“Communication in the 21st Century: Obstacles and Opportunities”

Friday, April 16, 2010

The School of Writing, Rhetoric, and Technical Communication at James Madison University welcomes proposals from graduate students in any discipline for a one-day symposium.

The symposium will explore all facets of communication; from the way it is taught in the classroom to the way it shapes our society. Possible topics include (but are not limited to):

° applications of communication theories to 21st-century communication practice

° communication and new media

° communication and media convergence

° visual communication

° rhetorical theory and communication

° multi-modal and multimedia communication (visual, verbal, and audio)

° 21st-century theory and practice of web communication

° intercultural communication in a globalized world

° 21st-century technical and scientific communication: issues, problems, perspectives.

Formats for presentations will include 15-minute panel papers, research posters, and multimedia displays. Panel submissions of three or four speakers are also welcome.

The keynote speaker for the symposium is Dr. James Dubinsky, Director of the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships at Virginia Tech and the former director of their professional writing program. He is the immediate past-president of the Association for Business Communication and the editor of the volume Teaching Technical Communication.

Proposals for presentations may be submitted electronically as a 250-word attachment in .doc format by Friday, January 15, 2010 via the symposium website (http://www.communicationsymposium.org/) or via email to kleinmj@jmu.edu. Please indicate your name, academic affiliation, proposal title, and which type of presentation format your proposal addresses on your submission.