Category: Publication opportunities

CFP Communication for Development & Social Change

Special Issue: “Communication for Development and Social Change: Experiences & Future Convergences”
Journal of Communication
Guest Editors: Thomas Tufte and Rafael Obregon

Communication for development and social change is at the crossroads of multiple approaches in communication scholarship, including visual communication, organizational communication, media and communication technologies, intercultural communication, and other communication practices. It also constitutes an established practice carried out and supported by agencies in international development and cooperation. In recent years, we have seen a proliferation of experiences and approaches, led by global partnerships and alliances as well as civil society organizations which, in many cases, crystallized in social movements across the globe.

In the aftermath of the financial crisis in 2008 and the so-called ‘Arab Spring’, social movements came to represent a rich and heterogeneous amount of bottom-up citizen and community-driven initiatives. They are cause-driven mobilizations pursuing goals across various issues and sectors, including public health, education urban development, sustainable development, and children’s and women’s rights. Recent humanitarian crises, such as the Ebola crisis and the refugee crises, have led to a widespread citizen engagement through a variety of social change communication and community-led initiatives.

In this processes, digital media and digital-centered forms of mobilization have been crucial, but also contested. The debate has moved beyond the initial techno-determinist fascination with so-called “Facebook” and “Twitter” mobilizations to the recognition of complex and dynamic relations between online and offline communication, organizations and social change, movements and media, performance and protest, communication and public deliberation, as well as among a variety of actors including communities, non-governmental and governmental organizations, movements, and companies pursuing similar agendas.

The energy, creativity, discourses, tactics, and strategies through which various political and social actors communicate for social change have come to challenge and inspire both research and practice. Many governmental and non-governmental organizations are seeking ways and means to reach and connect with constituencies, spark new energy, drive stronger public and policy agendas, build social movements, and promote social change.

Against this backdrop, the focus of this special issue of the Journal of Communication is to offer an in-depth understanding of the role of communication in social movements and various forms of collective action that promote equity, social justice, and human rights by tackling a range of global social problems.

We invite authors to send submissions informed by various theoretical perspectives and methodological approaches in communication studies. We are interested in submissions that:
– Revisit communication and social change theories, models, and arguments that inform research about communication in times of digital media and widespread citizen engagement.
– Examine case studies that bring original theoretical, analytical and conceptual insights about new dynamics of citizen engagement, organizational communication, and other communication practices related to multiple dimensions of social change.
– Critically reflect upon opportunities and limitations that social movements, organizations, non-government organizations, community-based organizations, and other civil society actors confront to spark communication, citizen engagement, and promote social change.
– Address communication experiences in a wide range of policy and development sectors and issues, including health, environment, poverty alleviation, energy, labor, culture, religion, diversity, gender equality, social accountability, and social inclusion.

Manuscripts should not exceed 28 pages (6000 words), including references and figures, and must be submitted through the online submission system of the Journal of Communication. Authors should indicate that they wish to have their manuscript considered for the special issue. Information about author guidelines can be found in the Journal of Communication website.

Deadline for submissions: December 1, 2016.

Inquiries should be sent to Dr. Thomas Tufte (ttufte[at]ruc.dk) and Dr. Rafael Obregon (robregon[at]unicef.org).

This theme issue will be published in 2017.

CFP Human Rights Memory Special Issue

Call for Papers: Special Issue on Human Rights Memory
Popular Communication: The International Journal of Media and Culture
Guest edited by Susana Kaiser, University of San Francisco

What is to be remembered, and what forgotten? Who takes ownership of memories or presents credentials to speak authoritatively about the past—e.g. the direct victims of human rights abuses, or society at large? We can link the emergence, growth, and proliferation of memory studies to post-violent environments and processes by which communities must come to terms with human rights violations and traumatic events. The aftermath of dictatorships, genocide, wars, massacres, forced migrations, the effects of environmental destruction, as well as the legacy of discrimination based on class, race, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation are problems of pressing concern to scholars working in critical traditions. The duty to remember human rights abuses and the need to re-focus on memory at the service of justice occupy central stage of this special issue.

