or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Such applicants risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.

Upon submission of an abstract, you will be asked to confirm that your submission is original and that it has not been previously published in the form presented. You will also be given an opportunity to declare if your submission is currently before another conference for consideration.

Submitted abstracts will generally be evaluated on the basis of: 1) theoretical contribution, 2) methods, 3) quality of writing, 4) literature review, 5) relevance of the submission to the work of the section or working group, and 6) originality and/or significance of the work.

Presenters are expected to bring fully developed work to the conference. Prior to the conference, it is expected that a completed paper will be submitted to Section, Working Group, Session Chairs, and/or Discussants.

International Communication Section

Head

Herman Wasserman [contact]

Vice-Heads

Tania Rosas Moreno[contact]

Karen Arriaza Ibarra [contact]