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07/04/2026

CSCA 2027 ... Activism, Communication Ethics, & Social Justice Interest Group Call for Papers

Activism, Communication Ethics, & Social Justice Interest Group

Call for Submissions for 2027 CSCA Convention

Deadline for Submissions: October 9, 2026, 11:59 pm CDT

Directions for using the online system: Online Submission Directions 

Central States Communication Association (CSCA) Annual Convention-Madison, WI

April 7th -11th, 2027

Navigate

What to submit:

You are invited to submit competitive papers, panel discussions, and performance sessions to the Activism, Communication Ethics, and Social Justice (ACES-J) interest group for the 2027 CSCA Convention in Madison, WI.

Who can submit:

Faculty, students, independent scholars, and community members are encouraged to submit and attend the convention. In the spirit of Navigate, we invite participants to explore the routes, barriers, intersections, and possibilities that shape how individuals, communities, organizations, and societies find their way through an increasingly complex world. While navigation is often associated with finding the most efficient path forward, we also recognize the value of getting lost, resisting prescribed routes, turning off the GPS, and embracing detours. In an age of constant guidance and algorithmic direction, we may have surrendered some of our capacity to navigate spaces, relationships, and experiences on our own. This convention invites reflection on both the tools that guide us and the moments when we choose to chart our own course.

Connecting to the Theme:

All submissions that reflect the spirit and mission of ACES-J are welcome. While proposals need not explicitly engage the conference theme, contributors may consider the following approaches to Navigate:

  • Rejecting navigation altogether and embracing uncertainty, exploration, or getting lost.
  • Examining how some paths, opportunities, and spaces remain open to certain groups while being restricted or inaccessible to others.
  • Considering processes of rerouting, adaptation, resilience, and change.
  • Exploring how conferences can serve as sites of social change, community-building, and collective action.
  • Investigating how scholars navigate academia as a space for advocacy, activism, and public engagement.
  • Reflecting on how students, faculty, and institutions navigate higher education amid federal and state funding reductions and shifting political landscapes.

Non-conformist Work:

We recognize that some of the most innovative and impactful work being done by communication scholars transcends traditional means of categorizing and organizing scholarship. This interest group provides a space to share and celebrate exploratory, transdisciplinary, or otherwise non-conformist work that deals with issues of activism, ethics, and social justice from a communication perspective. This can include a variety of work, including but not limited to applied work on professional ethics, explorations of activist endeavors, and/or critical performances.

Paper Submissions:

  • Papers may use any methodological or theoretical perspective (critical, rhetorical, qualitative, quantitative) and any formalized, consistent citation type (MLA, APA, Chicago, etc.).
  • Paper submissions (including polished scholarship-in-progress submissions) are limited to 30 double-spaced pages (excluding references, cover page, abstract, and appendices).
  • Paper submissions must include a title and a brief abstract.
  • The names of authors and all identifying information should be removed from the paper.
  • Students should include the term “STUDENT” on the upper right-hand corner of the title page.
  • If the paper will be a student debut, please type “DEBUT STUDENT” on the upper-right hand corner.
  • To be considered a graduate student debut paper, the author must be a graduate student, the paper must have single authorship, and the paper must be the author’s first paper presented at CSCA.
  • The interest group will award the top paper and top student paper – only papers are eligible for these awards.

Inclusive Scholarship Award:

  • The Inclusive Scholarship Award is sponsored by the CSCA Equity & Inclusion Committee (EIC). Its purpose is to highlight the most promising work by scholars in the areas of equity and inclusion.
  • If you would like to be considered for the Inclusive Scholarship Award, please clearly articulate, in at least one paragraph in the abstract, how the respective scholarship explicitly addresses equity and inclusion.
  • Additionally, be sure to select the Inclusive Scholarship option when you submit your paper.
  • The top qualifying paper from this interest group will be forward to the Equity and Inclusion Committee and qualifying authors will receive notice that their paper is being considered for the award.

Panel Proposals:

  • Panel proposals should outline a rationale for the panel, provide an overview of the goals of the panel, and describe the panelists.
  • Panel proposals may follow a traditional discussion-based format, may involve performative elements, may involve local community members in a dialogue to understand and address issues of injustice, or may be presented in any other creative format.
  • There will be strong preference given to proposals that include panelists from multiple institutions and contexts.
  • Panel submissions must include the following:

(a) title

(b) description (75 words or less)

(c) rationale (75 words or less)

(d) a complete list of participants along with their institutional affiliations, contact information, and CSCA membership status.

  • Panels should also include titles and brief abstracts (150 words or less) for each paper or explanation of each participant’s purpose/perspective.

Creative Works:

  • To facilitate vibrant, generative, and robust dialogues and monologues, we also welcome independent submissions using creative, performance, artwork, crafts, poetry, or other embodied methods.
  • Create an abstract of sorts: include a title and describe the work you will be presenting or performing in detail as well as how it fits within the mission of the ACES-J interest group.

Other Things to Note:

  • Submission Deadline: Oct. 9th, 2026 11:59pm CDT.
  • Send submissions electronically through our CSCA online submission system site.
  • All potential submitters are encouraged to create a profile on the CSCA online submission system site. Membership is not required to create a profile. This will make later steps in the process much easier.
  • All technology requests must be made at the time of submission. Please only request media if it is essential to your presentation, as media requests will be closely examined before approval.
  • Laptop computers will not be made available for presentations.

 Questions?

Any questions can be directed to Samentha Sepulveda (ssepulv1@neiu.edu), the chair for CSCA’s Activism, Communication Ethics, and Social Justice Interest Group.

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