CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS: Eastern Communication Association Convention, Institute of General Semantics Affiliate Organization

Thom Gencarelli, thom.gencarelli@manhattan.edu   Institute of General Semantics (Affiliate Organization) 116th Eastern Communication Association Convention “Contemporary Problems, Creative Solutions” Hyatt Regency, Buffalo, NY March 26-March 30, 2025   Submission Deadline: October 16, 2024, 11:59pm PST   The Eastern Communication Association will hold its 116th Annual Convention in Buffalo, New York from Wednesday, March 26 through Sunday, March 30, 2025. The convention theme is “Contemporary Problems, Creative Solutions.” The deadline for submissions is October 16, 2024, 11:59pm PST.   As an Affiliate Organization of the ECA, the Institute of General Semantics seeks individual papers and panel/roundtable submissions that focus on the study of the intersection of language, thought, and behavior. While we encourage any and all submissions related to general semantics, we especially welcome submissions that speak to the convention theme: “Contemporary Problems, Creative Solutions.”   In describing the convention theme, the ECA writes: “In our ever-changing world, contemporary problems and issues need to be addressed with creative solutions. Communication Studies scholars and practitioners are well-positioned to offer theoretical and practical insights to address contemporary problems.” Those of us who study and work within the realm of general semantics are interested in solutions that arise from the nature of language as our species’ primary medium of human communication, how we use language to create what we understand as meaning, and how we can become better meaning-makers through our understanding of the relationships among language, meaning, thought, mind, symbols, media, technology, context, culture, etc.   Some guiding questions for papers, panels, and roundtables may include, but are not limited to: How might the study of general semantics improve our understanding of contemporary problems? How might the study of general semantics lead to creative solutions to contemporary problems? How might we look to language, and to our misuse of it, as a means to understand our problems and come up with creative solutions for them? What problems might general semantics help identify that other traditions in communication studies might miss?   As a further prompt, papers and panels may specifically address general semantics with respect to: (1) our various symbolic environments, emergent or persisting metaphors, and/or current or historical studies of human symbolic use that advance our understanding of symbols, behavior, and culture; and (2) cases or observations of language use and misuse in politics, commerce, relationships, self-talk, etc. that contribute to an understanding of the relationship between language, thought, and behavior. ECA uses Attendee Interactive to manage submissions and reviews. If you have not used this system before, you will be prompted to create a new User ID and Password to submit your work.   The Institute of General Semantics invites three types of submissions. The specific requirements for each are as follows. (Please also indicate any audio-visual needs, if necessary, as part of your submission. Requests can include Internet access, laptop audio, and LCD projectors.)   Please note that you may request special scheduling due to special circumstances and needs (cultural or religious, etc.) when submitting papers and panel proposals. Such requests will be forwarded to the Convention planner.   Submission of Completed Papers: Individual submissions of completed papers through Attendee Interactive will provide the following: Title Author/s (If the paper has multiple authors, please indicate who will be presenting at the convention.) Abstract (5,000 character max) Please also indicate if your paper is a “Debut Paper” (written by an author or authors who have not presented previously at a regional or national convention) or a “Student Paper.” Upload of your Completed Paper: Paper must have no identifying author, school, faculty, or contact information Abstract (one page max, with “The Statement of Professional Responsibility” – see below – included on this page). The word “Debut” marked on a paper written by authors who have not previously presented at a regional or national convention. The word “Student” marked on a paper written by a student. Required file format: MSWord or .pdf Consistent formatting: APA, MLA, Harvard, or Chicago style Double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman font Requests for audio-visual equipment Special requests Submission of Panel Proposals: Submission of panel proposals should include the following elements submitted through Attendee Interactive: A thematic title for the program. Names of the Chair and Respondent (if any). (Chairs should not be additionally designated as Respondents.) Names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations for all participants. Titles and abstracts for each paper or presentation. A program copy (no more than 75-words) as it should appear in the final program. A detailed rationale for the panel (10,000 characters max). Requests for audio-visual equipment Special requests A “Statement of Professional Responsibility.”   Submission of Roundtable Proposals: Submission of roundtable proposals should include the following elements submitted through Attendee Interactive: A thematic title for the program. Name of the Chair. Names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, e-mail addresses, and institutional affiliations for all participants. A program copy (no more than a 75-word description) as it should appear in the final program. A detailed rationale for roundtable (10,000 characters max) Target audience (10,000 characters max) Requests for audio-visual equipment Special requests A “Statement of Professional Responsibility”   The following is the “Statement of Professional Responsibility,” which MUST be included in order for submissions to be eligible for review:   In submitting the attached paper or proposal, I/We recognize that this submission is considered a professional responsibility. I/We agree to present this panel or paper if it is accepted or programmed. I/We further recognize that all who attend and present at ECA’s annual meeting must register and pay required fees.   Convention acceptance notifications: January 2025.   For additional information about the upcoming convention, please visit the ECA website. For additional information about the Institute of General Semantics, please visit the IGS website:   All questions or concerns related to submissions, and to the Institute of General Semantics as an Affiliate Organization of the ECA, can be directed to the program coordinator:   Thom Gencarelli Communication, Sound, and Media Arts Department Manhattan University Riverdale, NY 10471 thom.gencarelli@manhattan.edu

Call for 2024 IGS Prizes and Awards:

The SI Hayakawa Book Prize for the most outstanding work published in the past five years on topics of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics. The prize includes a cash award of $1,000. Send copies with a letter of nomination to the Institute of General Semantics, 401 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016 by June 1st. Email inquiries to IGS President Lance Strate via <president at generalsemantics.org>.

