The Official Newsletter for the Media Ecology Association

      

December 2025


Dear MEA Community,

December pulls us toward patterns.  Rituals, celebrations, and familiar practices seem to arrive right on schedule. These rhythms can feel cyclical and reassuring, but as Ong reminds us, cycles also have a way of masking the realities of change and emergence. We do not return to the same moment each year but rather encounter it anew, shaped by shifting media environments, new conversations, and the evolving conditions of our shared intellectual life.

For the Media Ecology Association, this season is less about closing a loop than about gathering the strands of our work. Each meeting, book club discussion, symposium, and conference presentation becomes part of a larger, synchronic presence.  We are a living network of inquiry that brings together our histories, our diverse traditions, and our ongoing questions about communication, technology, and culture. We arrive at the end of the year not to repeat the past, but to recognize how our engagements with one another have deepened and expanded it.

Whether we see you in our book club, at our convention, or across the many spaces where our community gathers, we value the shared presence that keeps our conversations alive and continually emerging.


--Tiffany Petricini

    Reminder Deadlines Extended:  MEA 2026


    Please Note the Updated Submission Deadlines for the 2026 Convention:

    • Proposal Submission Deadline: Extended to January 15, 2026

    • Full Paper Deadline for Top Paper Awards: Due February 1, 2026

    • Travel Grant Application Deadline: Due March 15, 2026

      • Note: Full papers are not required to apply for travel grants.

    Special Issue on Media Ecology Now Available in Spanish

    We are pleased to inform you that the  Special Issue on Media Ecology, originally published in Portuguese in 

    Revista Alceu ( https://revistaalceu.com.puc-rio.br/alceu/issue/view/15), has been translated into Spanish and now was published in the Revista Iberoamericana de Comunicación.

    You can access it here: https://ric.ibero.mx/index.php/ric/issue/view/23


    This project was a collective effort of Universidad Iberoamericana CdMx, represented by Prof. Samuel Martinez and the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, represented by Dr. Adriana Braga, editors of this issue. There was a considerable work in translating and obtaining international authorizations for the publication in Spanish. The original issue was published in a bilingual version, in Portuguese and English in 2022 at Revista ALCEU. It was a hommage to the 22rd Annual Convention of the MEA in Rio de Janeiro. It published a selection of Media Ecology papers presented at the convention. Due to the interest of Universidad Iberoamericana, who covered the costs of translation, this special issue represents an important step into the Internationalization of Media Ecology authors, ideas and perspective, reinforcing the media ecological references in Spanish. The organizers would like once again to thank our colleagues for their valuable collaboration in disseminating ecological ideas throughout the Ibero-American world.

    MEA Book Club:  December and January

    Special Note: Book clubs will now take place at 8:00 p.m. 

    MEA Book Club – January Update

    January's reading will be:The Laws of Media (1988) by Marshall and Eric McLuhan.  

    Published in 1988, almost a decade after Marshall McLuhan’s death, this book was originally intended to be a revision of Understanding Media. In this volume, the McLuhans present the tetrad, four laws of media that serve as a structure for analyzing the impact and significance of any medium or innovation. An important complement to this work, Media and Formal Cause, was published in 2011.

    Meeting Date and Time:
    January 5, 2026 | 8:00–9:00 p.m. ET
    Please RSVP using the Registration Link to receive the Zoom link.  

    The book can be purchased on Amazon.   


    MEA Book Club – December Reminder

    There’s still time to join us for the December MEA Book Club meeting. 

    Date: Monday, December 1, 2025
    Time: 8:00–9:00 p.m. ET 
    Location: Zoom (link provided upon registration)

    RSVP:Registration Link

    Again, we will be reading The Gutenberg Galaxy by Marshall McLuhan (1962).  


    Questions or title suggestions may be sent to Tiffany Petricini at:
    tzr106@psu.edu

    We look forward to reading with you.


    More Ways to Get Involved with MEA

    Are you looking for opportunities to engage with the Media Ecology Association beyond the convention? Here are some exciting ways to participate:

    • Virtual Coffee Meetings
      Do you have questions about media ecology, need advice on a study, or want to invite an expert to speak in your class? Schedule a virtual coffee meeting with an MEA scholar! To arrange a meeting, visit our website

    If you’re an experienced media ecologist interested in volunteering for these meetings, we’d love to hear from you!

    • Book Reviewers Wanted
      Have you read a great book related to media ecology? Consider writing a review for Explorations in Media Ecology!  For more details and a format template, contact jbogaczyk@gmail.com.

    • Join the Listserv
      Stay connected with the MEA community by joining the discussion group. The discussion group is open to all for sharing views, exchanging information, and learning about events related to media ecology.

    • Follow MEA on Social Media
      Connect with us on social media to stay updated on news, events, and discussions. Follow us on Facebook and X to join the conversation!

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