Media Ecology Association - 2024 Convention

The 25th Annual Media Ecology Association Convention

June 6–9, 2024
Daemen University, Amherst, NY

“Cultivating Community: A Celebration of MEA’s 25th Anniversary”

The Media Ecology Association’s 25th Annual Convention will be held from June 6–9, 2024 at Daemen University in Amherst, New York.

In recognition of the Media Ecology’s 25th anniversary and convention setting, the theme of the 2024 conference is community. The conference will take place on the Daemen University campus in Amherst, NY. Amherst is consistently ranked as one of the safest cities in America due to a community focus and investment in outlets for cultivating “relationally modern” young adults who are able to withstand and navigate intricacies of contemporary life in a digital landscape (Singer, 2014). The Daemen campus is just minutes from Buffalo, colloquially referred to as The City of Good Neighbors — a moniker evidenced by citizen responses to public tragedy and remarkable weather events.

Media ecology has roots in, borrows from, and advances notions pertinent to the intersection of community, democracy, culture, and the nature of cities. Many principal figures in the tradition of media ecology scholarship have worked closely in these areas, from Mumford’s attention to life in urban environments, to Carey’s concerns about democratic participation, as well as Gumpert and Drucker’s many talks and publications dealing with the intersection of said themes.

The annual meeting of the MEA provides an opportunity for our community of scholars, educators, professionals, artists, and practitioners to exchange experiences and ideas in a friendly environment. Participants at MEA conventions address a wide diversity of topics in our program. We encouraged submissions that explore media ecological approaches from any number of different disciplines and fields of knowledge and social practice. We were interested in papers, thematic panels, roundtable discussion panels, creative projects, performance sessions, and other proposals of interest to media ecologists.

In recognition of the 25th anniversary of the Media Ecology Association, we will be curating a gallery exhibition with works from our members (e.g., photography, video of performance pieces, digital art, etc.). We invite the submission of photos from past conventions and events to be included in the gallery show.

While we are open to explorations on any topic of interest to media ecologists, we also include a convention theme with the aim of generating further discussion and probes involving multiple perspectives. Submissions did not have to address the theme, but were invited to do so.

list of important dates

Guidelines for Submission

Paper and panel proposals, in English, were due by March 1, 2024 to MEA2024@daemen.edu. A maximum of two submissions per author were accepted. Authors who wish to be considered for the Top Paper or Top Student Paper award should have indicated this on their submission(s).

Submission Guidelines for paper and panel proposals:

Include title(s), abstract(s) (maximum 250 words), and contact information for each participant.
Outline, as relevant, how your paper or panel will fit with the convention theme.
Authors with papers submitted as part of a panel proposal or as a paper proposal who wish to be considered for Top Paper or Top Student Paper (see our Awards page for more details) must send the completed manuscript (see guidelines below) to the convention planners before the convention.

Submission guidelines for manuscripts for authors who wish to be considered for the Top Paper or Top Student Paper award:

Manuscripts should be 4,000–6,000 words (approximately 15 to 25 double-spaced pages)
Include a cover page with your institutional affiliation and other contact information.
Include an abstract (maximum 150 words).

For those interested in submitting a paper for award contention, the full paper is due to the convention planner by May 1, 2024.

Featured Speakers

Corey Anton is Professor of Communication Studies at Grand Valley State University and a Fellow of the International Communicology Institute. Dr. Anton, who has been at Grand Valley since 1998, earned undergraduate degrees, in psychology and communication at University of Wisconsin-Parkside (1991), a master’s degree in speech communication and rhetoric from Illinois State University (1994) and a doctorate in interpersonal communication theory and phenomenology from Purdue University (1998).

Some of his representative publications can be found in journals such as Philosophy and Rhetoric, Communication Theory, Human Studies, Semiotica, The Review of Communication, Explorations in Media Ecology, The Atlantic Journal of Communication, and Communication Studies. Anton is author of Selfhood and Authenticity (2001, SUNY Press), Sources of Significance: Worldly Rejuvenation and Neo-Stoic Heroism (2010, Purdue University Press), How Non-Being Haunts Being: On Possibilities, Morality and Death Acceptance (2020, Fairleigh Dickinson University Press), A. EYE CANDY: A Museum of Imaginary Robots and Other Digital Delights (2023, IGS Press) and the collection Communication Uncovered: General Semantics and Media Ecology (2010, IGS Press). He is the editor of Valuation and Media Ecology: Ethics, Morals, and Laws (2010, Hampton Press), co-editor, along with Lance Strate, of the collection Korzybski And… (2012, IGS Press), and co-editor, along with Robert K. Logan and Lance Strate, of the collection Taking Up McLuhan’s Cause (2017, Intellect Publishing). Past Editor of the journal Explorations in Media Ecology, Past President of the Media Ecology Association, and Past Chair of the Semiotics and Communication Division of the National Communication Association, Anton currently serves as Vice-President of the Institute of General Semantics, and on the editorial boards of The Atlantic Journal of Communication, ETC, New Explorations, and Explorations in Media Ecology.

Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His latest book is THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. Last April, he published RED TEAM BLUES, a technothriller about finance crime. He is the author of the international young adult LITTLE BROTHER series. He is also the author of CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM (with Rebecca Giblin), about creative labor markets and monopoly; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about conspiracies and monopolies; and of RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults, a YA graphic novel called IN REAL LIFE; and other young adult novels like PIRATE CINEMA. His first picture book was POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER (Aug 2020). His next novel is THE BEZZLE (February 2024). He maintains a daily blog at Pluralistic.net. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2022, he earned the Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Awardee for lifetime achievement. York University (Canada) made him an Honourary Doctor of Laws; and the Open University (UK) made him an Honourary Doctor of Computer Science.

Judith Yaross Lee, Distinguished Professor Emerita of Communication Studies at Ohio University, studies American rhetorics in interdisciplinary historical contexts. Her six books and some five dozen journal articles and book chapters include Twain’s Brand: Humor in Contemporary American Culture (2012), Seeing MAD: Essays on Mad Magazine’s Humor and Legacy (2020), and “American Humor and Matters of Empire” (2020). A longtime friend of the MEA, she attended the first convention, co-edited EME with Lance Strate (2001–04), and won the 2020 Edmund S. Carpenter Award for Career Achievement in Editing.

Program

Final program (PDF). Last updated 31 May 2024.

Schedule at a Glance

Thursday, June 6	Friday, June 7	Saturday, June 8	Sunday, June 9
8:00–9:00; Breakfast	8:00–9:00; Breakfast	8:00–9:00; Breakfast	8:00–9:00; Breakfast
8:30–4:00; Registration Open	8:30–4:00; Registration Open	8:30–4:00; Registration Open	9:00–10:15; Panel Session XII
9:00–10:15; Panel Session I	9:00–10:15; Panel Session V	9:00–10:15; Panel Session IX	10:30–Noon; The Future of MEA Plenary Session & Farewell (Until Next Year)
10:30–11:45; Panel Session II	10:30–11:45; Panel Session VI	10:30–11:45; Panel Session X
Noon–1:15; Lunch Break	Noon–1:15; Lunch Break	Noon–1:15; Lunch Break
1:30–2:45; Panel Session III	1:30–2:45; Panel Session VII	1:30–2:45; Panel Session XI
3:00–4:15; Panel Session IV	3:00–4:15; Panel Session IIX	3:00–3:50; General Business Meeting
4:30–5:45; Featured Speaker: Dr. Judith Yaross Lee	4:30–5:45; Featured Speaker: Cory Doctorow	4:00–5:15; Featured Speaker: Corey Anton
5:45–7:00; Opening Reception	6:00–9:00; Night Out in Buffalo	5:15–6:00; Memorial Gathering for Robert Barry Francos 6:00–9:00; Banquet — Cocktails at 6:00, Dinner Service at 6:30

Registration

Early registration prices are as follows:

Regular member: $130 (includes our annual awards banquet dinner)
Student member: $70 with the banquet or $40 without it
Non-member: $255 (includes the banquet)
Non-member student: $90 (includes the banquet)

Early registration prices are good until May 1, 2024. After that, regular member registration is $155 (includes the banquet) and student member registration is $80 with the banquet and $50 without it.

Convention registration entitles you to attend all convention panels, plenaries, and special sessions. All prices are listed in U.S. dollars. Sustaining and Institutional members don’t have to pay for the convention separately, but they still must register for it.

All convention participants and attendees are encouraged to join the MEA.

On-Campus Housing Information

Accommodations are available for those wishing to stay on Daemen University’s campus in the Campus Village Apartments from June 5–9.

An interactive campus map can be found here: https://daemen.university-tour.com/

A tour of the apartments can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfbaMWUckLY

Each guest will have a private bedroom in a four-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with common kitchenette and living room space. Daemen will make every effort to honor roommate preferences based on dates of stay.

Accommodations include:

Breakfast and lunch on the day following an overnight stay (Note: Only breakfast will be served on Sunday.)
Linens: sheets, blanket, towels, and pillows
Free on-campus parking

Cost of $110.00 USD per person, per day (plus Eventbrite fees).

All rooms must be booked by Wednesday, May 1, 2024. To book on-campus housing, go to the Eventbrite page and click on “Get tickets.” This is the way to purchase individual breakfast and lunch tickets as well for those looking to eat on campus. Daemen does not run a full cafeteria in the summer so please purchase tickets in advance to help the dining staff plan.

Off-Campus Accommodations

There are several hotels only a short drive from the Daemen University campus. The closest hotel to campus is Hyatt Place (a 4-minute drive to campus). Guests staying off-campus may pre-purchase on-campus meals: $10 for breakfast and $13 for lunch.

Hyatt Place Amherst/Buffalo
5020 Main Street
Amherst, NY 14226
Phone: (716) 839-4040

Student Travel Grants

The MEA is pleased, once again, to offer a limited number of travel grants to students — undergraduate and graduate — seeking financial assistance in attending the convention. Those interested in applying should complete this form. Applications are due March 22, 2024.

Please stay tuned for more information. Questions? Reach out to the convention coordinators at MEA2024@daemen.edu or contact us.