Communication and media are interlinked with human rights matters and engaged with memory processes. This engagement is evinced in strategies geared toward keeping records of abuses, encouraging intervention to stop them, and using memories as tools to search for truth and justice. This special issue aims to contribute to the body of literature in what we label “human rights memory” and to narrow the gap in research about audiences/publics and media production processes. We are interested in research articles in an array of cultural productions, ranging from television series to artworks. We welcome submissions which highlight the processes by which people interact with, interpret, appropriate, consume, and use these productions, as well as those which elucidate how creative memory-writing—such as the activities of camera persons and museum guides—can work in practice. We seek to complement research centering on textual analysis, authorial intent, and expectations about the potential effect on audiences/ publics and will look for empirical support in studies that show the concrete impact of these initiatives while also illustrating their producers’ creativity and commitment to achieve specific goals.

The focus is global and multi-disciplinary. We are interested in innovative methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks that can contribute to the development of empirically grounded theory. We welcome submissions analyzing the richness of popular communication in matters of memory and human rights (civil, political, economic, social, and cultural). We invite contributions focusing on grassroots and mainstream popular communication, including traditional formats (theater, film, print, television, radio), new media (social, digital, screen media, video games, mobile phones), the arts (photography, exhibits, museums, memorials, public shrines, music, concerts, performances, fashion, graphic/comic books, cartoons), sports tournaments, and demonstrations. Topics may also include, but are not limited to:

•       Theoretical and methodological approaches useful for researching human rights memory audiences/publics and production processes, and especially, approaches highlighting conflicts between dominant/ hegemonic memories and those of the groups contesting them.

•       Audiences/publics’ decoding and use of productions promoting official memories and/or advancing counter-memory(ies).

•       Communication strategies developed by activists that have been effective tools for educating, broadening the human rights memory public sphere, generating action, and opening dialogical spaces (local, global, diasporic).

•       Tactics for accessing and impacting heterogeneous publics/audiences, and for securing resources for production, distribution, and exhibition (e.g., funding, technology, know-how).

•       Production processes documenting and writing memories of ongoing human rights violations (e.g. digital witnessing of major current crises). Production teams’ participation in human rights memory processes, including the role played by artists, writers, actors, technicians—the “above” and “below-the-line” crews. Profiles of producers (e.g., filmmakers, musicians, bloggers, Wikipedians).

The deadline for submissions is December 15, 2016.

Papers should be no longer than 7,000 words (all inclusive)

Papers should be submitted using ScholarOne.

Full instructions for authors, including APA 6th Edition style guidelines, can be found at the same page.

Correspondence and questions about this call for papers can be directed to Susana Kaiser (kaisers[at]usfca.edu)

CFP Mediated Intercultural Communication in a Digital Age

CFP: Mediated Intercultural Communication in a Digital Age
Editors: Ahmet Atay, College of Wooster & Margaret D’Silva, University of Louisville

Profound changes in global communication, particularly social media, are leading us to re-examine our notions of culture, communication, audience, and identity. This book aims to bridge the gaps between intercultural communication and traditional and new media scholarship.

Media texts, social media platforms, global applications, and cyber culture play a paramount role in intercultural communication, particularly in the context of globalization.  Beyond traditional media, social media are particularly relevant to facilitating intercultural communication. Global social network sites such Facebook or Twitter, online gaming sites, online courses, global blogs, and all of the applications that appear in smart phones, tablets or computer devices are part of a very complicated and multi-faceted digital culture that moves beyond the borders of nation-states.

These social media platforms allow global communities to emerge; immigrants, diasporic bodies, and cosmopolitans can communicate and connect across the globe. They also allow members of traditionally oppressed groups to find their voices, cultivate communities, create homes away from home, and construct their cultural identities and narratives. Digitalized social movements around the world, identity performances of diasporic queer bodies, and long-distance relationships between partners and family members are some examples. This cyber culture centers around communication between people who are culturally, nationally, and linguistically similar or radically different. Therefore, studying traditional and social media in relation to intercultural communication is extremely crucial and timely.

