Peripheries and Connections: Media, Communication, and Transformation
The International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) invites the submission of abstracts for its 2026 conference, to be held from 28 June to 2 July 2026 in Galway, Ireland, hosted by the University of Galway. The deadline for submission is 3 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC.
IAMCR conferences cover a wide range of topics defined by our thematic Sections and Working Groups (S/WG). Each year, a central theme invites participants to engage in shared reflection across these diverse areas, fostering dialogue and collaboration. Additional themes are defined by the sections and working groups. See the specific CfP of any of the sections or working groups.
Central theme
The 2026 central theme, Peripheries and Connections: Media, Communication, and Transformation, addresses the complexities of contemporary media systems in a polarised and interconnected world. By interrogating the tensions between centrality and marginality—whether geographical, cultural, political, or conceptual—this theme aligns with IAMCR’s commitment to fostering critical and inclusive dialogues across diverse perspectives. Hosting the conference in Galway, a city renowned for its cultural hybridity, creative legacy, and postcolonial identity, underscores the unique positioning of Ireland as a site of intersecting narratives.
Participants are encouraged to explore how marginality and global interconnection shape media and communication systems. The theme seeks to generate dialogue on the ways media navigate and challenge boundaries, both geographical and conceptual, in an era of rapid global transformation.
By emphasising intersections between the global and the local, IAMCR 2026 will provide a platform for reimagining media’s role in addressing critical challenges such as climate change, migration, representation, and digital inequalities. Building on the University’s role as an Ambassador for the Sustainable Development Goals, IAMCR 2026 will explicitly address the crucial role of media in fostering sustainable development.
The inequalities and imbalances shaping global media landscapes require urgent attention. Peripheries, conceptualised as geographic, economic, cultural, or political margins, are often sites of resistance, creativity, and innovation. Drawing on foundational theories of marginality and hybridity (e.g., Appadurai, Tufekci, Mouffe, Kraidy, Nederveen Pieterse), this theme particularly invites insights from decolonial, feminist, and Global South scholars. These perspectives reveal how marginalised spaces function as crucibles of innovation and resistance, challenging dominant global media narratives and advancing alternative frameworks for power, identity, and community.
However, not all groups at the margins seek to resist the centre; some actively pursue alignment with established centres of power, often in efforts to secure their own inclusion. This ambivalence can generate friction and tension, as different actors navigate between adaptation and opposition in pursuit of legitimacy and recognition.
Equally, what was once peripheral can become central—and we may be witnessing such global realignments today, with profound implications for how both media and resistance might evolve in the near future. There is an inherent uncertainty, then, in what constitutes the periphery and how these terrains can shift, sometimes rapidly and dramatically.
IAMCR 2026 will continue the Association’s tradition of fostering dialogue across borders, disciplines, and perspectives to advance critical understanding of media and communication in our changing world.
Guidelines for abstracts
Abstracts must be submitted to a section or working group exclusively through IAMCR's submission system from 28 November 2025 through 3 February 2026 at 23:59 UTC.
Submissions do not have to address the central theme. See the calls for proposals of individual sections and working groups for additional information about their themes.
Abstracts should be between 800 and 1000 words, unless a Section or Working Group establishes its own guidelines in this respect.
It is expected that each person will submit only one abstract. However, no author’s name should appear on more than two abstracts, either individually or as co-author. Authors may not submit more than one abstract to any given section or working group nor may they submit the same abstract, or a version with minor variations in title or content, 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. Authors submitting the same work to multiple Sections or Working Groups may be removed entirely from the conference programme.
Specific technical guidelines, if any, are defined by the individual Sections and Working Groups. Before submitting, consult the specific CfP of the Section or Working Group or contact the heads of the Section and Working Group.
Evaluation criteria
Submitted abstracts will generally be evaluated on the basis of:
- Technical merit
- Readability
- Originality and/or significance
- Use of or contribution to theory
- Depth of knowledge of the research, theory and/or literature related to to the proposed topic as evidenced in the submission
- Relevance to the section or working group and current trends or controversies in its field
Acceptance of proposals may also be conditioned by programme diversity and balance criteria. Individual Sections and Working Groups may use additional criteria and may assign different weights to the above criteria.
Languages
Different sections and working groups have different policies regarding languages. Some accept abstracts and programme sessions in English, French and Spanish while others conduct their programmes in only one or two languages. Consult the CfP of your section or working group for details of its language policy.
Statement on use of AI tools
IAMCR does not encourage or condone the use of generative AI tools to prepare abstracts submitted for consideration for our conferences. IAMCR values originality, integrity, and transparency in academic work, and believes that human-authored contributions best support rigorous and innovative scholarship in media and communication research. Should an author choose to use a generative AI tool in the preparation of an abstract, we require that they include a clear statement within their submission disclosing the tool's use. This statement must specify: (1) the name of any AI tool used; (2) how the tool was used in preparing the abstract, and; (3) the reason for using the tool. Failure to disclose the use of generative AI in accordance with these guidelines may impact the evaluation and acceptance of the submission.
Intention to attend
Each abstract submitted to IAMCR represents a real cost to the Association and contributes to the workload of volunteer reviewers and organisers. As the number of submissions each year far exceeds the available presentation slots, we ask authors to submit only if they genuinely intend to attend and present their work at the conference if accepted.
Deadlines and key dates
The submission platform will open on 28 November 2025 and the deadline to submit proposals is 3 February 2026, at 23:59 UTC. For other key dates see https://iamcr.org/galway2026/keydates. Dates are subject to change.
