[ecrea] CFP: Symposium on Media, Communication, and Film Studies Programs at Liberal Arts Colleges

May 24-25, 2016
Muhlenberg College, Allentown PA
Due date for proposals: April 4

We invite proposals for papers, panels, and exhibits for a two-day 
symposium devoted to
media, communication and film studies programs housed at small liberal 
arts colleges
(SLACs), to be held at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. The 
symposium---sponsored by
Muhlenberg, Ursinus, and Lake Forest Colleges---will bring together 
faculty from existing
programs at liberal arts colleges for two days of resource sharing, 
student-work showcases,
workshops, and panel sessions.

The symposium organizers hope to build off the insight and momentum 
generated by Mellon-
sponsored gatherings in 2004, 2008, and 2011. The landscape of 
liberal-arts-college media
programs is changing rapidly---a mirror, in some respects, of the wider 
U.S. university scene.
Programs with diverse names and remits were established as far back as 
the 1950s, often out
of existing journalism or speech departments. The most elite colleges, 
however, tended to
shun media and communication as pre-professional and insufficiently 
scholarly. This began to
change in the 1980s, as a number of institutions established 
interdisciplinary film studies
programs staffed by faculty from existing humanities departments. Since 
then, and with
gathering momentum in recent years, these colleges have established 
departments and
dedicated tenure track lines, often with an expanded "media studies" 
scope. At the same time,
speech- and journalism-derived media and communication programs have 
expanded and
evolved at liberal-arts institutions across the country. With digital 
(and nomenclatural)
convergence, the lines that once separated these departments and 
programs have become
increasingly arbitrary.

The purpose of the symposium is to gather together faculty from a 
diverse range of SLAC
programs to compare curricular models, discuss the challenges and 
opportunities of teaching
media in the liberal-arts context, and explore establishing an 
association of liberal arts college
programs in media, film, and communication. Such an association might 
support a resource-
and curriculum-sharing web presence, as well as sponsor periodic 
gatherings of faculty in
follow-up symposia.

We invite proposals (250 to 500 words) for the following formats:

* individual paper abstracts
* panel session abstracts (identifying three to four participants)
* student-work showcases (featuring scholarship, media work, and/or 
hybrids in digital or
other formats)
* pedagogy workshops (on core assignments, capstone courses, and/or 
pedagogical
techniques)
* research workshops (on projects, strategies, publishing models, and/or 
research/exhibit
tools)

Relevant topics include:

* curricular models for majors and minors
* capstone projects and courses
* faculty research collaborations
* integration into the liberal arts missions of host institutions
* challenges and opportunities of blending (critical) theory and 
(pre-professional) practice
* navigating the disciplinary/interdisciplinary borderlands
* challenges and opportunities of the cross-campus spread of digital 
pedagogies
* the intersection of media studies and digital humanities initiatives

Sessions and workshops that involve other participants in active 
discussion, hands-on
engagement, and/or resource exchange are especially encouraged.

The symposium will take place at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA, 
May 24 and 25, 2016.
Registration is free, with breakfast and lunch included. Limited funds 
for student and junior
faculty travel may be available.

Submissions (250-500 words) are due April 4th, to 
(bcorzo-duchardt /at/ muhlenberg.edu). Please
include submitter(s) names, affiliations, email addresses, and the 
abstract of your proposal.
Decisions will be made by April 15, with a tentative program, plenary 
speakers, and other
details to follow soon after.

Chief organizer: Beth Corzo-Duchardt (Muhlenberg College) Organizing 
committee: Aggie
Ebrahimi Bazaz (Muhlenberg College), Nicholas Gilewicz (Ursinus 
College), David Park (Lake
Forest College), Jeff Pooley (Muhlenberg College), and Louise Woodstock 
(Ursinus College).

Questions? Contact Beth Corzo Duchardt, at (bcorzo-duchardt /at/ muhlenberg.edu)



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