Conference Call for Proposals

Submission Deadline:  Friday, January 20, 2012

Conference Date: Thursday, April 5 – Friday, April 6, 2012

Conference Location: James Madison University, Harrisonburg, VA

The School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication at James Madison University welcomes proposals from graduate students in any discipline for a two-day symposium exploring all facets of communication. The theme of this year’s symposium is intercultural communication. We are defining intercultural very broadly to include across disciplines and communities, as well as across national boundaries.

Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

• intercultural communication in a globalized world
• communication norms and discourse communities
• the challenge of cross-cultural communication
• communication and cultural values
• globalization and global media
• media framing of global politics and culture
• cross-cultural training
• public relations and diplomacy
• diversity and communication in a global society
• intercultural communication and foreign policy
• communication and media convergence
• intercultural awareness in communication

Formats for presentations include 15-minute panel papers, research posters, and multimedia displays. 

This year, the keynote speaker for the symposium is Dr. Kirk St. Amant, associate professor of Technical and Professional Communication at East Carolina State University, and a faculty member with ECU’s Master’s of Arts in International Studies (MAIS) program. His research focuses on international and intercultural communication as it relates to online media and includes international virtual workplaces, international outsourcing/offshoring, and the effects of globalization on online education.

Proposals for presentations should be submitted electronically as an attachment in '.doc' format by Friday, January 20, 2012, to communicationsymposium@gmail.com. In the email, please indicate which type of format presentation your proposal addresses.