Call for Sessions for the 2007 Convention
National Communication Association
November 15-18, 2007
Deadline for submissions is Wednesday,
Convention Theme: Communicating
Worldviews: Faith-Intellect-Ethics
Communicating Worldview:
Faith-Intellect-Ethics is the theme of the 2007 NCA Convention in
Building on innovations introduced in
The
convention theme is intended to inspire creative, timely, and innovative
programs and panels subsumed under a broad conception of
faith-intellect-ethics. Please view the NCA website at www.natcom.org to view the most up-to-date
complete call for papers, panels, session and/or programs after
There are several types of sessions
for NCA 2007. They include:
Plenary/Spotlight Sessions: These sessions
highlight convention theme and/or other issues critical to the interests of the
discipline. Members are urged to seek highly innovative ideas and high profile
participants from inside and outside the discipline. Please note that these
sessions do not count towards the UCUS quota of sessions.
Communication at the End of Life
Series: Given the convention theme, NCA
intends to spotlight three or four special sessions that focus on communication
at the end of the life. Panel proposals
for the End of Life Series should be
submitted directly to Dr. Carolyn Ellis, Department of Communication,
Scholar-to-Scholar: Interactive Media Formats:
These
sessions will continue to be a high priority for the 2007 NCA Convention. These spotlighted sessions will feature
“wandering scholars” to engage research participants and stimulate
discussion.” The Scholar-to-Scholar
sessions will showcase alternative forms of presentations, and promote
one-on-one interaction with “neighborhoods of knowledge.” In the past, participants relied primarily
upon posters to convey research findings.
In this updated format, approximately 150 participants will use multiple
formats such as video, interactive media, slide shows, and experiential
activities to represent their scholarship.
Proposal may be submitted to UCUS for review. Upon recommendation of the
reviewers, proposals will be forwarded to the Scholar-to-Scholar Session
Planner. Scholar-to-Scholar proposals
will be scheduled by the Scholar-to-Scholar Session planner only. Designated wandering scholars will tour the
Scholar-to-Scholar sessions and provide feedback. Outstanding Scholar-to-Scholar presentations
will be recognized.
Specifically for UCUS SUBMISSIONS:
NOTE: Each and every panel and/or paper submissions
needs to include a detailed abstract.
Submissions without an abstract are less likely to be considered as
reviewers are unable to discern enough about the panel/paper idea and how it
fits with the UCUS vision or the convention theme.
Competitive Papers: submission procedure will remain the
same as last year. Papers may include research reports, theoretical
developments or critiques, critical analysis, and in some cases, work in
progress.
Competitive Panels: New for this year is two types of
panels that members may submit for review:
2. Roundtables:
A group of panelist who discuss a specific topic that is described in an
abstract (also printed in the convention program). These panels do not title their
presentations. For this type of panel,
submitters may use the same text for both the abstract and the rationale, if
they do not wish to create a separate rationale. It is the rationale that the reviewers will
consider when evaluating this type of panel.
To encourage interactions among panelists and with the audience members,
rooms in which roundtables will be held will be set up with an inner circle and
additional empty seats in the circle for audience members to join the circle
during discussion of this topic. For more information about submitting a
roundtable proposal, please refer to the NCA general Call at www.natcom.org after
Members are
strongly encouraged to submit sessions that involve innovative formats,
especially those with high-density participation and sessions emphasizing
dialogue and interaction among participants and audience members. The goal is to involve more participants
using fewer sessions.
During the UCUS and
If you have questions contact Nancy Burroughs, UCUS Vice Chair at
California State University at (209) 667-3271 or NBurroughs@csustan.edu. Please do not call
the national program planning office, as they prefer you to call or e-mail the
section planner.
PANEL IDEAS GENERATED AT THE
BUSINESS MEETINGS
FOR THE NCA 2007 CONVENTION IN
Goal: To increase visibility of the
Section, and to recruit new members. The First Vice
President could co-sponsor the
session so it would not be counted in our allotment of
program slots.
Contact: Steve Coffman, (MSU-Billings), scoffman@msubillings.edu
Faith, Intellect and Ethics: Issues and Possibilities Confronting the
Micro-
Department.
Roundtable discussion focusing on
the notion that we need faith in the issues
confronting departments.
Contact: Steve Coffman, (MSU-Billings) scoffman@msubillings.edu and
David
Price (
Finding
Faith in the Failing Student – Advising and teaching challenges when dealing with
students who are not prepared for college level work or who are failing
courses.
