Emerging Scholars Network
The Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) welcomes submissions for the 2018 Annual Conference of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) to be held from July 7-11, 2019 at the Complutense University of Madrid, Spain.
We invite you to submit abstracts (250-300 words) of your research papers. We welcome submissions on a variety of topics pertinent to communication and media studies research. We also encourage submissions that address this year’s conference theme “Communication, Technology, and Human Dignity: Disputed Rights, Contested Truths”. The conference addresses the global challenges in the area of media and communication in response to recent global socio-economic and political transformations of our societies, that put fundamental communication-related rights under increasing pressure and threat. Control over the innovations in communication and their applications has increasingly passed from governments to corporations. Concern with the public interest and the common good is being displaced by business models designed to maximise revenues. These models are bolstering appeals to consumption while weakening the social contract of citizenship, providing new and largely unregulated platforms for the dissemination of rumour, misinformation and ‘fake’ news, and ushering in an era of so-called ‘post truth’ that reinforces social and political polarization.
We believe that that Emerging Scholars have the capacity to not only provide interesting and original theories and bring new evidence, but also to critically engage with these challenges and their implications for research, policy and action.
For more information on this year’s conference theme, please refer to the general conference CfP on the 2019 conference website: https://iamcr.org/madrid2019
This year, ESN will host two co-sponsored sessions:
- The Joint ESN-Communication Policy & Technology session welcomes submission related to communication policy and technology.
- The Joint ESN-Community, Communication and Alternative Media session, which welcomes submissions related to community, alternative and citizens’ media, media activism, and other forms of civil society-based communication, non-governmental and non-commercial communication practices.
Joint sessions offer a space for emerging scholars to exchange with more experienced IAMCR members working within same research areas. These sessions are always dynamic and rich, as they present a great opportunity to meet chairs and members of other IAMCR sections and receive valuable feedback, or may be even meet your future mentors!
If you wish to be considered for one of these exciting joint sessions, please indicate this in your conference abstract.
Languages
This Section accepts abstract submissions and presentations in all three official languages of the association - English, French and Spanish. To this end, we are looking for volunteer translators/interpreters for abstracts, sessions and papers. If you can contribute and help translate some papers or key points into Spanish, French or English, please contact Ksenia Ermoshina (ksenia.ermoshina [at] cnrs.fr) and Sylvia Blake (sylvia_blake [at] sfu.ca).
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR ABSTRACT
Please submit your abstracts by February 8th, 2019 via the Open Conference System (OCS) at http://iamcr-ocs.org. Submissions must include author name(s), affiliation, address, e-mail address, and paper title. Please note that this deadline will not be extended. We accept both individual submissions and panel proposals. Early submission is strongly encouraged. There are to be no email submissions of abstracts addressed to any Section or Working Group Head.
An author can submit a maximum of two (2) abstracts to two (2) separate sections or working groups. 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 also note 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. 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.
Prior to the conference, each presenter is required to upload a completed paper to the IAMCR website. Discussant feedback has a special place in ESN and is often provided by Chairs of other sections or working groups that ESN members may wish to join. Therefore, a timely submission of the full paper ensures comments and questions by esteemed senior scholars in the field.
The ESN welcomes works-in-progress! Please state that it is a work in progress in your abstract. Please bear in mind, however, that presenters are expected to bring to the conference work that has reached a high degree of development.
Final decisions on abstracts will be announced in late March, 2019. Please make sure to inform ESN co-chairs if you are unable to present your paper at the conference as soon as possible. Failure to do so disrupts the flow of the conference and is disrespectful to fellow presenters. It may also result in a suspension to present at the following IAMCR conference.
About the Emerging Scholars’ Network
ESN (http://iamcr.org/s-wg/section/emerging-scholars-network-section/home) is a section dedicated to the work and careers of emerging scholars in the field of media studies and communication. Therefore, we especially look for works in progress from graduate students and new university instructors/professors who are interested in substantial feedback and comments intended to advance their projects.
The ESN organizes emerging scholar panels and joint panels with other sections. Our emerging scholar panels provide a comfortable environment for the presentation of theses and works in progress, where emerging scholars can receive feedback from colleagues also at the beginning of their careers and from senior scholars who act as respondents to individual papers.
In line with the purpose of our section, the ESN also organizes panels and special sessions about issues affecting emerging scholars, such as:
• Publishing research results;
• Mentoring and the Student-mentor relationship;
• Academic work and academic jobs;
• Neoliberalism in the academy;
• Innovative research methodologies;
• Language barriers in academia.
These panels often feature conversations between senior scholars, emerging scholars, and/or practitioners of media and communication professions.
Further announcements on panels and events on such topics, and practical information on the ESN mentorship programme, will follow over the coming months. For further information, please do not hesitate to contact the section co-chairs Ksenia Ermoshina (ksenia.ermoshina [at] cnrs.fr) and Sylvia Blake (sylvia_blake [at] sfu.ca).