01/10/2014

Central States Communication Association Pre-Conference 2014

Central States Communication Association Pre-Conference 2014

Social Media: Convergence of a Discipline

This year’s conference is destined to be a success and one that you will not want to miss. First Vice President Leah Bryant has assembled a remarkable program and has planned fantastic events for everyone to enjoy.

To make your conference experience even more memorable and to get started on the right path, you are cordially invited to join us for the preconference which will be held on Wednesday, April 2, 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. The preconference is entitled Social Media: Convergence of a Discipline.

The study of social media emphasizes the importance of scholars from such areas of the discipline as interpersonal communication and media coming together and recognizing points of overlap in their respective research. It is also a topic of study that our students want to explore and that would benefit both their personal and their professional lives.

Featuring leading scholars in the area (listed below), participants in the preconference will be presented with the most recent discoveries in the study of social media, encompassing social networking sites, online dating sites, and computer-mediated communication as a whole. Among the topics of discussion will be online social support, deception, privacy, and the development and maintenance of personal relationships through the Internet. The preconference will conclude with a general conversation among presenters concerning the “State of Social Media” scholarship and instruction as well as directions for the future.

This special preconference will benefit both those participants with limited experience with the study of social media and those participants whose primary focus is social media. Everyone in attendance will be provided with stimulating presentations, ideas for future research, and strategies for incorporating the discussion of social media into their classrooms.

For more information about the preconference, be sure to contact me at the following address: mcmahan.csca@gmail.com.

I look forward to seeing everyone in Minneapolis.

David T. McMahan, Second Vice President

 

Presenters:      Jeffrey T. Child, Kent State University
                        Amy Janan Johnson, University of Oklahoma
                        Andrew M. Ledbetter, Texas Christian University
                        Catalina L. Toma, University of Wisconsin-Madison
                        Stephanie T. Tong, Wayne State University  
                        David Westerman, North Dakota State University