The preconference "Communication and Social Change: Theory, ICTs, Media, and Francophone Spheres" aims at renewing the scholar discourse on emerging phenomena that can question the present world. But this preconference does not seek to be a space for intellectuals to talk to themselves. Some vivid examples of social change will be presented during this one-day exchange. Hence, the aim of the preconference is to bring researchers to share their knowledge concerning the practices and the theories in communication and social change.
The preconference organizer, Christian Agbobli, is professor of international and intercultural communication at Universite du Quebec a Montreal (Canada). He views the preconference as a way to develop a network of researchers around common issues targeted towards the place of communication in the faith of human beings. Consequently, he set up a scientific committee of 12 colleagues working on issues related to his interests.
The scientific committee evaluated and selected, throughout a peer-process review, proposals from 49 scholars from countries such as Australia, Cameroon, Canada, France, Morocco, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Switzerland, and Tunisia. These scholars will present various communications during the preconference. Subjects will range from "Communication for communication, against social change," to "French theory in the antipodes: Using the faits divers to unpack representations of the Cronulla riots in two Sydney newspapers" and "In Search of the Arab 'Information Society.'"
The preconference is divided into four axes, which will be presented in four different rooms. The first axis, "Communication and Social Change : A Theory for Itself and By Itself?" aims at questioning the role of communication theory as regards to its social impact. The provocative axis, chaired by Philippe Bouquillion (U of Paris 8) and Olivier Pulvar (U of Antilles-Guyane), questions the existing theories in communication and social change and wishes to confront them.
The second axis, "ICTs and Social Change," considers the role and the impact of ICTs in different geographical spheres. The chairs are Eric George (U of Ottawa) and Mustapha Masmoudi (Tunisian Communication Association (ATUCOM)).
The role of the media in the context of globalization and hybridity is the subject of the third axis, chaired by Thierry Giasson (U of Montreal) and Osee Kamga (U of Sudbury).
The fourth axis, "Francophone and Emergent Research in Communication," will cover issues such as journalism or community of practice. The axis will be chaired by Ilhem Allagui (American U of Sharjah, Dubai) and Jacques Guyot (U of Paris 8).
One of the important hallmarks of the preconference is its bilingual (English and French) status. Due to the large number of proposals in this language, French will be very prominent during the presentations and is evidence of ICA's worldwide presence. Furthermore, it reveals the vitality of francophone research in communication, a domain which needs greater attention. Agbobli believes that research in Anglophone and Francophone perspectives are working in parallel to each other. His objective is to establish common ground between these two perspectives, in order to advance research in communication.
The other hallmark is in the keynote speech, which will be given by Robert T. Craig, professor of communication at the U of Colorado at Boulder. Craig is a past president of the International Communication Association, and was founding editor of the ICA journal Communication Theory. His writings have addressed a range of topics in communication theory and philosophy, discourse studies, and argumentation. His book Theorizing Communication: Readings Across Traditions (with Heidi L. Muller) was published by Sage in 2007.
Although the axes conclude on May 22, that will not be the final word from this preconference. The scientific committee will evaluate the texts submitted and work with Agbobli to compile them into a book.
