CSCA
CSCA 2021 Annual Conference
You are cordially invited to attend our 90th Annual Convention, which will take place March 23 – March 28, 2021. Competitive papers, panel discussions, and performance sessions will reflect on the theme of Inspire.
Our many roles as teachers and scholars ask a great deal from us intellectually, emotionally, and relationally. Our annual conference provides us an opportunity to pause, reflect, connect, and reconnect with one another and with what inspired us to choose these lives we lead. When the conference is at its best, our connections often help us to reinvigorate our energy so that we can return to our homes to offer energy to our students, our colleagues, our families and friends, and our work. This is particularly true as we navigate through and out of the COVID-19 pandemic. How does our work inspire other individuals, communities, organizations, and societies toward their aspirations? How can we inspire our students? One another?
Central States is a space that is reinvented every time we gather together at the conference, every time we talk with a colleague, and every time we share our research, our teaching ideas, and our very selves. We are not a perfect organization. How can we inspire one another to create a welcoming space for all our members?
Faculty, students, independent scholars, and community members are all encouraged to attend the convention. Institutional and community partnerships are particularly welcome. Membership registrations are now open for the 2021 calendar year, so now is a great time to join or renew your membership at https://www.csca-net.org/aws/CSCA/pt/sp/join.
For questions about the 2021 annual conference, please contact Debbie Ford, 2021 primary program planner, at DebraFord@creighton.edu.
Call for Nominations for 2nd Vice President and Member-at-Large
Members of the CSCA Nominating Committee invite self- and other nominations for 2nd Vice President and Executive Committee Member-at-Large positions. The 2nd Vice President will serve with members of the Executive Committee and will have the opportunity to plan the 2024 convention before assuming the presidency the following year. The Member-at-Large serves a two-year term on the CSCA Executive Committee, providing governance for the organization. For more information, visit https://csca-net.org/aws/CSCA/pt/sp/bylaws.
All individuals nominated must be CSCA members at the time of nomination. To self-nominate, please send a letter of interest describing your experience and goals for serving the association in the office you are seeking, along with your curriculum vita. If you wish to nominate another person, please have them send their letter of interest and curriculum vita and forward these materials with your nomination letter. All nomination packets should be submitted to Eddah M. Mutua, Chair, CSCA Nominating Committee, at emmutua@stcloudstate.edu by no later than January 15, 2021.
Call for Applications/Nominations for Editor of Communication Studies (2022-2024)
The Central States Communication Association (CSCA) is seeking nominations for the Editor of Communication Studies, 2022-2024. The next editor is responsible for issues published in 2022; this will necessitate a transition to the editorship and training on ScholarOne in spring and summer 2021. Self-nominations are encouraged. To be considered, nominees should be housed at a program that will offer the necessary support.
Requirements and Responsibilities
The Editor must be a CSCA member at the time of application/nomination and must maintain membership in the association throughout the editorial term. The Editor must attend all CSCA conventions throughout the term. Additional responsibilities include the following:
- Assembling an Editorial Board.
- Promoting submissions to Communication Studies.
- Promoting articles published in Communication Studies.
- Increasing the scope and impact of Communication Studies.
- Providing timely decisions and suitable feedback to authors via ScholarOne.
- Assembling issues according to Taylor & Francis’ publication schedule.
- Selecting special issue topics and editors.
- Providing annual reports to the Executive Committee.
- Serving as a member of the CSCA Executive Committee.
Applications should include the following: 1) a letter of nomination/self-nomination describing the candidate’s qualifications and editorial philosophy, as well as declaring a willingness to serve as editor of Communication Studies (2022-2024); 2) current vita with emphasis on scholarly activity and service to the profession; and 3) a letter of institutional support (noting such items as student assistance, course releases, and financial support, etc. as applicable). The deadline for submission is January 31, 2021 and review of nominations will begin in February 2021.
Pre-interviews with applicants/nominees and select members of the Executive Committee may occur via telephone or an online meeting platform. Finalists for the position will interview with the entire Executive Committee in March 2021 via an online meeting platform.
Please note that CSCA has made a commitment to equity and inclusion. As such, those who demonstrate a respect for a wide range of scholarship and/or who can bring diverse and inclusive views to the journal and Executive Committee will especially be considered. Additionally, individuals who can expand on the internationalization efforts of the journal will be welcomed.
Nominations and/or questions are to be submitted to CSCA President Alberto González via email (agonzal@bgsu.edu) by January 31, 2021.
CSCA Award Calls
CSCA is currently accepting submissions for the following 2021 awards. Full award calls can be found at https://www.csca-net.org/aws/CSCA/pt/sp/awards.
Cooper Award (Deadline: December 1, 2020): This award is named after former CSCA President Pamela J. Cooper and is presented to one M.A. level graduate teaching assistant and one Ph.D. level graduate teaching assistant in recognition of excellent teaching by a graduate student. Queries and submissions should be addressed to Committee Chair Ronald Greene at green179@umn.edu.
Federation Prize (Deadline: December 1, 2020): This prize promotes intellectual development and Communication scholarship by awarding a cash prize of (up to) $5,000 to selected research proposals authored by a CSCA member. Queries and submissions should be addressed to Committee Chair Steve Hunt at skhunt2@ilstu.edu.
Hall of Fame (Deadline: February 1, 2021): This award and membership in the CSCA Hall of Fame is given to those who have contributed to the discipline of Communication through meritorious scholarship, teaching/mentoring, participation at conventions, and service to the association. Queries and submissions should be addressed to CSCA President Alberto González at agonzal@bgsu.edu.