Contact:
David C. Price,
Challenges
for Small Program Chairs – The challenges and unique nature of small undergraduate communication
program or department leaders. Ideas for presenters might include:
Expectations of a Chair from the President or Provost
(suggestions of communication faculty that are now presidents/provosts and
could be invited to participate are welcomed);
Leadership ideas for small college program chairs from an
Academic Dean (suggestions of communication faculty who are now deans and could
be invited to participate are welcomed);
Lessons learned in leading a small program from a former or
current chair
Challenges in leading a small program from a new or current
chair
Expectations of a chair from communication faculty in a
small department
Contact:
David C. Price,
Faith in the Intellect of the Edsel
Student. How can we
more effectively teach and advise underprepared students so they don’t go by
the wayside (like the Edsel!)? Faculty, are often expected to “bend over
backwards” to help retain students.
Contact: David Price,
Ethical Reconciliation. How do students and faculty, with
such differences in experience and perception, negotiate ethical systems within
the classroom?
Contact: George Wharton,
Faith in the Classroom. Some faculty avoid ethics
discussions because it often deals with difficult issues. What can faculty do to foster helpful
conversations about faith in the classroom? How do we encourage useful
conversations about faith?
Contact: John Ludlum,
Atheists and Agnostics Have Ethics,
Too. They have a
core belief system that is defensible in the classroom. This panel suggests
that one doesn’t have to be Christian to be ethical.
Contact: Barbara Burke,
How do Values Inform Our Teaching? Should faculty make their values
transparent? How? Does doing so compromise or enhance the quality of students´
learning? How do we distinguish and help students distinguish thought-provoking
pedagogy from indoctrination? Because different courses may lend themselves to
different approaches to either perspective on this issue, case studies and
specific techniques used in different courses may serve as an organizing basis
for this panel.
Contact: Alice Araujo,
Global Diversity and Religion-Based
Education. How can
those two principles co-exist? At the institutional level, what does it mean to
be welcoming those who are Christians and those who are not? Is cultural
difference not welcomed? Often, mission, pedagogy, and inclusion within the
institution do not value other cultures´ views. Melinda Tilton (MSU Billings)
suggested considering the invitational rhetoric approach as a means of promoting peaceful co-existence.
Contact: Don Rice,
Faith, Intellect and Ethics:
Preparing Students for the Job Market. What kind of ethical training, if any, do students need to
get a job? Are faculty responsible for students´ ethical development? How can
we emphasize the importance of ethics in business? How do questions of faith
and ethics play out in the workplace and in job interviews? Employers assume
that colleges prepare students to enter the job market with a strong sense of
ethics. Can we align a sense of ethics with different job areas (e.g. public
relations)? What about ethics of the basic course - do students start learning
ethics there?
Contact: None listed. If you’re
interested, please send an email to members.
Faith, intellect and ethics: The
value of small colleges. Focus on small, faith-based small college campuses.
Contact:
Jackie Schmidt,
Student Preparation. Many students cannot easily
synthesize or integrate concepts. There is little, if any, student reflection
on course concepts. How can we teach students to write critically? How do we
teach students to engage in research? What about ethics in a Research Methods
course?
Contact: Elenie Opffer, Regis, eopffer@regis.edu
Ethical Feedback and Student Entitlement. Students often have the perception that they
are entitled to a good grade. Yet they also need to understand their
responsibility in the learning process. Faculty in small colleges are often
expected to nurture students and even to take on a parental role. How do we
meet those expectations without compromising our ethical responsibilities of
providing accurate feedback about the quality of students´ work?
Contact: George Wharton, gwharton@curry.edu
How do Faculty Reconcile Faith and
Intellect in their Careers? We are constantly faced with sometimes unethical administrative
politics. How do we maintain the ethical integrity of who we are? Is there a
disciplinary intellect, faith and ethic? What issues do faculty face? How do
faculty maintain faith, intellect and ethics in what they do?
Contact: Nancy Burroughs, CSU
Stanislaus, nburroughs@csustan.edu
Is There a Need for Department Chair
Training? What
challenges do they have? Are they more than glorified secretaries (with responsibility
for scheduling, advising, etc.). How does small college leadership and
organizational structure influence the perception of the department as
intellectual and ethical?
Contact: David Price,