Visual Communication Studies Call:
The Visual Communication Studies Division seeks to enhance the understanding of the visual in all its forms, from still and moving images and displays in television, video, film, and photography, to art and design, print and digital media. The division provides a unique forum for the discussion of theory and research in the creation, processing, function, meaning, and critical consequences of visual representation, encompassing diverse research traditions from the social sciences and the humanities. As an area that intersects with other communication fields and ICA divisions, the Visual Communication Studies Division welcomes interdisciplinary study as well as targeted analyses of all aspects of visual representation, design, production, distribution, reception, interpretation, and the visual communication experience.
The Visual Communication Studies Division invites paper and poster (interactive paper) submissions as well as panel proposals, virtual conference session proposals, and proposals for innovative presentational formats focusing on the production, content, interpretation and reception of visuals in the broadest sense. The Division strives to be inclusive. Both empirical and theoretical submissions are encouraged. However, proposals that only nominally concern visual media, without exploring or addressing issues that are specifically visual in nature will be at a competitive disadvantage. All proposals are evaluated through a blind peer review process.
Completed papers and fully developed proposals are preferred. Extended abstracts will be taken into consideration. Extended abstracts should be substantial and represent well-developed or continuing research projects. Incomplete or sketchy proposals for nascent or future work are considered inappropriate. Please note the introduction of an extended session designed to accommodate proposals for innovative formats and/or activities.
Submission formats:
- Full Papers (10,000 words maximum, excluding tables, figures, and references). Note: Video/multimedia uploads should be embedded as links in a paper rather than as separate uploads
- Extended Abstracts (2500 words minimum)
- Interactive papers (poster presentations) (2500-10,000 words, excluding tables, figures and references)
- Panel Proposals (400-word rationale for the panel, 250-400 word abstract from each panel participant). A roundtable proposal will be considered as a panel proposal and has to be submitted in that
category. - Extended Session Proposals. Starting with the Phoenix Conference there will be opportunities for 2.5 hour extended sessions that can accommodate creative combinations of scholarly presentations, interactive and workshop experiences, including mentoring or "incubator" sessions bringing together experienced scholars and graduate students, and/or illustrative media/art/performances. The session should strive to be innovative in terms of the number of speakers/performers, level of interactivity, and range of presentation formats and styles. Experimental formats are encouraged.
- Other Innovative Format or Session Proposals (these should be submitted via the ICA Conference website with special notes included on plans and format).
- Papers and presentations that lend themselves to interactive and/or multi-media forms will also be considered for the ICA Virtual Conference, an opportunity to give work even wider visibility in conjunction with the physical conference.
All submissions (also panel proposals) should be accompanied by a file that is uploaded to the ICA Conference website. Please double-check to make sure that uploads are successful. Student submissions (a student being the first author of the proposed paper or poster) should be clearly identified as such so that they may be considered for the student paper competition. All submissions must be made online, via the ICA Conference website, no later than 23:00 EST, 1 November 2011.
Questions? Contact:
Visual Communication Studies
Michael Griffin, Chair and Program Planner
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, Minnesota 55105 USA
Phone: 651 696-6730
E-mail: mgriffi1@macalester.edu