the emerging scholars network (esn) invites you to participate in the 2009 international conference of the iamcr from july 21^st – 24^th in mexico city, mexico. 200 to 500 word abstracts are NOW DUE FEB 16^th, 2009.

this year's theme is “human rights and communication” (see the conference site for full description).

we call for general academic papers in communication as well as papers addressing the relationships among media and contemporary global divides, be they historically founded or emergent phenomena. we welcome in particular work that explores the pivotal, but still under-researched, roles of the media with regard to today’s global inequalities. these divides can be seen in the context of an emerging new world order. relevant work can be related to all kinds of divides, the digital one perhaps being he most noted, that have also developed in the world’s media structures. these divides are technological and social, and generated by markets and socio-political orders. they are reflected in an array of media genres and formats and in the segmentation of national, regional and worldwide audiences, corresponding for instance to elite and popular media outputs.

esn is a section dedicated to the work and careers of emerging scholars. we especially look for works in progress from graduate students and new university instructors/professors who are interested in substantial feedback and comments intended to advance their projects.

esn organizes emerging scholar panels and joint panels with other sections. our emerging scholar panels provide a comfortable environment for the presentation of theses and works in progress, where emerging scholars can receive feedback from colleagues also at the beginning of their careers and from senior scholars who act as respondents to individual papers. we also organize joint panels with other sections such as the community communication section, the communication policy and technology section, and the journalism research and education section.

we also coordinate a mentorship program for emerging scholars who would benefit from linkages with senior scholars. this program addresses publication techniques, teaching opportunities, professional involvement, and other issues. if you are interested in connecting with a mentor, please contact the section co-chair, stefania milan at stefania.milan [at] eui.eu.

submission guidelines:

¨      each abstract may be submitted to one section only. you are not permitted to submit the same abstract to multiple sections.

¨      submission instructions can be found at www.iamcr2009mexico.unam.mx/english/call-for-papers.html. we have a new system for submission online. questions can be addressed to the section chair, sara bannerman at sara.bannerman [at] gmail.com.

¨      submissions must include: paper title, paper section (esn), and for each author: author name, title (graduate student, professor, etc.), affiliation (school or organization), affiliation address, author e-mail address.

¨      each abstract may only be submitted to a single section. if you submit the same abstract to two different sections you will be removed from consideration for the conference.

please make sure to spell-check your submissions, and review for clarity. we are looking for abstracts that demonstrate both a well thought-out project with careful research backing it, and professional execution; that is, we seek a well written, well presented work. a great project that is poorly presented in the abstract will not be selected.

use a narrative, not outline, format. your abstract should include: 1) topic introduction/background, 2) major research question(s), 3) relevant theoretical foundation, 4) method/analysis, 5) basic conclusions/findings.  works in progress are welcome, but abstracts should be clearly written and include the above information. panelists will be announced in early april, 2009.

if you have any questions, please feel free to contact the esn chair sara bannerman at sara.bannerman [at] gmail.com.

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