This call invites abstracts for an edited book that takes qualitative, interpretive, and critical and cultural perspectives in examining the reciprocal relationship between media and intercultural communication. The book’s interrelated goals are to:

– 1-Examine how media, social media in particular, influence and contribute to intercultural communication.

– 2-Analyze the complex and multidimensional relationship between culture and media in the context of globalization.

-3-Understand how media, particularly social media, construct identities and enable or disable individuals to express their cultural identities.

-4-Analyze how globalization as a cultural and political process impacts mediated and intercultural communication.

– 5-Look at different contemporary issues relevant to intercultural communication and social media scholarship such as immigration, diaspora, social movements, religion and spirituality, democracy, and intercultural/ international relationships, from a media perspective.

– 6-Examine both negative and positive influences of media, particularly social media, on intercultural communication.

Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
1-Theorizing mediated intercultural communication
2- Social media and cultural identity
3- Social media and intercultural relationships
4- Media and online courses in the context of globalization
5- Cyber intercultural communities
6- Social media and global social movements
7- Immigrant media
8- Media and intercultural representations

Abstracts are due by September, 20, 2016, with a word length of no more than 500 words, along with pertinent references, contact information, and a short biographic blurb of 300 words. Full-length manuscripts are due on April 1, 2017, with a word length of no more than 5,000-7,000 words and in APA style, including references, endnotes, and so forth. Please mail your abstracts as Word documents to Ahmet Atay (aatay[at]wooster.edu) for an initial review.

CFP Roles of Communication on a Regional Conflict

Journal of Asian Pacific Communication (JAPC) Special Issue Call for Papers
The Roles of Communication on a Regional Conflict: Antipathy, Nationalism, and Conflicts in Territorial Disputes among China, Japan, and South Korea

Submissions are encouraged from scholars that use different theoretical and empirical approaches to the special issue of Journal of Asian Pacific Communication on the role of communication (e.g. legal, diplomatic, and public discourses) in territorial disputes among China, Japan, and South Korea. Territorial disputes between China and Japan over Diaoyu (Chinese) or Senkaku (Japanese) island and between Japan and South Korea over the Dokdo (Korea) or Takeshima (Japanese) island have escalated particularly in recent years and given rise to concerns about peace and security in the region. The special issue will examine the roles of communication and discourse on their political, cultural, historical, and economical aspects of the territorial disputes with a focus on the key internal and external factors shaping current and future relations. The articles will examine communication and discourse in institutional and political settings, i.e., in and around organizations, in the media, and on the internet. They will focus on how use of language and non-verbal symbolic systems in specific, esp. institutional, communicative contexts, including face-to-face diplomatic interactions/conversations, news release, and popular cultural texts such as films, music, animation, television drama, etc. impact the territorial disputes.

(1) News Coverage on the Disputes: Articles may examine how news media cover the disputes and the accompanying debates on international and domestic levels by conducting content (quantitative) or textural (qualitative) analysis of newspaper articles or broadcasting news contents in two territorial disputes among three nations (or comparative studies). They may also examine how media represent conflict and its potential impact on the audience.

(2) Public Opinion and Propaganda: Although territorial disputes are one of the most fraught issues among states, how public opinion and official and unofficial propaganda on territorial disputes varies within states and what explains the variation are often overlooked. Some articles may examine the dynamics of messages and see how public prioritizes and processes nationalistic, historical, and economic considerations over such disputes. They may hypothesize, for example, that younger generations are more likely to support some level of compromise while older generations would take a more a hawkish stance.

