ERIC seeks papers and panel proposals that explore race, ethnicity, diaspora, and national identity within local, national and transnational contexts for the 2012 ICA conference. The Division is keen to attract submissions that engage with diverse theoretical and empirical approaches, and interdisciplinary research at the intersections of race, ethnicity, diaspora, transnationalism, class, gender, and sexuality. The location of the 2012 conference, in Phoenix, Arizona, offers the Division a unique opportunity to engage a range of issues highlighted by Arizona's newly passed - and fiercely contested - anti-immigration law, SB 1070, which, as critics argue, legitimizes racial profiling but, as polls indicate, enjoys broad support among voters in and out of Arizona. As we know all too well, however, the situation in Arizona is not unique. Indeed, what is happening in Arizona is echoed in different ways in many other places across the world. Thus, for its 2012 program, ERIC particularly encourages paper/panel submissions that draw conceptual/historical/cultural links to the situation in Arizona, and which engage with voices/tensions within the Phoenix community.
SUBMISSION FORMATS:
Research Papers. These submissions should present complete papers on previously unpublished work on a topic of obvious interest to members of the Division. Each paper should run no more than 10,000 words (not counting tables and references) and include a complete list of references. All submissions must provide a title, a 150-word abstract summarizing the topic and scholarly significance of the paper, and two or three keywords that identify the thematic focus of the work. All information identifying the author(s), including name(s), institutional affiliation(s), etc. should be removed. Student papers should be clearly marked as such on the title page. Submissions should indicate if the paper may be included on the Division's virtual or media/poster sessions for the 2012 conference (details below).
Traditional Paper Panels. These proposals should include up to four papers organized around a coherent theme that will be of obvious interest to members of the Division. If submitters wish to include a Discussant for the panel, proposals should name the same person to serve as Chair and Discussant. Panels that bring together participants from various universities, across geographical regions, and representing a mix of ranks (i.e., graduate students as well as junior and senior faculty) will be preferred. These submissions require a 400-word rationale and a 75-word description (for the conference program) summarizing the topic and scholarly significance of the session, two or three keywords that identify the thematic focus of the session, and suggested divisional and interest group co-sponsors. Proposals should include names and institutional affiliations for each participant as well as a title and 150-word abstract for each paper to be featured in the session. Submitters should indicate if the panel may be included as a virtual or media/poster session for the 2012 conference (details below).
Extended Session (new for 2012 conference). ERIC invites proposals for a single extended session that will run 2.5 hours, i.e., twice as long as a typical ICA session. Proposals for the extended session should be geared to the theme, Keywords in Ethnicity and Race, highlighting a single thematic keyword that will serve as a pivot for intellectually absorbing discussions about how ethnicity and race in communication as a field has developed, where it stands today, and where it is headed. Keywords for the extended session may include: "Borders," "Commodity," "Diaspora," "Difference," "Critical Race Feminisms," "Critical Race Theory," "Empire/Nation/Post-Colony," "History/Memory," "Intersectionality," "Media/Aesthetics," "Power/Knowledge," "Resistance/Revolution," and so on. As this list suggests, keywords for the extended session should be intellectually versatile, capable of engaging a range of methodological approaches and presentation styles, and serve to imaginatively trace conceptual, political, historical genealogies of the field.
The extended session should feature creative combinations of scholarly presentations, interactive and workshop experiences, and/or illustrative media/art/performances. The session should be designed as innovatively as possible in terms of the number of speakers/performers, level of interactivity, and range of presentation formats and styles. Experimental formats are strongly encouraged. The session should try to bring together participants from various universities/institutions, across geographical regions, and representing a mix of ranks (i.e., graduate students, junior and senior faculty, new and established artists/performers/activists, etc.). If submitters wish to include a Discussant for the session, proposals should name the same person to serve as Chair and Discussant. Submissions for the extended session require a 400-word rationale and a 75-word description (for the conference program) that clearly and coherently justify the selection of the keyword, explaining how it has shaped/continues to shape the past, present, and future of the field, and highlighting the intellectual and aesthetic breadth of the session. Proposals should include names and institutional affiliations for each participant, a title and 150-word abstract/description for each paper/performance to be featured, and suggested divisional and interest group co-sponsors.
Roundtable Sessions. These are high-density panels featuring up to eight papers organized around a coherent theme that will be of obvious interest to members of the Division. Submitters are strongly urged to choose topics that are particularly well suited to brief, punchy presentations and to select participants who are willing to present their work under the time constraints necessary for these sessions. If submitters wish to include a Discussant for the roundtable, proposals should name the same person to serve as Chair and Discussant. Roundtables that bring together participants from various universities, across geographical regions, and representing a mix of ranks (i.e., graduate students as well as junior and senior faculty) will be preferred. These submissions require a 400-word rationale and a 75-word description (for the conference program) summarizing the topic and scholarly significance of the session, two or three keywords that identify the thematic focus of the session, and suggested divisional and interest group co-sponsors. Proposals should include names and institutional affiliations for each participant as well as a title and 150-word abstract for each paper to be featured in the session. Submitters should indicate if the panel may be included as a virtual or media/poster session for the 2012 conference (details below).
Virtual Sessions. All research papers and panel proposals submitted to the Division should indicate whether submitters are willing to have their papers/panels included among the Division's virtual sessions for the 2012 conference. The virtual sessions have the potential to play a particularly dynamic role at the 2012 conference, given that some ERIC members have proposed to boycott Phoenix as a form of political protest. ERIC is sympathetic to the concerns of these members and proposes to organize two or three virtual sessions, which would allow scholars to participate in the 2012 proceedings without needing to travel to Arizona. Members proposing to boycott the 2012 conference are strongly urged to submit papers/propose panels for consideration among the Division's virtual sessions.
Media/Poster Session. All research papers and panel proposals submitted to the Division should indicate whether submitters are willing to have their papers/panels included in the Division's media/poster session for the 2012 conference. ERIC will consider research papers as well as entire panel proposals for the Division's media/poster session at the 2012 conference. Submitters are strongly urged to propose papers/panels that are particularly well suited to the visual/interactive format of the media/poster session and to select participants who will present their work making the best use of these formats.
DEADLINES:
All submissions are due online no later than 23:00 EST on November 1, 2011. To reach the conference website, go to the ICA home page at http://www.icahdq.org and follow the link for Conference Submission. ICA's Call for Papers include general guidelines for submissions, and is available online at http://www.icahdq.org/conf/index.asp. It is essential that you read the instructions carefully and prepare your submission prior to logging on. To avoid technical problems, early submission is strongly encouraged. The 2012 submission website will go online in early September 2011. ICA will send acceptance/rejection notices to submitters by mid-January 2012.
EXCLUSIVE SUBMISSION:
Papers and panel proposals submitted to ERIC may not be submitted simultaneously to any other ICA Division, Interest Group, or as a "theme" paper/session for the 2012 conference. Submitters are welcome, however, to submit as many as three different papers and/or panel proposals to ERIC.
TOP PAPERS/TRAVEL AWARDS:
Based on submission ranks as yielded through the review process, ERIC will confer "top paper" awards for the three highest ranked papers. The Division will also offer student travel awards based on ranking and financial need. In order to be considered for any award, the recipient must be a member of the Division.
Questions? Contact:
Myria Georgiou
Leeds U Institute of Communications Studies
Houldsworth Building
Leeds LS2 9JT UNITED KINGDOM
Phone: 44 113 343 5858
Fax: 44 113 343 5808
E-mail: m.georgiou@leeds.ac.uk