The Sanford I. Berman Award for Excellence in Teaching General Semantics. The Berman Award is granted to individuals for outstanding use of general semantics formulations in educational settings on any level. Send letters of nomination and supporting materials by June 1st via email to IGS President Lance Strate via <president at generalsemantics.org>.

Christine L. Nystrom Prize. The Nystrom Prize is awarded to a student currently enrolled in a masters or doctoral level graduate program for outstanding scholarship in the form of a paper on the topic of symbols and meaning. The winning entry will be published in the IGS journal, ETC: A Review of General Semantics, and receive a cash prize of $500. Entry requirements: A letter from an advisor attesting to the student’s current status, and a paper taking the form of a scholarly article (entries should be previously unpublished). Email entries by June 1st to IGS President Lance Strate via <president at generalsemantics.org>.

The Institute of General Semantics invites  submissions for its Non-Aristotelian Perspectives, Ecological Approaches, and the Anthropocene 2 Symposium, to be held online via Zoom on Saturday, April 27th.

Last year’s online symposium sponsored by the IGS, Ecologies of Mind, Media, and Meaning 2, featured 24 presentations from Australia, Asia, Europe, and South and North America. This year we again continue the theme from this past October’s in-person symposium accompanying our annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture in New York City.

We welcome presentations on topics related to general semantics, including language and symbolic communication, meaning and perception, epistemology and evaluation, etc.; on topics related to media ecology, including representation and reality, technology and environments, art and awareness, etc.; and topics related to cybernetics and systems theory, etc.

Please send all submissions and queries to IGS President Lance Strate at president@generalsemantics.org by March 25th, 2024.

From our friends at the Media Ecology Association:

THE MEDIA ECOLOGY ASSOCIATION (MEA) invites the submission of abstracts of papers and proposals for panels for presentation at its 25th Annual Convention, which will be held from June 6–9, 2024 at Daemen University in Amherst, New York. The deadline for submissions is February 1, 2024.

In recognition of the Media Ecology’s 25th anniversary and convention setting, the theme of the 2024 conference is community. The conference will take place on the Daemen University campus in Amherst, NY. Amherst is consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in America due to a community focus and investment in outlets for cultivating “relationally modern” young adults who are able to withstand and navigate intricacies of contemporary life in a digital landscape (Singer, 2014). The Daemen campus is just minutes from Buffalo, colloquially referred to as The City of Good Neighbors — a moniker evidenced by citizen responses to public tragedy and remarkable weather events.

Media ecology has roots in, borrows from, and advances notions pertinent to the intersection of community, democracy, culture, and the nature of cities. Many principal figures in the tradition of media ecology scholarship have worked closely in these areas, from Mumford’s attention to life in urban environments, to Carey’s concerns about democratic participation, as well as Gumpert and Drucker’s many talks and publications dealing with the intersection of said themes.

The annual meeting of the MEA provides an opportunity for our community of scholars, educators, professionals, artists, and practitioners to exchange experiences and ideas in a friendly environment. Participants at MEA conventions address a wide diversity of topics in our program. We encourage submissions that explore media ecological approaches from any number of different disciplines and fields of knowledge and social practice. We are interested in papers, thematic panels, roundtable discussion panels, creative projects, performance sessions, and other proposals of interest to media ecologists.

While we are open to explorations on any topic of interest to media ecologists, we also include a convention theme with the aim of generating further discussion and probes involving multiple perspectives. Submissions do not have to address the theme, but are invited to do so.

Guidelines for Submission

Please submit paper and panel proposals, in English, by February 1, 2024 to MEA2024@daemen.edu. A maximum of two submissions per author will be accepted. Authors who wish to be considered for the Top Paper or Top Student Paper award must indicate this on their submission(s).

Submission Guidelines for paper and panel proposals:

Submission guidelines for manuscripts for authors who wish to be considered for the Top Paper or Top Student Paper award:

Please stay tuned for more information. Questions? Contact us.

From our friends at the Media Ecology Association:

The Media Ecology Association is proud to announce our first student symposium, scheduled for Saturday, February 3rd, 2024, exclusively conducted online. This symposium is aimed at offering students of all levels an opportunity to present their media ecology scholarship as the centerpiece of an official organizational event. The symposium will feature panels of student work throughout the day, conducted via Zoom, and each panel will be assigned a respondent from the MEA Executive Board for constructive feedback aimed at celebrating and advancing scholarship in our field.