(3) Political and Diplomatic Communication: There are inevitable political aspects in disputed territories. The role of the U.S. can be an explosive force in these disputes. Although the U.S. may maintain the neutrality in the territorial disputes among three nations, the U.S. concerns that China’s muscle in the region could escalate the conflicts with neighboring Vietnam, Malaysia, and Philippine and Japan. The U.S. may support their territorial disputes in order to counter China’s regional hegemonic ambition. The papers may examine rhetorical aspects of political communication (emails, news releases, press conferences, legal action threats, languages of peace and conflicts) in these disputes.

(4) Role of Social Media and Bloggers: Angry and reasonable participants of social media have escalated various international conflicts including the territorial disputes. Papers may analyze social media, internet, and cyber warfare on the disputes among three nations and see how these disputes are mediated, produced, received, and reconstituted.

(5) Role of Popular Cultural Texts: These disputes have been constructed and deconstructed through comics, television dramas, films, dance, theaters, and music in three nations. They are also largely consumed and shared in internet. Papers may explore how these popular cultural texts can personalize and frame the disputes and make the readers to frame of references in their opinions on the topic. Or analyze the texts based on power, ideology, and discourses.

All manuscripts will be reviewed as a cohort for this special issue. Manuscripts must be submitted here. All submissions will go through a regular double-blind review process and follow the standard norms and processes. The deadline for submissions is October 15, 2016. Submissions should be emailed to Eungjun Min, emin[at]ric.edu.

CFP Journal of Communication Special Issue

Call for Papers: Ferments in the Field
Ferments in the Field: The Past, Present and Futures of Communication Studies

In 1983, Journal of Communication (JoC) published the special issue “Ferment in the Field” (Volume 33, Issue 3, co-edited by George Gerbner and Marsha Siefert). The issue focused on “questions about the role of communications scholars and researchers, and of the discipline as a whole, in society” (Gerbner & Siefert, 1983, p. 4). The 35 contributions reflected “on the state of communications research today; the relationship of the researcher to science, society, and policy; the goals of research with respect to social issues and social structure; and the tactics and strategies for reaching their goals” (ibid). In 1993, two comparable JoC issues were dedicated to “The Disciplinary Status of Communication Research” (Volume 43, Issues 3-4, co-edited by Mark Levy and Michael Gurevitch). In 2008, a JoC special issue discussed “Epistemological and Disciplinary Intersections” (Volume 58, Issue 4, edited by Michael Pfau).

More than three decades after the original Ferment issue, it is again time to reflect on disciplinary transformations in communication studies. By calling this new special issue Ferments in the Field, we see historical continuity in our efforts along JoC’s tradition of inviting communication scholarship to reflect upon itself. Meanwhile, we ask questions with a special eye on the increasing complexity and diversity of the field:
• What does the field of communication research look like?
• What have been the key tendencies and developments in communication(s) research and its subfields?
• How has the field developed in the past decades? What have been long-term continuities and discontinuities since the 1980s?
• What is the actual and desirable role for communication studies in contemporary academe and society?
• What is the status of theory, methods, critique, ethics, and interdisciplinarity in our field?
• What is the status of critical research and theories?
• How should the field position itself vis-à-vis key contemporary processes and challenges?
• What does the future of communication studies look like?

With these questions in mind, we hope to encourage authors to revisit the classic “ferment” themes as identified by past contributions to JoC. It is our belief that past arguments and issues need to be re-examined given new developments in communication in contemporary societies, changing media systems and communication processes, the digitization of communication, global and regional crisis, and the dynamics of knowledge production in academic institutions around the world.

Contributions to a new edition of “Ferments in the Field” should be provocative essays that offer bold ideas with broad implications for the field as a whole and areas of specializations. This special issue speaks of ferments in the plural in order to spur reflections beyond established academic boundaries and stimulate discussions that encourage scholars to think beyond comfort zones. From multiple theoretical, methodological, and disciplinary perspectives, it asks about the continuities and discontinuities in communication research in an attempt to initiate a new round of debates about the past, present and futures of the field.

The special issue will be published in 2018. The editors are Professor Christian Fuchs (University of Westminster) and Professor Jack Qiu (Chinese University of Hong Kong).

