2008 Annual Conference

Conference events will begin late afternoon on Thursday this year. We are planning a special workshop for undergraduates on how to present a conference paper. That workshop will be held between 5:30 and 6:30, before the president’s reception. We are arranging a “So you want to go to graduate school” session to take place on Friday morning during the faculty breakfast. We are inviting regional graduate programs (and some outside the region) to send representatives to talk with students who have already demonstrated an interest in the life of scholarship. If your school would like to be involved in that session, please let me know (Jeanne Clark, jclark@willamette.edu).

Conference Theme

Controversy and complexity go hand in hand with our next convention topic: conviction. Oxford English Dictionary meanings range from "legal proof or declaration of guilt" to "the condition of being convicted or convinced of sin," from "convincing" to "the mental state of being convinced" to "a firm or settled persuasion." The term may lead communication scholars deep into theory with a consideration of Perelman's perspectives on argumentation or Campbell's views on persuasion. Popular usage suggests the study of criminals--from Scooter Libby or Michael Vick to Loeb and Leopold. Our exploration may also direct us to activists and martyrs with the realization that the convictions they hold may result in criminal conviction or worse. We confront the activists past and present who have worked in the "courage of their convictions" to promote social change.

Particularly in the post 9/11 world, "conviction: takes us to the sometimes dangerous ground of unquestioned cultural assumptions and to beliefs that we hold without requiring rational proof. Conviction may be exposed as the enemy of truth and reason, or a driving force behind the same. NWCA invites scholars to explore the wide-ranging possibilities of the theme, the power and the problems inherent in "conviction." Completed papers (25 pages max.), panel proposals, and workshops will be considered for conference presentation (see guidelines below). Research that has already been published or presented at another conference is not eligible for submission. Special attention will be paid to papers and programs that support the conference theme, although unrelated submissions are also encouraged. Proposals that creatively combine faculty and student work are especially welcomed. We are seeking at least one faculty panel for each division. Submissions are due to the Division Chairs by 5 p.m. Friday, January 25, 2008. All chairs will accept electronic copies. If sending hard text, please send 3 copies. No faxed submissions, please. Authors will be notified in late February about the status of their works. Scheduled program details should be available online in early March.

Media and Cultural Studies

Submissions to this division should address issues related to mass media, popular culture or technology. Essays and panels may also address cultural and intercultural communication.

Send submissions to:

Cyndy Willis

Email: willisc (AT) willamette.edu

Dept. of Rhetoric and Media Studies

Willamette University

900 State Street

Salem, OR 97301

(503) 370-6542

Rhetorical Theory and Criticism

Submissions regarding the theory and practice of rhetoric in diverse artifacts, practices and traditions, or intersections with legal, political, historical, religious, gendered, philosophical, ethnic, poetic, and other cultural contexts will be considered.

Send submissions to:

Emily Plec

Email: plece (AT) wou.edu

Speech Communication Department

Humanties Division

Western Oregon University

345 Monmouth Ave. N

Monmouth, OR 97361

(503) 838-8819

Interpersonal & Communication Theory

Submission to this division should describe human interpersonal communication, or explore, develop, test, critique and/or refine one or more of the many theories of human communication. Theoretical essays and empirical research papers using any accepted qualitative or quantitative methodology will be considered.

Send submissions to:

Nick Backus

Email: backusj (AT) wou.edu

Speech Communication Department

Humanities Division

Western Oregon University

345 Monmouth Ave. N

Monmouth, OR 97361

(503) 838-8851

Organizational & Instructiona

Submissions that explore organizational and educational contexts will be considered in this division. This may include group or management communication, public relations, crisis response, and other topics relating to organizational criticism, as well as research that explores classroom communication or the scholarship of teaching and learning.

Send submissions to:

Phil Backlund

Phil.Backlund@cwu.edu

Central Washington University

2418 Wheaton Ct.

Ellensburg, WA 98926

(509) 963-1852

Guidelines for Paper, Panel Proposal & Workshop Submissions

The convention program is open to all NWCA members and those who want to become members.

All submissions are due by 5 p.m. January 25, 2008. Please include a detachable title page with the author’s name and address and submit electronically (i.e., in Word or .rtf format). If authors submit via hard text, they should send in three copies. No faxed submissions, please.

Research that has already been published or presented at another conference is not eligible for submission.

Special attention will be paid to papers and programs that support the convention theme, although unrelated themes and submissions are also encouraged. Proposals that creatively combine faculty and student work are especially welcomed.

Paper length is limited to 25 pages of text.

Students are especially encouraged to submit papers. Papers should be clearly marked as student papers. Undergraduates should place a “U” and graduate students a “G” in the upper right hand corner of their title and abstract pages in order to be considered for “outstanding undergraduate” and “outstanding graduate” paper awards.

Panel proposals should focus on a unifying theme, which may be the conference theme. Panel proposals must include: (a) title and description of the program; (b) a brief paragraph stating the scholarly importance of the panel and its contribution to the NWCA conference program; (c) names, addresses, and affiliations of all panelists; and (d) a 200 word (max.) abstract of each paper on the panel. Roundtable discussants do not need to submit abstracts.

Workshops are intended as training and/or information sessions that can be presented in 1 hour blocks. Submissions should include the workshop title, the problem or expertise addressed, an outline of the proposed content, any specific “takeaways” participants should expect, and the time block required. Include the name, address, and affiliation of workshop presenter(s).

Presenters must supply any audio-visual equipment their presentation requires. The cost of renting such equipment on-site exceeds NWCA’s resources for doing so. Please consider this carefully when planning your proposal’s presentation details.

We apologize, but we are unable to accommodate special scheduling requests.

Conference Registration Materials

Call for Nominations, Human Rights Award

The Northwest Communication Association invites nominations for the 2008 Human Rights Award. While not given every year, the Human Rights Award recognizes an individual who has, through personal or professional work, advanced human rights and the freedom of speech. See the Human Rights Award page for further information.

Past Conferences

Interested in attending the conference but would like more information about our conferences? Check out our Past Conferences page.