Conference Update: Enhancing our Global Connectivity While Building our Scholarly Community in Phoenix

by Cynthia Stohl, U of California - Santa Barbara

Enhancing our global connectivity while building our scholarly community in Phoenix. That's what the last year of planning has been all about. With only a month to go, all 1,000 hotel rooms are sold out in the Sheraton (if you still need a room, check out the Spring Hill Suites or the Holiday Inn Phoenix Downtown North, only three blocks away), 2,000 papers have been downloaded onto the conference site, the virtual conference is ready to go on line, more than 300 people have signed up for ICA-sponsored tours, over 15,000 cold drinks and snacks have been ordered, and our amazing ICA staff of six has created a welcoming and supportive infrastructure to make the conference work!

From the moment you arrive at the conference until the closing debate is resolved, you will find several new additions and some small changes in the programming. They are all designed to celebrate and foster a greater sense of our ICA community, expand our scholarly connections, and to make our 62nd conference intellectually stimulating, memorable, and hopefully, great fun.

First, a visit to the exhibition hall will not only provide you the opportunity to browse the latest books and journals and enjoy the complimentary coffee/tea, cold drinks and snacks as you meet up with colleagues and friends, but also the opportunity to explore the art installation "(Im)Migration!"- Community Artists and Activists in the Face of (Im)Migration in Arizona. This exhibit is brought to ICA by the Arizona State University theatre, "The Empty Space," and cosponsored by the Innovative Inquiry Initiative of the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication. Special thanks to Amira De La Garza for organizing this community event. A large screen in the exhibition hall will also display a live feed of conference tweeting, a growing ICA community activity! Our hashtag for the conference is #ica12

Second, this year there will be badge ribbons galore. Ribbons are a way to acknowledge and introduce our new members, editors, board members, life members, sustaining members, section planners, emeritus members, sponsors, speakers, guests, exhibitors, staff fellows, and even those who don't do ribbons! This year we will also have ribbons to recognize the rich linguistic diversity within ICA. When you register you will have the opportunity to pick up as many ribbons as represent the various languages you speak. We hope this will create new connections and opportunities for all our members to meet, start a conversation, and learn about one another.

Third, in addition to more than 400 competitively selected panels, divisions and interest groups are offering intriguing new forms of "conferencing" (see the extended sessions). Many of our special sessions highlight the conference theme of Communication and Community. Musical and artistic performances, documentary films, debates, workshops, and engagement with academic, community and industry leaders promise to make Phoenix a vibrant and exciting conference.

Below are some highlights of the special community events we have planned. Check out the details on our online program.

THURSDAY:

• 6 PM Our opening plenary, "Telling Stories of Community features Kuol Awan and Diing Arok, members of the Arizona Lost Boys of Sudan Center. Our opening Welcome Reception, held at the Grotto, will follow at 7:30 PM.

FRIDAY:

• 1:30 PM Four miniplenary sessions reflect the diverse interests of ICA members.
• Shawny Anderson, Professor: "Engaging and Sustaining Community in Contexts of Extreme Need"
• Stefan Weitz, Director of Search, Microsoft: "Infusing Social Signals into Search"
• Glenn Weyant , Musician: "Sound Activism and Community at the Arizona-Mexcio Border"
• The ICA Fellows session includes presentations by four recently elected fellows: Patrice Buzzanell, James Dillard, Ron Rice, and K. Viswanath.
• 4:30 PM A special plenary session, "Creating Community combines musical performance and an interview with Jana Mashone, an award-wining Native-American singer. A reception and tequila tasting at the Heard Museum follows later that evening (a limited number of tickets are still available).
• On Friday evening we are also continuing the very popular regional and graduate student receptions.

SATURDAY:

• 12:00 PM JP Gutierrez, our new Communication Director, is leading a session "The Scholars Guide to Promoting Your Research." This is in direct response to requests by ICA members and complements a central goal for this new position, bringing communication research to the attention of the larger community.
• 1:30 PM Following the presentation of ICA awards, ICA President Larry Gross will deliver the presidential address, "Fastening Our Seatbelts: Turning Crisis into Opportunity."
• 6:00 PM Master classes led by James Curran, Stan Deetz, Mark Knapp, and Jack McLeod

SUNDAY:

• 1:30 – 2:45 The Plenary Interactive Poster Session along with a special panel on Contemporary Dangers in Practicing Journalism.
• 6:00 PM Master classes led by Chin-Chuan Lee and Dafna Lemish

MONDAY:

• 12:00 PM The closing plenary debate: "The Internet Is The End Of Communication Theory As We Know It." It is moderated by Joe Walther and features Jeremy Bailenson, Steve Jones, Carolyn Marvin, and Jack Qui. Expect to experience an entertaining, provocative, and intellectually stimulating event.

Fourth, there are many additions to, and enhancement of, our virtual conference. Starting on 14 May there will be three prerecorded plenary talks by Lance Bennett, Sonia Livingstone, and Hans Henrik Holm as well as two workshops by M. Scott Poole and Alison Bryant. More than 45 papers with commentary will be available. The authors look forward to online discussions about the papers and plenary sessions. A virtual reading room will make available free content from the latest communication publications. Each day, sessions will be live-streamed so our virtual attendees will also be able to experience conference activities as they unfold. And finally, if you are planning to arrive early, remember there are 15 preconferences being offered both on and off site as well as numerous excursions that you can sign up for on our website.

As you can see, our Phoenix conference is truly a community celebration.

I look forward to seeing you all there.