Jack Kay Award for Community Engagement and Applied Communication Scholarship (Deadline: December 1, 2020): This award recognizes individual Communication scholars who have achieved notable records of success in applying their work to confront issues of social injustice, inequality, intolerance, and prejudice. Queries and submissions should be addressed to Committee Chair Jeff Tyus at jltyus@ysu.edu.
Pearson and Nelson Outstanding New Teacher Award (Deadline: December 1, 2020): This award recognizes individuals early in their professional career who are showing distinction as teachers. Submissions and inquiries should be addressed to Committee Chair Diana Trebing at dtrebing@svsu.edu.
Warren Mentorship Award (Deadline: December 15, 2020): This award, named in honor of the late and beloved Dr. John T. Warren, recognizes a mid-career scholar who exhibits some of the many virtues John himself exuded as a mentor, scholar, and engaged member of the discipline. Submissions and inquiries should be addressed to Committee Chair Lara Martin Lengel at lengell@bgsu.edu.
SSCA
Call for Submissions: Theodore Clevenger Undergraduate Honors Conference
91st Annual Southern States Communication Association Conference
April 7-11, 2021
Norfolk, VA
Hilton Norfolk The Main
The 31st annual Theodore Clevenger Undergraduate Honors Conference (UHC) will take place during the Southern States Communication Association’s annual meeting in Norfolk, VA, April 7-11, 2021. The UHC provides an opportunity for outstanding undergraduate students to present their research and engage in conversations about their scholarship and future research topics with faculty and fellow students. The goals for the UHC include supporting excellence in undergraduate scholarship, providing opportunities for participants to network and exchange ideas with other scholars, and to explore graduate study opportunities. Undergraduate students are invited to submit papers for the UHC on any topic relevant to the study of human communication. Past conference participants represent a wide range of colleges and universities, and their communication-related research has represented rhetoric; social science; humanistic, critical, and performative approaches; and/or applied communication. We especially welcome papers or projects that connect to the conference theme, “Harboring Hope: Rebuilding through Communication.”
The submission deadline for the UHC is December 11, 2020.
The UHC will include at least one panel dedicated to digital and/or applied projects that are research-based, demonstrating, illustrating, or interrogating aspects of rhetorical, media, performance and/or communication theory and practice. Public relations campaigns addressing the 2021 Norfolk, VA, SSCA Conference (promoting SSCA and the conference location for faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students) are also welcome as part of this special call. Submissions must adhere to the stipulations for projects indicated below.
- Any student who is currently enrolled as an undergraduate student is eligible to submit a paper or project, but only ONE submission is permitted per student, whether submitted individually or as a group.
- In the case of multiple-authored papers or projects, one student must be designated as the submitting/presenting author, and, again, no student may present more than one paper or project.
- Submissions from anyone other than the author(s) will disqualify the paper or project from review.
- All submissions must be original, and cannot have been previously presented at SSCA, or any other state, regional, or national academic conferences.
- Please note that the submission of a paper or project implies the author’s commitment to register for and fully participate in the conference if the paper or project is selected. Attending and presenting at a conference is an honor, and not attending, if selected, goes against professional ethical practices. In addition to their own panel, participants should plan to attend other research panels throughout the conference, as well as the Saturday morning UHC breakfast.
Papers:
- Must be double-spaced in 12-point font and formatted with standard one-inch margins.
- Submissions should not exceed 25 pages (including all references, figures, tables, and appendices), should avoid sexist or racist language, and should include an abstract of 100-150 words.
- The identity of the author(s) or institution should not appear anywhere in the paper.
Projects:
Whether a case study, applied research project, campaign, film, or applied, digital, or performance project, the project length must conform to one of the following two stipulations:
- Either (1) the entire project can be uploaded in the online submission system,
- or (2) the author(s) will prepare a written description of the project and provide sample screen shots of the project, in an uploadable file, and adhering to the stipulations for papers indicated above.
- In other words, applied projects may need to be condensed for reviewing purposes. The exception to this would be film projects, which may be submitted with a YouTube link. Any film/video/audio or recorded performance projects submitted should not exceed 10 minutes in length. Please note that PowerPoint presentations are not acceptable as digital projects, or as a mechanism for submitting other projects.
All paper and project submissions should be submitted through the online submission site, following all of the guidelines listed there. If you have any questions, please contact Tina M. Harris at tharris4@lsu.edu. Please include “UHC Submission Question” in the subject line.
WSCA
Update on WSCA Plans in Pandemic Times
By Christina G. Yoshimura, President-Elect
In light of our challenging times, the Western States Communication Association will be offering free renewal memberships for the 2021 year to anyone who was registered as a WSCA member in 2020, and free memberships to any graduate students who would like to join WSCA regardless of prior membership. For anyone else who was not a member during 2020, we are offering memberships at 50 percent off the regular price. Memberships include subscriptions to the Western Journal of Communication and Communication Reports.
In light of our postponement of the 2021 conference until 2022, we have asked all committee members/chairs and interest group leaders to join our Executive Council and elected officials in continuing in their roles for an additional year. In addition to postponing our annual convention, we are also postponing association awards, with the exception of the B. Aubrey Fisher Outstanding Journal Article Award. We believe that this best meets our practice of fully recognizing award-winners during our annual luncheon and heralding them as a community. We very much look forward to soliciting nominations for our awards next year, and any nominations submitted for this year will be considered at that time as well.
We are doing our best in uncertain times, but we know that we will do better with your feedback. So please, contact Christina Yoshimura at christina.yoshimura@umontana.edu to let us know what we can do to reduce uncertainty and to help meet your needs and the needs of the association.