Authors are welcome to submit extended abstracts to the Editors by December 1, 2016. Extended abstracts should have a length of 400-1,000 words (excluding tables, figures, and references). Abstracts should be submitted to c.fuchs[at]westminster.ac.uk and jacklqiu[at]cuhk.edu.hk.

After the editors review the abstracts, authors will be informed about acceptance or rejection by early February 2017. In reviewing abstracts, special attention will be given to whether the proposed pieces take a broad view on the past, present and future of communication studies from specific angles. Subsequently, authors who were asked to submit complete papers will need to submit their manuscripts by May 2, 2017. Each manuscript should not exceed 4,000 words (including tables, figures, and references). Manuscripts should be submitted to http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jcom. Please indicate submission for the special issue “Ferments in the Field” in the cover letter.

Extended abstracts and manuscripts must conform to JoC guidelines, including the use of APA 6th edition.

Besides extended abstracts and manuscripts, the editors welcome expression of interest in reviewing submissions. Questions and comments should be directed to Jack Qiu and Christian Fuchs.

CFP Black & African-Oriented Media

Call for Proposals
Black and African-Oriented Media: Content, Audience Reception, and Global influence

Black media outlets have been a significant pillar of community and identity for African Americans in the United States. Currently production, distribution, and representation have seemingly increased with the success of programs like Empire, Black-Ish, Shonda Rhimes’ programs and a host of films starring Black leads. However, according to a recent New York Times article (Embers and Sandos, 2016) Black ownership has also been decreasing in recent times. This same trend can be said of some African produced media (Karikari, 2010); while ownership of print outlets is decreasing, there is also a growth in broadcast, film and music production as well as its global reach. Previous seminal work and collections including those of  Beretta E. Smith-Shomade, Robin Means Coleman, Venise T. Berry, and Catherine Squires have led the way in giving voice to Black American oriented media. An aim of this project, however, is to provide a space for which both African and Black American media are explored. The purpose of this edited volume is to gather literature which explores media created by members of the African diaspora, examines its relationship with diasporic audiences as well as its impact on mainstream culture in general. In addition, this volume will catalogue interdisciplinary research on the topic of Black and African diasporic media, as well as establish media produced by African and African Americans as a significant site to explore questions of identity, culture, audiences and cultural influence. Case studies, essays, and research (accessible to a broad audience) from a diverse range of methodologies and disciplines are welcome. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, analysis of Black/African-oriented media content (e.g. film, television, print, music), critiques of industries that impact Black/African-oriented media, globalization of Black/African oriented products, transnational audiences, audience reception, psychological effects, and its relation to Black and African’s identity and socio-cultural experience. For more possible examples see tentative outline below. Adjustments may be made depending on submissions.

African Diasporic-Oriented Media and Consumers (working title)
Foreword: Catherine Squires
Introduction: Omotayo Banjo Adesagba

News and Print Media
–      Traditional print media (e.g. magazines, newspapers), its relationship to Black/African diasporic communities, framing, storytelling and/or effects
–      Cultural impact of broadcast or online news or social media (e.g. Black Twitter) that relate to Black/African diasporic communities
–      Influence of Black or African disaporic literary work on diasporic communities and mainstream culture (e.g. Beyonce and Warsan Shire)

Film/Television
–      Success and/or audience reception to “Black Films” in the United States
–      Success and/or audience reception to television shows created by African/African Americans or other members of the diaspora
–      Representation of Blacks and Africans in film and television in Black/African-oriented media.
Radio and Music
–      Black radio stations and community relations (especially during Black Lives Matter and/or political movements)
–      Influence of African music or on popular culture
–      Responses and/or effects of Hip Hop and R&B music in U.S. and/or abroad

Black-African Relations
–      Portrayals of Blacks or Africans in Black/African media content
–      Music collaborations between Black /African diasporic music artists (e.g. Akon, Damian Marley, Wizkid, Don Jazzy)
–      Identification or cultural connection to Black/African diasporic-produced media

