[ecrea] ICA pre-conference on qualitative political communication research

ICA PRE-CONFERENCE
Qualitative Political Communication Research
2014 International Communication Association Annual Conference
May 22, 2014 -- 8:00am-5:00pm
Department of Communication, University of Washington (room TBD)

Website: http://qualpolicomm.wordpress.com/ica-pre-conference/

#QualPolComm

DEADLINE FOR EXTENDED ABSTRACTS (500 WORDS) DECEMBER 1

Since the publication of W. Lance Bennett and Shanto Iyengar's 2008 
critique of the state of the field, an increasing number of political 
communication and journalism researchers have cited the need for 
theory-building aimed at improving our understanding of communication 
processes in rapidly changing social and technological contexts.  To 
date, however, scholars have generally overlooked the methodological 
underpinnings of the current stasis in the field, and have failed to 
engage seriously with both the limitations of existing tools such as 
surveys and experiments, as well as the potential benefits of mixed 
methods and qualitative work more broadly.

This pre-conference will focus on how qualitative research can lead to 
new analytical and empirical understandings of contemporary political 
communication processes, from the changing forms of journalism and 
campaigns to the new platforms and contexts where citizens gather and 
create political information.  This pre-conference defines 'qualitative 
research' to be rigorous inquiry into political communication processes 
through an established set of empirical methods including (but not 
limited to): participant observation, ethnography, interviewing, 
archival research, and content analysis.  It similarly defines 
'political communication' broadly to include studies of the 
institutional (campaigns, legislative bodies, the presidency, the press, 
civil society organizations) and extra-institutional (movements) actors, 
events, and processes that constitute democratic life.

We are looking for submissions that are methodologically-oriented or 
present original research. For the former, we are looking for articles 
that discuss possible research designs as well as the potentials for and 
challenges of qualitative work in political communication.  For example, 
this can include articles on the value of and issues with conducting 
fieldwork on campaigns or ethnographic work on how citizens approach 
political dialogue. For the latter, we are looking for articles that 
present original research on political communication and utilize 
qualitative methods.

We hope that this pre-conference will create an identifiable community 
of diverse and inter-disciplinary scholars working on similar 
substantive concerns and using a shared set of qualitative methods for 
empirical inquiry.

Extended abstracts (up to 500 words) should be submitted by December 1st 
to David Karpf via email ((davekarpf /at/ gmail.com) <mailto:(davekarpf /at/ gmail.com)>).

The organizers -- David Karpf, Daniel Kreiss, Matthew Powers, and Rasmus 
Nielsen -- will make decisions on accepted papers by December 20th. Full 
papers will be due in advance of the pre-conference on May 10, 2014.

Sponsors:
School of Media and Public Affairs, George Washington University
School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of North 
Carolina at Chapel Hill
Center for Media, Power, and Communication, Roskilde University
Department of Communication, University of Washington

ICA Political Communication Division
ICA Journalism Studies Division

Draft Schedule

8:00 -- 8:30am
Arrival and coffee

8:30 -- 8:45am
Welcome from the organizers

8:45 -- 10:15am
PANEL I: Reviewed submissions, empirical papers

DISCUSSANT: Kirsten Foot (University of Washington)

10:15-10:30am
Coffee Break

10:30 -- 12:00pm
Panel II: Reviewed submissions, methodological papers

DISCUSSANT: Rodney Benson (New York University)

12:00 -- 12:30pm
Lunch

12:30 -- 1:30pm
Keynote Panel: Qualitative Political Communication Research: Strengths, 
Limitations, and the Potential for Theory Building

Confirmed Participants: Sandra J. Ball-Rokeach (USC), W. Lance Bennett 
(University of Washington), Leah Lievrouw (UCLA), Silvio Waisbord (GWU)

1:30 -- 2:45pm
Panel III: Reviewed submissions, empirical papers

DISCUSSANT: Adrienne Russell (University of Colorado at Denver)

2:45 -- 3:00pm
Coffee break

3:00 -- 4:30pm
Panel IV: Reviewed submissions, methodological papers

DISCUSSANT: Sandra Gonzalez-Bailon (University of Pennsylvania)

4:30-5:00pm
Closing Comments

Michael X. Delli Carpini (University of Pennsylvania)

Michael Schudson (Columbia University)