IAMCR 2014: International Communication Section - CfP - Deadline 10 February

Call for Proposals - IAMCR 2014

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 2014 conference to be held from 15 to 19 July, 2014 in Hyderabad.

Conference website: http://iamcr2014.org/

The conference will be held under the general theme, “Region as Frame: Politics, Presence, Practice”. 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 the emergence of regions as nodes 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, the practices of international and transnational communication are impacted upon by the structural dynamics of the flow and contraflow of media capital and content, which call for political economic analyses and examination of the challenges to regulatory regimes. But the emergence of new regions in the global communications landscape also prompts questions to do with cultural norms, value systems and identity. How are normative frameworks challenged in regional contact zones between media cultures? What role do media play in the construction of new identities in hybrid spaces and the re-affirmation of older, national ones? How does the emergence of new nodes for global communication like ‘Chindia’ and ‘Chinafrica’ challenge established theoretical notions of ‘international’ communication when the ‘national’ is eroded in favour of the ‘regional’? To what extent should mega-cities like Beijing, Lagos, Tokyo and Delhi revise established notions of the nation-state as the primary unit of analysis for global communication studies?

These questions are as relevant to researchers in Africa, Latin America and South East Asia as they are to scholars in North America and Europe. We are interested in the re-definition of Politics, Presence and Practice in communication theories and practices in these various regional areas, and how traditional structures of communication are being transformed in the interplay between politics, presence and practice.

The International Communication Section aims to provide a space for researchers to discuss questions around the regional, the global and the local in communication studies at the 2014 Conference, through the presentation of empirical and theoretical papers. Possible themes include:

• The ‘Rise of the Rest’ and the challenge for communications theory

• Emerging regional media formations

• Identity construction in regional contact zones

• BRICS, the shifting geopolitics and its implications for communication

• The political economy of regional and transnational media

• Theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of global communication

• The challenge of global media ethics

• Media practices in transnational spaces

• Public/private media in regional areas

• Global audio visual organizations

We welcome proposals for both Individual papers and panels; all proposals must be submitted through the online Open Conference System at http://iamcr-ocs.org from 1 December 2013 – 10 February 2014. Early submission is strongly encouraged. 

There are to be no email submissions of abstracts addressed to the Section Head or Vice-Heads.

It is expected that for the most part, only one (1) abstract will be submitted per person for consideration by the Conference. However, 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.

Decisions on acceptance of abstracts will be communicated to applicants by their Section or Working Group Head no later than 24 March 2014.

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.

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 when submitting your abstract.

Mode of submission: Online at http://iamcr-ocs.org.

The deadlines are as follows:
 

International Communication Section

Chair:
Herman Wasserman
h.wasserman[at]ru.ac.za

Vice-Chairs:
Tania Rosas Moreno
tcrosasmoreno[at]loyola.edu

Karen Arriaza Ibarra
arriazaibarra[at]ccinf.ucm.es