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:
1.     Deadline for chapter proposals (approx. 500 words excluding citations):  September 1, 2016.
2.     Submissions should adhere to APA Style created in MSWord or RTF.
3.     Include a cover page with all of the author’s’ contact information, key terms, and a abridged c.v. for each author.
4.     Submit proposals to Omotayo (Banjo) Adesagba via email to omotayo.banjo[at]uc.edu with “African Diaspora Media”  in the subject line.
5.     If selected, your chapter submissions must be original works of 3000-6000 (estimate) words, references included. Chapter deadline:  January 15, 2017.

China Media Research: Integrative East-West Communications Paradigm

Call for Submissions

This special section of China Media Research invites scholars from various disciplines to submit manuscripts on the theme of Towards an Integrative East-West Communications Paradigm. A lack of philosophical integration between Eastern and Western research paradigms presents one of the main challenges in global academic research today. In addition, there is little evidence to suggest that scholars are actively addressing this issue despite the repeated calls for integration.

The fragmentation is particularly salient in communications research, which remains anchored in Western values, perspectives and constructs. This special section aims to explore how the indigenous Eastern philosophical frameworks could serve as a source of inspiration for theory building and reconstruction, and contribute towards achieving integration between Western and Eastern communications paradigms.

Following these considerations, scholars are invited to submit their original manuscripts that address the following topics, among others:
–       Cultural transformation/dialogue between East and West;
–       Paradigmatic assumptions of Chinese communication in the global context;
–       Integration of theoretical and practical aspects of the Chinese/Eastern philosophical concepts (such as harmony);
–       Yin Yang balancing as a framework for overcoming dualism;
–       Contrasting static and dynamic frameworks for cultural analysis;
–       Methods for achieving an etic-emic integration in communications research.

Submissions must not have been previously published nor be under consideration by another publication. An extended abstract (up to 1,000 words) or a complete paper at the first stage of the reviewing process will be accepted. All the submissions must be received by October 15, 2016. If the extended abstract is accepted, the complete manuscript must be received by February 15, 2017. Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the APA publication manual (6th edition) and should not exceed 8,000 words including tables and references. All manuscripts will be peer reviewed, and the authors will be notified of the final acceptance/rejection decision. Please visit www.chinamediaresearch.net for more information about the quarterly journal of China Media Research, which publishes both print and online versions.

Please direct questions and submissions to the CMR special section guest editor Ivana Beveridge at Ivana.beveridge[at]sunrise-education.com

CFP Ethnic Media in the Digital Era

Call for Manuscripts for Co-Edited Volume on Ethnic Media in the Digital Era

The ethnic media sector is transforming and expanding in the digital era. It is a sector in the media industry that has seen considerable growth in the past decade, while many mainstream, legacy media have struggled to survive or ceased to exist. Ethnic media have gained more visibility among not only the larger media industry’s stakeholders (including marketing and advertising professionals) but also policymakers. This has been especially true in the U.S., but also in Canada, Australia, and across the European Union.

A confluence of factors is transforming and expanding this sector, including immigration generation shifts among some of the largest ethnic populations in immigrant-receiving countries, the increasing visibility of hybrid cultural, racial, and ethnic identities, the seemingly constant emergence of new media technologies, and the global political economy of media industries. New and emerging media projects are constantly adding diversity to the ethnic media sector, and simultaneously challenging established knowledge and expectations around what ethnic media are and what they look like, what roles they perform in the lives of their audiences, what the motivations of their producers are, what their relationship is with mainstream media, and what challenges they face as they strive to become sustainable operations in the digital era.

The Internet has challenged, and in many ways fundamentally changed, the way that media interact with their audiences, the modes of media production and competition, as well as established business models. Mainstream media have tried and tested a variety of approaches to effectively respond to these challenges and changes, with varying levels of success. Their successes and failures have and continue to be documented in academic and trade publications.

