COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION AND ALTERNATIVE MEDIA SECTION - CALL FOR PROPOSALS 2022

The Community Communication and Alternative Media Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2022, which will be held online from 11 to 15 July 2022. The conference will also have a national hub at Tsinghua University in Beijing. The deadline for submission is 9 February 2022, at 23.59 UTC.

See the CfPs of all sections and working groups >

Conference Themes

IAMCR conferences have a main conference theme (with several sub-themes) that is explored from multiple perspectives throughout the conference in plenaries, in the programmes of our sections and working groups, and in the Flow34 virtual cinema and podcasts stream. They also have many themes defined by our 33 thematic sections and working groups. Proposals submitted to sections and working groups may be centered on an aspect of the main conference theme as it relates to the central concerns of the section or working group, or they may address the additional themes identified by the section or working group in their individual calls for proposals.

The main theme for IAMCR 2022, “Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalisation: Reorientations, Challenges and Changing Contexts,” is concerned with possibilities for rethinking communication research agendas in the post-pandemic world, which has seen dramatic shifts in the way we interact and understand our physical, social, cultural, political and material environments.

Eight sub-themes of this central theme have been identified: Reorienting Media and Communication Research in the Era of Neo-Globalisation; Artificial Intelligence in Global Communication Contexts; Cultural Identities and Dis-Identities in the Era of Neo-Globalisation; Communication for Sustainability: Climate Change, Environment, and Health; Media Ethics and Principles in the Digital Age; Media, Communication, and the Construction of Global Public Health; Data/Digital Science and Intercultural Communication; Digital Platforms and Public Service: Science, Technology and Sustainability. See the complete theme description and rationale here.

The Community Communication and Alternative Media Section (CAM) brings together research on community, alternative and citizens’ media and communication forms, media and digital activism, and other forms of civil society-based communication. It considers a wide range of non-governmental and non-commercial communication practices such as do-it-yourself media; media by, for, and with geographical communities and communities of interest; indigenous/First Nations media; social movements’ communication; digital resistance, techno-politics, and social media protests; counter-cultural and culture jamming expressions; media surveillance and watchdogs; and participatory communication and media that form a ‘third sector’ distinct from public service and commercial media. Such practices may use a variety of communication technologies and forms, from print newsletters to mobile phones, from group communication or demonstrations to community radio and (online) social networks. 

The section asks questions such as: 

1. How do marginalized or vulnerable groups develop, adapt, use, and appropriate media and communication technologies? 
2. What makes citizen media and communication forms effective and sustainable? 
3. What are the innovative forms of media activism? Are the older forms still alive and useful? 
4. What are the social, economic, legal, and political contexts of community and alternative media? 
5. What are the most fruitful theories and research methods for studying these media and communication forms? 
6. Which kind of journalism do they practice? What are the links between journalism and activism?
7. Do these media and communication expressions point us to new forms of networked publics, participatory democracy, and active citizenship? Are these concepts problematic?
8. What do we learn from citizen & community media? How do we integrate community communication in the Higher education curriculum? Community engagement is central to our work: how does the neoliberal context challenge or constrain scholarship in our area? 
9. How do alternative and citizen communication projects speak to the global & ecological crises that we face? 
10. How does community communication understand interculturality and create connections with communities in mobility: migrants, refugees, diasporas, etc.? 

The section welcomes current research conducted with grassroots and systemically marginalized communities and social justice movements. CAM is a large, diverse, open, and friendly section. We are committed to the discussion of current practices and challenges facing social justice communications, the development of appropriate research approaches that can be useful for grassroots communities and social and environmental justice movements. 

Community Media: Negotiations and Resistances in the Era of Neo-Globalisation

The Community Communication and Alternative Media Section welcomes contributions from all scholars who research and work in this field and is particularly interested in submissions on the following themes, which intersect with the 2022 conference’s focus on reorientations, challenges, and changing contexts: 

1. Alternative media, socio-ecological transition, and public participation;
2. Media, data and techno-activism;
3. Community media, the right to communicate, and the role of emergent actors: feminist groups, environmental activists, and social justice movements of racial, religious, and other minority groups, indigenous communities, etc.;
4. New digital practices in citizen media: from vlogs to podcasting;
5. Community networks (e.g. people’s telecom and Internet) and community media;
6. Strategies for sustainability and resilience in the face of myriad global crises.

In the spirit of our commitment to dialogue and community, we actively encourage proposals for roundtables and other formats, such as film screenings and virtual exhibitions, that will encourage active participation by conference attendees. Contact the Head of the section for proposals in different formats (details below).

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts are requested for the Online Conference Papers component. Abstracts submitted to the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online at https://iamcr2022.exordo.com. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.

The deadline to submit abstracts is 9 February 2022 at 23h59 UTC.

See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind

It is expected that authors will submit only one (1) abstract. However, under no circumstances should there be more than two (2) abstracts bearing the name of the same author, either individually or as first author. No more than one 1 abstract can be submitted by an author to the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section. Please note also that the same abstract or another version with minor variations in title or content must not be submitted to more than one section or working group. Any such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected.

Proposals are accepted for both single Papers and for Panels with several papers (in which you propose multiple papers that address a single theme). Please note that there are special procedures for submitting panel proposals. You can find the detailed procedures when submitting your abstract online in the abstract submission system.

If your abstract is accepted, you will need to submit your full conference paper (1,000 to 4,000 words) by 7 June 2022, in order to be included in the programme.

Languages

The Community Communication and Alternative Media Section accepts abstracts in English, French and Spanish. You can submit the abstract and the full paper (if accepted) in any of these three languages. Papers will be organized in groups according to the themes they have in common, and these will be multi-lingual.

In line with the section’s existing practice of facilitating ‘whisper translation’ of sessions where possible, we will make every effort to provide some form of informal translation support in online sessions in 2022.

For further information about the conference contact beijing2022 [at] iamcr.org

For further information about the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section, its themes, submissions, and panels please contact the Head of the section:

Co-Chair: Amparo Cadavid
School of Communication, UNIMINUTO, Colombia
amparo.cadavid [at] consultingecho.com

Co-Chair: Vinod Pavarala
UNESCO Chair on Community Media / University of Hyderabad, India 
vpavarala [at] gmail.com

Vice-chair: Alejandro Barranquero 
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
abarranq [at] hum.uc3m.es

Vice-chair: Andrew Ó Baoill 
School of English and Creative Arts, 
National University of Ireland Galway
andrew.obaoill [at] nuigalway.ie