ComArtSci faculty and students present research at international conference

May 15, 2018 - Kristina Pierson, ComArtSci Communications

Original article: https://comartsci.msu.edu/about/newsroom/news/comartsci-faculty-and-students-present-research-international-conference 

More than 80 faculty and students from across five departments at MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences will present their research at the upcoming International Communication Association (ICA) conference. With 50 years under its belt, the ICA is a global association for human and mediated communication scholars with members from 80 countries. This year the association will be hosting its 68th Annual ICA Conference May 24-28 in Prague, Czech Republic, with a ComArtSci reception to be held on May 25.

Bound for Prague

The theme of the conference is “Voice,” which is an increasingly complex topic as questions of representation and social justice are ongoing conversations around the globe. The conference will feature topics examining communications from a variety of approaches and methodologies to analyze the study of voice. 

Presentations from academics will consider theories of voice as well as the creation, representation, expression and significance of voice within social, political and cultural contexts, among others. A full list of ComArtSci presenters is available here. 

Innovators and Pioneers  

Assistant Professor Ralf Schmäelzle will be just one of the ComArtSci representatives at the upcoming conference. He and his co-authors will present several studies focusing on neuroimaging. Their presentations will explore how health messages are received, remembered and acted on, as well as the effects of films on the brain as it relates to suspense. 

“I am looking forward to the sessions by the new Communication Science and Biology group, which is a new division at ICA,” said Schmäelzle. “It brings together researchers who all share the view that understanding the biological underpinnings of communication is a major growth area for our field.”

Also among the ranks of our presenters, Professor Maria Lapinski looks forward to the conference as an opportunity to share her work on the ways unique populations communicate social norms about environmental behaviors and as a chance to connect with the global community of communications scholars.

“My first ICA conference was as an undergraduate student in the 90s,” said Lapinski. “It is a great conference—it is always inspiring to hear about what people are working on and connect with scholars from around the world. I look forward to learning about cutting-edge research and connecting with new and long-time colleagues.”

Rain Liu, a graduate student working with Lapinski, will be receiving the Dissertation of the Year Award from the ICA Environmental Communication Division.

Media and Information Department Chair Johannes Bauer expressed his excitement about the representation of ComArtSci. 

"Faculty and students from ComArtSci are innovators and pioneers in advancing the state of knowledge in many of the 23 Divisions and nine Interest Groups of the ICA, as evidenced by our strong presence at the 2018 meeting in Prague.”