02/19/2009
CSCA Convention - Special Opportunities for Graduate Students
Although I truly believe that CSCA-2009 will offer sessions of interest for everyone, I am particularly excited about the many great opportunities that await our more recent colleagues in the discipline, especially graduate students. I strongly encourage you to take full advantage of the many rich chances to connect with senior scholars in our discipline during our time in St. Louis. This e-bulletin features a few of the many opportunities!
1. We are offering two Rising Scholar classes (formerly known as "Master classes") during this year's conference. Each will enable you to interact with and learn from a leading scholar in our field in a very small group setting. Both of these sessions occur on Wednesday, April 1, so they do not interfere with any other panels during the conference. Further, I scheduled them so that you could plan to attend both classes, if you would like to do so. You could meet with Dr. Brookey from 12:00-3:45 p.m. and then Dr. Calloway-Thomas from 4:00 to 7:45 p.m. These sessions do require pre-registration, and space is limited. I urge you to register today!
Dr. Robert Alan Brookey studies rhetoric and new media, and he has focused on issues of gender and sexuality. He is the author of Reinventing the Male Homosexual: The Rhetoric and Power of the Gay Gene (2002). He recently guest edited a special issue of Critical Studies in Media Communication on online video games and virtual worlds, which is scheduled to be published in 2009. The special issue will include an article that he co-authored which critically engages the representation of gender and sexuality in Second Life.
Dr. Calloway-Thomas teaches and conducts research in the areas of intercultural communication, communication in Black America, public dialogue in America, and civic engagement. She is the co-author of Intercultural Communication: A Text Reader (2007) and Intercultural Communication: Roots and Routes (1999) and co-editor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Sermonic Power of Public Discourse (1993). Her book, The Way of Empathy in a Global World: An Intercultural Perspective, is forthcoming in 2009.
2. During a special Research Brainstorming Session, Dr. Jim Query has organized a terrific opportunity for you to obtain feedback on research projects from a great team of scholars. At least three weeks prior to the conference, each participant must send a brief research proposal to the senior session organizer (Jim Query), following guidelines posted on the CSCA website. Panel mentors will provide written feedback for attendees as well as visit with them during the panel slot on Saturday, April 4, about their research ideas. This program offers an excellent opportunity for individuals to obtain valuable and personalized input on research design and theoretical approaches to scholarly projects. Attendees must pre-register for this session due to a limited number of spots and advance preparation by panel participants. Registrations will be accepted on a first-come, first-serve basis.
3. We will once again offer our Distinguished Scholar Mini-Carousel. During this special breakfast nook session on Saturday, April 4, attendees will enjoy the opportunity to visit with eight distinguished communication scholars on an individual basis. We will post descriptions of these panelists' programs of research on the CSCA website very soon. Attendees will be greeted by hosts who will introduce them to these scholars. Attendees may chat with our distinguished scholars about their research ideas, programs of research, approaches to research, and/or possible outlets for their work.
When we meet in St. Louis in just a few short weeks, I urge you to embrace the many opportunities for connecting and conversing about your research, especially during these terrific sessions. Visit our website (http://www.csca-net.org/) for more information about the conference and to pre-register!
Christie
Dr. Christina S. Beck, CSCA First Vice-President and 2009 Primary Program Planner