Against a backdrop of evolving technologies and shifting sociocultural and political dynamics, the 2018 ICA conference theme, Voices, encourages scholars to delve more deeply into a concept inextricably linked with communication.
Examined from multiple epistemological approaches, a host of methodologies, and numerous levels of analysis, studying voice – or the plurality of voices – can illuminate the process by which it is fostered and/or constrained as well as the conditions under which it is expressed and/or stifled. More important, the study of voice can shed light on the process by which it impacts behaviors, defines relationships, influences policies, and shapes the world in which we live. In other words, the conference theme encourages the submission of scholarship that examines voice vis-à-vis various discourses, actors, processes, and outcomes.
The significance of voice is reflected in contemporary debates around domestic and transnational issues such as the environment and immigration. It also plays a critical role in numerous systems, regardless of whether these systems are bound interpersonally, organizationally, culturally, politically, or socially. Irrespective of the domain of study, the conference theme Voices encourages scholars to address key questions related to:
* Theorizing about voice
How have conceptions of voice, either theoretically or in specific contexts, evolved over time and in different cultures? How do we theorize the combining of voices? How do we theoretically juxtapose voice against listening or thinking? How is voice implicated in claims to distinctive or authentic identity?
* The creation and representation of voice
Among different groups of individuals, ranging from young adults to underrepresented groups to political elites, how is voice fostered and what is the process by which private voices become public? Under what conditions are advocacy efforts successful or justifiable as forms of speaking on behalf of others? From dyadic contexts to public diplomacy, who speaks for whom?
* The expression of voice
When is voice activated and how is it communicated? How do individual or group voices organize socially available discourses? What individual, social, organizational, economic or legal considerations influence the expression of voice? How have media technologies amplified the expression of personal voices in public fora?
* The impact of voice
What communication strategies are effective in simultaneously bolstering voice and resolving conflict? How can the coexistence of voices be leveraged to introduce synergy and collaboration in problem-solving? How successful are different voices and messages in gaining traction via traditional and/or digital media? What is the process by which voices become influential, empower or constrain individuals and groups, and shape social processes?