74th Annual ICA Conference | 20-24 June 2024 | Gold Coast, Australia
Communication and Global Human Rights
The purpose of ICA 2024 Annual Conference’s theme, Communication and Global Human Rights is threefold: to take stock of the contributions of communication scholarship to the study of human rights; to foreground current research and practice; and to outline promising directions for communication studies.
All submissions should focus on the topic of Communication and Global Human Rights. Papers on the conference theme can be submitted to be part of panels to the conference chair.
Panel proposals should be cross-divisional, with participation across ICA divisions and interest groups. Panel proposals must include a 500-word rationale explaining how the panel fits the conference theme plus a separate 150-word summary of the rationale to appear in the conference program. All panel submissions should include contributions from at least two different countries; not more than one contributor from a single faculty, department or school; and consider diversity among panelists.
Submissions deemed to fit only the interests of one division or interest group rather than the conference as a whole will be forwarded to that group for consideration. Papers or panels submitted to the theme must not be submitted simultaneously for consideration to any division or interest group.
Deadline
The submission management system will go live on 1 September. All submissions and proposals must be completed online no later than 1 November @ 12:00 (noon) ICA headquarters time (EDT). To avoid technical problems, early submission is strongly encouraged.
Popular Media and Culture (PMC) division is a forum for scholarly investigation, analysis, and dialogue among communication and media researchers interested in a wide variety of communication forms, phenomena and strategic systems of symbols within the context of contemporary popular culture. Division members employ a range of critical and empirical methods to understand diverse popular communication acts, artifacts, products and processes that constitute, entertain, inform and/or persuade audiences. We are an open-minded, international community of scholars invested in questions of ideology, identity, resistance, power and pleasure in the domain of popular culture.
General submission information
For the 2024 annual conference, the PMC division invites papers, panels, roundtables, and extended abstracts from scholars in all career phases, but especially those from traditionally underrepresented groups in academia. Papers can address the 2024 Conference theme, but can also focus on other topics that advance discussions in popular media and culture. Following requests in our latest business meeting, we will also accept research escalator extended abstracts.
Submissions must adhere to the guidelines in the ICA general call for papers. Authors are not allowed to submit previously published papers. Please also make sure to anonymize your submission or it will be automatically disqualified.
It is also very important for you to choose the right keywords to represent your manuscript. These keywords are used to select reviewers for your submission. The more specific you can be, the better the match between reviewers and submission.
Submission of the same paper to multiple divisions is strictly prohibited. Submission of material that does not meet Division requirements will result in automatic rejection.
Submission formats
Full papers: Full papers should not exceed 8,000 words (+/- 25 pages) in length; tables, images, appendices, and reference do not count toward this limit. Papers should be in 12-point type, double-spaced, with 1-inch margins and with all identifying marks removed (i.e., blinded manuscript). Please note that accepted full papers may be scheduled either on panels or in an interactive (“poster”) session.
Panel proposals: Panels may include four or five papers, or four papers with a respondent. Panel proposals should include contributions from at least two different countries, feature gender balance, and include not more than one contributor from a single faculty, department or school. These points are all based on the honor system. Please follow these guidelines yourself, as well, in creating your own panels as well as putting together paper sessions.
Roundtable proposals: Roundtable sessions involve more speakers/session leaders (6-10) who give shorter, more informal presentations of their work. Roundtables are intended to provide more time for audience interaction/discussion. Submissions should articulate specifically why a roundtable format is optimal and provide a clear rationale for how audience interactivity will enhance these sessions.
Extended abstracts (2,500-3,500 words) with a full paper submitted at least 6 weeks prior to the conference in May. Extended abstracts are intended for work in progress, offering the opportunity to present ongoing research. Extended abstracts should present in a concise way the purpose of the paper, main theoretical framework/ assumptions and, if applicable, research methods and preliminary and/or expected results. Extended abstracts should clearly state the contribution of the paper to popular media and culture. Submitters must delete all identifying information before submitting an extended abstract.
We are open to proposals for alternative formats, but these should be discussed with the Division’s Conference Program Planner Dr César Jiménez-Martínez before being submitted for review. Popular Media and Culture does not accept paper abstracts in lieu of paper submissions.
Importantly, panel and roundtable submissions should cohere around a single topic (one that is timely, and directly relevant to the division), with each paper/presenter providing a distinct perspective. Panels should aim to reflect and juxtapose different interregional, international, transnational, and global perspectives. Proposals whose participants and topics reflect the cultural, geographical, and gender diversity of the Division’s scholarly community, and which include both junior and senior scholars, will be viewed most favorably. Sessions consisting of multiple panelists from a single institution are strongly discouraged, as are panels that closely mirror one from a recent ICA, in either composition or topic.
Proposals for panel and roundtable sessions must include the following:
1. A 400-word abstract for the panel.
2. A 150-word abstract for each of the papers on the panel followed by a very brief (< 100 word) description of each panelist’s background and qualifications regarding the proposed topic.
3. A 75-word description of the panel for the conference program.
4. A 200-word rationale is optional for panel proposals and should be used only if there is a need to explain something above and beyond what has been included in other aspects of the proposal (e.g. a unique format, further clarification of how the papers fit together, connection to an external event, etc.). Roundtable proposals must include a rationale that speaks to why a roundtable is the preferred format.
ICA’s submission system may offer different word length limits, but the limits stated above take precedence.
If the work is accepted by the division, it is expected that you will present it as a registered attendee at the conference.
Research Escalator Extended Abstracts
The Research Escalator is a mentorship opportunity for early career scholars, those new to ICA, or scholars with a work-in-progress to receive feedback and support on a project that is being developed, with the goal of eventually turning into a conference submission or journal article.
We are particularly interested in Research Escalator submissions from early-career researchers, and especially PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. If you are interested, you should submit an extended abstract (max. 600 words) of your paper, not including title, abstract, tables, figures, and references. You will submit this by choosing the “Extended Abstract” option in ScholarOne, and adding “Research Escalator” in your paper title and in your title page (e.g. Research Escalator: Paper Title). Please delete all identifying information before submitting your abstract.
During the conference, time will be set aside specifically for the research escalator meetings. Submitters will meet with their mentors in one-on-one mentorship meetings to discuss their feedback on the submission (audience members are welcome and encouraged to attend these conversations).
If the abstract is selected for mentorship, submitters are expected to send the most recent version of their paper to their mentor 6 weeks prior to the conference so that they have sufficient time to review the manuscript.
Scholars interested in mentoring at the Research Escalator should email the PMC division program planner.
How to submit:
Reviews -we need you!!
We are a community of researchers. It is therefore expected that everyone who submits to the Popular Media and Culture Division will also volunteer to review papers.
In your general profile set-up, please do not forget to select “yes” to review, and select keywords belonging to our division. This is very important, so we can match papers with your interests and expertise.
If you are submitting a panel or roundtable proposal, be sure to remind fellow panel members also to volunteer to review for the Division.
Unfortunately, a few scholars have not contributed to review in past conferences, and some have even ignored our emails when we have enquired their reasons. Please do not be like them! Be a good citizen and if you can do a couple of extra reviews, let us know: c.a.jimenez@lse.ac.uk