In contrast, we know less about ethnic media. For several years, academics and professionals involved in ethnic media have speculated that ethnic media are lagging behind mainstream media with respect to adoption of the Internet and the use of related technologies to produce and distribute content, communicate with their audiences, and develop new revenue streams. Some have argued that this is because ethnic media organizations tend to be smaller, local, and often non-profit entities, thereby lacking the technological know-how and the human and financial resources necessary to create and maintain online content. From a different perspective, others suggest that ethnic media may be protected from the challenges created by the Internet (e.g., cannibalization of offline content, new sources of competition) because, among other reasons, they are well-positioned in niche markets to provide valuable content, for which other media (traditional and new) cannot provide substitutes.

Another source of innovation and change in the ethnic media sector is the increasing participation of younger generations in media production, which is facilitated, at least partially, by new communication technologies. Although many ethnic media are founded by and for first-generation immigrants, an increasingly larger number of youth who adopt hyphenated and hybrid identities are creating a variety of online communicative spaces of their own such as Angry Asian Man and Racialicious (U.S.) and Schema Magazine (Canada). However, there is scant research on these new media projects.

To begin to address the aforementioned major gaps in the literature, an in-depth examination of continuities and changes in the ethnic media landscape around the globe in the digital era is necessary.

For this edited volume, the co-editors welcome manuscripts on an array of topics, such as:
-Digital divides and ethnic media
-Digital diasporas or cyber ethnic communities
-The impact of the digital revolution in the everyday lives of ethnic media audiences
-Youth, cultural/racial/ethnic hybridity, and media consumption and production
-Journalism, professional identity, and ethnic media producers
-Media competition and new business models in the digital era
-Ethnic-mainstream or interethnic media relations in the global media industries
-Communication policy, media law, and ethnic media in the digital era
-Minority languages, media, and media technologies
-Historical perspectives on technology and ethnic media

Theoretical essays, empirical studies, case studies, and policy-oriented scholarship on the abovementioned topics conducted in any geographical area of the world are welcomed. Scholarship pertaining to regions of the world less studied (e.g., Africa, East and South Asia, Central and South America), and that is comparative in nature, is encouraged. Work based on any theoretical perspective and methodological framework, and work by authors from all disciplines, including media and communication studies, journalism, sociology, political science, and economics, will be considered.

Deadline for abstract:
Please indicate interest by submitting a 500-word abstract  as a Word document attachment directly to Sherry Yu (sherry.yu@temple.edu) and Matthew Matsaganis (mmatsaganis@albany.edu) by August 31, 2016

Decision:
September 30, 2016

Deadline for full paper:
December 15, 2016

Publication: Spring 2018

A few words about the Editors:

Sherry S. Yu (PhD, Simon Fraser University, School of Communication) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Journalism, and a faculty member in the Media & Communication doctoral program at Temple University. Her research explores cultural diversity and media in relation to cultural literacy, civic engagement, and intercultural dialogue in a multicultural society, with a specific focus on ethnic media, multiculturalism, and transnational migration. Her research has been published in Journalism: Theory, Practice & Criticism, the Canadian Journal of Communication, Canadian Ethnic Studies, and PLATFORM: Journal of Media and Communication.

Matthew Matsaganis (PhD, University of Southern California, Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism) is Associate Professor in the Communication Department, and Affiliate Graduate Faculty in the Department of Informatics, at the State University of New York at Albany. He is the lead author of Understanding Ethnic Media: Producers, Consumers and Societies (Sage, 2011). His research addresses issues of ethnic media consumption, production and sustainability, the role of communication in building community capacity, health disparities and the social determinants of health, as well as the social impact of technology. His research has been published in Journalism, the International Journal of Communication, the Journal of Health Communication, the Journal of Applied Communication Research, Human Communication Research, the Electronic Journal of Communication, the Journal of Information Policy, and the American Behavioral Scientist, among other scholarly journals. Matthew is also a recovering print journalist. He has worked for a variety of publications in Athens, Greece, and New York City.