Participation is limited to undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students, officially enrolled at institutions of higher learning. Attendance is open to the general public. Registration is free to all MEA members. Non-Members will be able to register for a fee of $10.

Guidelines for Submission

Please submit paper and panel proposals, in English, by December 15, 20223 to MEAStudentSymposium2024@gmail.com. A maximum of two submissions per author will be accepted. Authors who wish their papers to be considered for the Top Paper award must indicate this on their submission(s).

Submission Guidelines for paper and panel proposals:

Include title(s), abstract(s) (maximum 250 words), and contact information for each participant. Outline, as relevant, how your paper or panel relates to media ecology.

Authors with papers submitted as part of a panel proposal or as a paper proposal that wish to be considered for Top Paper award must send the completed paper to the symposium planner by January 8, 2024.

Manuscripts should be 4,000–6,000 words (approximately 15 to 25 double-spaced pages) Include a cover page with your institutional affiliation and other contact information. Include an abstract (maximum 150 words).

Following the 71st Annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture to be delivered by Dr. Lera Boroditsky on Oct. 27th, the IGS will host a symposium on Non-Aristotelian Perspectives, Ecological Approaches, and the Anthropocene on Oct. 28th-29th at the Players in NYC.

We welcome papers and proposals that relate to the topics of general semantics, linguistics and semiotics, media ecology, communication and culture, science and the empirical method, epistemology and phenomenology, cybernetics and systems theory, technology and society, art and perception, cognition and consciousness, evolution and emergence, health and human potential, etc.

Send inquiries regarding participation and submissions to IGS President Lance Strate <president@generalsemantics.org>.

The Institute of General Semantics is pleased to sponsor an online asynchronous course on Language and Thought to be taught by IGS Trustee Mary P. Lahman, Professor Emerita of Communication Studies at Manchester University and author of Awareness and Action. As an asynchronous course, students will be able to engage with the course material and interact from anywhere in the world, and at any time during the 12 day-period from Aug. 7th-Aug. 18th. The course is being offered via the Canvas learning management system. An ebook edition of the required text, Lahman, M. P. (2018). Action and Awareness: A Travel Companion, will be provided free of charge. The seminar fee is $100 for IGS members, $150 for non-members.

For more information, and to register, click here.

Call for Nominations for the

Institute of General Semantics

2023 Prizes and Awards

             

The Sanford I. Berman Award

The Berman Award recognizes excellence in teaching general semantics. The award is open to educators on any level of formal schooling, as well as teachers participating in non-traditional settings. Entry requirements: A letter of nomination or self-nomination and supporting materials.

 

The Christine L. Nystrom Prize

The Nystrom Prize is awarded to a student currently enrolled in a masters or doctoral level graduate program for outstanding scholarship in the form of a paper on the topic of symbols and meaning. The winning entry will be published in the IGS journal, ETC: A Review of General Semantics, and receive a cash prize of $500. Entry requirements: A

letter from an advisor attesting to the student’s current status, and a paper taking the form of a scholarly article (entries should be previously unpublished).

 

The S.I. Hayakawa Book Prize

The Hayakawa Book Prize is awarded to the most outstanding work published in the past five years on topics of direct relevance to the discipline of general semantics. The prize includes a cash award of $1,000. Entry requirements: A letter of nomination or self-nomination and one copy of the book.

 

The IGS awards and prizes will be presented at our annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture in New York City on October 27, 2023. Winners will be invited to attend and participate in our symposium to follow on October 28-29, 2023).

 

Send inquiries and nominations to IGS President Lance Strate at president@generalsemantics.org

 

Deadline for nominations: July 31, 2023.

Introduction to General Semantics
An In-Person Seminar
June 19-21
New York City

The Institute of General Semantics is pleased to sponsor an in-person seminar on general semantics and related non-aristotelian systems. The 3-day intensive course will include lecture, discussion, and exercises designed to provide participants with a thorough grounding in the discipline and its applications.

The seminar leaders will include IGS trustees Mary P. Lahman, Corey Anton, and Lance Strate. The seminar fee is $100 for IGS members, $150 for non-members, and will cover the cost of course materials. 

For more information and to register, click here.

The Institute of General Semantics invites submissions for its Ecologies of Mind, Media, and Meaning 2 Symposium, to be held online via Zoom on Saturday, April 29th.

Last year’s online symposium sponsored by the IGS, Science, Sanity, and the Semantic Environment 2, featured 20 presentations from Australia, Asia, Europe, and South and North America. This year we again continue the theme from this past October’s in-person symposium accompanying our annual Alfred Korzybski Memorial Lecture in New York City, which was chosen in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of the publication of Steps to an Ecology of Mind by Gregory Bateson.

We welcome presentations on topics related to general semantics, including language and symbolic communication, meaning and perception, epistemology and evaluation, etc.; on topics related to media ecology, including representation and reality, technology and environments, art and awareness, etc.; and topics related to cybernetics, systems theory, schismogenesis, etc.

Please send all submissions and queries to IGS President Lance Strate at president@generalsemantics.org by April 1st, 2023.