CfP: Conference: (De-)Westernization in International and Intercultural Communication

The International and Intercultural Communication section of the German Communication Association invites contributions to its conference on “Beyond ‘Center’ and ‘Periphery’: (De-)Westernization in International and Intercultural Communication”, to be held in Erfurt, Germany, 27-29 October 2011.

Research on international and intercultural communication is largely dominated by American and Eurocentric perspectives. This is reflected in the existing theoretical models and methods as well as in the strong focus on Western nations and societies as research areas.

The resulting Western-centric systems of analysis have long been regarded as ideal models for research around the world. However, recent years have witnessed a movement for the emancipation of non-Western research. Particularly in Latin-America and Asia, American and Eurocentric perspectives have been perceived as part and parcel of Western cultural imperialism and therefore questioned from as early as the 1970s.

As part of the globalization discourse, emerging research areas such as India, China, Africa or Latin America, once deemed peripheral, have increasingly come into focus. However, the available methods and analytical models turned out to be insufficient for explaining media use or media effects in those regions.

But does a genuinely non-Western type of media and communication research truly exist?

Deadline for papers: 15 May 2011. Read the full call here (pdf).