Communication Theory Book Reviews Wanted

Communication Theory
Call for Book Review Proposals

The journal Communication Theory invites book reviews of one to three texts (maximum length 1500 words) of works relevant to the topic of communication theory, particularly those contributing to diversity in perspectives. Although Communication Theory is currently limited to publication in English, this new feature seeks to promote inclusivity through reviews of publications that are themselves not available in English. We prefer proposals to review books that have been published within the last ten years. Our aim is to facilitate comprehensive dialogue across linguistic and other boundaries, on our core communication issues. Proposals for book reviews will be considered on a rolling basis. These reviews would address one to three texts in 500-1500 words.

Please send proposals to the Editor-in-Chief, Karin.wilkins[at]austin.utexas.edu, who will consult with Associate Editors in determining approval.

Communication Theory offers a distinguished global forum for dialogue on critical theoretical issues in communication, through publication of insightful and innovative articles and reviews. This journal is committed to integrity through rigorous peer-reviewed processes that promote standards of excellence. We encourage submissions that reflect and recognize strength in interdisciplinary approaches to the study of communication, that consider diversity in perspectives, and that contribute to public engagement. Research articles and reviews are appropriate when they clearly advance theoretical approaches relevant to communication scholarship. We respect and invite diversity in areas of academic interest and research approaches, as well as in gender, sexuality, ethnic, national, and regional origin.

CFP (E)-Racing Voice and Identity

Call for Chapter Proposals– (E)-Racing Voice and Identity: Communal and Divisive Aspects of Digital Media
Editors: Cerise L. Glenn & Roy Schwartzman (University of North Carolina at Greensboro).

Synopsis:
Digital media, also termed “new media,” is increasingly being used to shape racial discourses, particularly as they connect to issues of voice, identity, agency, activism, and resistance. This book will address the synergy of social media with voice, identity, and activism as they pertain to race, as well as social media’s power to widen or constrict the divides on contemporary perceptions of race. The book’s overarching focus examines how digital media shapes new understandings of traditional constructs of race, identity, community, and divisiveness, as well as how it provides new avenues for voice and
coordination of racial discourses.

Potential topics for individual chapters may include, but are not limited to:
Enacting Racial Identity and Fluidity: Racial Boundaries and Ambiguities
Learning and performing race in digital spaces
(Re)defining personal or collective racial identity via digital media
Authenticity and authority in online media
Race and class based digital divides
(Mis)representations of racial identities or behaviors online
(E)-Racing History: Remembrance and Inclusivity
Social media as tools to address social (in)justice
Roles of digital media in preserving/revising history
Digital tools in promoting legacies of racial inclusivity or marginalization
Corporate and other organizational appropriation of racial histories
Social Justice, Voice, and Mobilization
Coordination of collective action through social media
Digital dialogues centering on race and justice
Digital ways of engaging race in conjunction with other identities (e.g., gender, class, sexuality, nationality)
Interpersonal, community, national, or international methods of (dis)empowerment using digital tools
New media as ways of connecting specific ethnic groups with social causes
Media Convergence and Audience Interaction
Roles of race in online fandom and entertainment
How interactive media challenge or reinforce stereotypes
Audience appropriation of new media to rearticulate identities via mashups, remixes, etc.
Subversion of mainstream media treatments of race

Other topic areas relevant to the book’s overall theme are welcomed. All theoretical and methodological approaches are invited for consideration.

Deadline for receipt of chapter proposals and supporting materials: 1 August 2016

Proposals should be no more than 500 words plus include a complete chapter title and 3-5 keywords. In the abstract, please include: topic, explanation of material to be analyzed and/or theoretical approach, as well as preliminary findings/ theoretical points. A brief (2-3 page) CV should be included for every author. Email proposal and CV in MS Word (.doc or .docx) format to: clglenn[at]uncg.edu AND roypoet[at]gmail.com

Authors of accepted abstracts will be invited to submit full manuscripts for consideration due: 1 November 2016