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06/04/2014

ECA 2015 Convention - Call for Submissions

As you enjoy your summer and plan your research endeavors for the coming academic year, we encourage you to plan a submission to the Eastern Communication Association (ECA). ECA is the oldest professional communication association in the United States and our 106th convention in 2015 will be held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – a town that dates back to our first public deliberations. Deliberation is where ideas are shared in groups then debated, advanced, molded, altered, and shaped into the foundation of our democracy. We strive in 2015 to honor the spirit of launching forth ideas into a public space for deliberative consideration.

Thus, our theme for 2015 is “Deliberation: Philadelphia.” Your convention planners aim to create a space where carefully crafted ideas are put forth for public consideration. We wish to highlight completed papers and deliberative, audience-drawing and audience-involved panels (in the form of short courses, debates, panels, symposiums, roundtables, or other creative sessions) that do not necessarily include the conference theme in their titles but encourage public consideration of ideas or debate the merit and direction of our scholarship and pedagogy.

Creating this intentional space honors our location and ECA history – we hope that you will participate in our deliberations.

J. Kanan Sawyer; ECA 2015 Primary Convention Planner


106th Annual ECA Convention
Deliberation: Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
April 22-26, 2015

Convention Submission Deadline: Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Please go to our website for the specifics of the General Call with the updated Statement of Responsibility and links to Interest Group and Affiliate Organization webpages with individual calls: TCSLINKTOPAGE[p_convention_papers,Call for Papers,_blank]
Take special note of the AV request criteria.
Co-Interest Group Sponsorship of sessions is encouraged! Please contact the Primary Convention Planner with questions or offerings (contact information below and on our webpage).

Our Philadelphia convention will also house the  Basic Course Conference (BCC15). The Basic Couse Conference is held every other year during the first day of the ECA Annual Convention. The goal of the conference is to expand our understanding of pedagogy associated with the Communication Basic Course.

The BCC15 will include:

  • Traditional Panel Presentations
  • A Lunch and Keynote Address: Join us for lunch and listen to the University of Dayton’s Basic Course Program Director, Joseph Valenzano, who was awarded a Basic Course Program of Excellence by the National Communication Association and is editor of the Basic Course Annual.
  • Short Course(s)
  • Evening Gathering: Participants are encouraged to join us in the evening for a casual gathering where we can continue our discussions [*details tba]

Please see our webpage TCSLINKTOPAGE[p_convention_basic_courses,2015 Basic Course Conference,_blank] for the Call for Papers and details of the conference.

We strongly encourage you to offer to mentor student submissions to the Fifth Annual James C. McCroskey and Virginia P. Richmond Undergraduate Scholars Conference. All submissions (papers, panels, and posters) require a faculty sponsor, which allows our Faculty ECA members to guide the next generation of scholars. Direct your students to the USC Call: TCSLINKTOPAGE[p_convention_students,Call for Papers - USC,,_blank]. Also consider including a paper or research project in your Fall 2014 curriculum that can result in an ECA submission. The deadline for the USC allows for just such an opportunity.

USC Submission Deadline: December 19, 2014

2015 is the year of audience connections for ECA. We will host several events that connect us with community scholars and to our ECA members off-site. Of note is our partnership with NPR WHYY to co-sponsor a session to answer the question, “Is Media Coverage of Politics Helping or Hurting Our Democracy?” In this session we host preeminent scholars Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Richard Vatz, and John Gastil along with FOX reporter Stephen Janis and WHYY moderator and on-air host Chris Satullo in a Sunday morning breakfast session.

Come join our NPR meets FOX meets the Ivory Tower discussion. Details can be found on our TCSLINKTOPAGE[p_convention_events,Special Events Page,_blank] along with details about our Spotlight Sessions, Wine & Spots, Tweet of the Day, and our other events.

Given our focus on community connections and audience involvement, this may be your best year ever to advertise through the convention program or mobile app or to sponsor an event. Look to our TCSLINKTOPAGE[p_convention_advertising,Advertising and Sponsorship,_blank] page for details and to be able to contact our Marketing Director.

If you have questions about the convention, would like to volunteer, or make connections between your organization and ECA, please contact the 2015 Primary Convention Planner & First Vice-President, J. Kanan Sawyer at ecaPhilly2015@gmail.com.