Community Communication and Alternative Media Section - Call for Proposals

The Community Communication and Alternative Media (CAM) Section of the International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of proposals for papers and panels for IAMCR 2024, which will be held in Christchurch, New Zealand, from 30 June to 4 July 2024.

The deadline for submission is 7 February 2024, at 23h59 UTC.

See the CfPs of all sections and working groups

Theme

IAMCR conferences address many diverse topics defined by our 33 thematic sections and working groups. We also propose a single central theme to be explored throughout the conference with the aim of generating and exploring multiple perspectives. This is accomplished through plenary and special sessions, as well as in some of the sessions of the sections and working groups.

The central theme for 2024 focuses on "Whiria te tāngata / Weaving people together: Communicative projects of decolonising, engaging, and listening" - which draws upon a Maori proverb about the strength that comes through common purpose.

Consult a detailed description of the main theme

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 kinds 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 and demonstrations to community radio and (online) social networks.

The section asks questions such as:

• How do marginalized, minority, or vulnerable groups develop, adapt, use, and appropriate media and communication technologies?
• What makes citizen media and communication forms effective and sustainable?
• What are the innovative forms of media activism? Are the older forms still alive and useful?
• What are the social, economic, legal, and political contexts of community and alternative media?
• What are the most fruitful theories and research methods for studying these media and communication forms?
• Which kind of journalism do they practice? What are the links between journalism and activism?
• Do these media and communication expressions point us to new forms of networked publics, participatory democracy, and active citizenship? Are these concepts problematic?
• 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?
• How do alternative and citizen communication projects speak to the global and ecological crises that we face?
• 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 Communication and Alternative Media: Resisting, building, making: community media as a tool for radical social change

The Community Communication and Alternative Media Section welcomes contributions from all scholars and practitioners who research and work in this field and is particularly interested in submissions on the following themes, which intersect with the 2024 conference’s focus on weaving people together:

1. Building peace and community solidarities
2. Forging subaltern public spheres
3. Promoting pluralistic identities and narratives
4. Imagining alternative/progressive futures
5. Resisting hegemonic structures – economic, political, social, cultural, ecological, etc.

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 (see contact information below)

Joint sessions

In 2024, the Section will be hosting joint sessions with the Emerging Scholars Network (ESN) and with the Environment, Science & Risk working group (ESR). All submissions to either joint panel should relate to one or more of the themes above.

CAM/ESN - Papers submited to this session should have as a primary author/presenter an individual who identifies as an emerging scholar and relate to one or more of the themes above. If you are interested in this session, see the ESN call for papers and submit your proposal following the procedures outlined there.

CAM/ESR - Abstracts that align with CAM and ESR scholarship will be considered. If you are interested in this session, submit your abstract to either sponsoring unit, identifying the panel in the title of your submission (e.g., Title of Paper - A Submission to the CAM/ESR Joint Session).

Guidelines for abstracts

Abstracts are requested for papers to be presented in person at the conference in Christchurch. Abstracts submitted to the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section should have between 300 and 500 words and must be submitted online here. Abstracts submitted by email will not be accepted.

The deadline to submit abstracts is 7 February 2024, at 23.59 UTC.

It is expected that each person 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 part of any group of authors. No more than one 1 abstract can be submitted by an author to the Community Communication and Alternative Media Section. The same abstract, or a version with minor variations in title or content, must not be submitted to more than one Section or Working Group. Such submissions will be deemed to be in breach of the conference guidelines and will be rejected by the abstract submission system, by the Head of the Section or Working Group or by the Conference Programme Reviewer. Authors submitting the same work to multiple Sections or Working Groups risk being removed entirely from the conference programme.

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.

Authors of accepted abstracts have until 7 June to submit full papers.

See important dates and deadlines to keep in mind

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 multilingual.

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 our sessions in 2024. Presenters are asked to assist in this process by ensuring that supporting materials (e.g., slides) include text in a different official language to that of their oral presentation.

See resources for IAMCR conference preparation and participation

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@consultingecho.com

Vice-chair: Juan Ramos Martín
Department of Communication and Media Studies, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana
juanramosm@javeriana.edu.co