Conversations about Connections:

Gateway to Communication at the “Heart of It All”?

Christina S. Beck, CSCA First Vice-President and 2009 Primary Program Planner

Dr. Christina Beck Professor of Communication and CSCA First Vice President

As my students would likely reveal, I’m not the most technologically savvy person. Thus, when I disclose that I’m on Facebook, most of them respond with surprise. Beyond their accurate assumption that I’m far more comfortable with a VCR than YouTube, though, I can attribute some of their reactions to the lingering perception that Facebook continues to be the domain of college students, not a social network for people of, well, “my generation.” Even though I didn’t initially envision Facebook as something for me either, I’m glad that I followed the advice of a colleague to construct my own account. No, I didn’t suddenly become “hip.” (As my 14 year-old wryly informs me, if I use the word, I’m clearly not.) However, Facebook has broadened my opportunities to foster new relationships and revitalize others from long ago segments of my life.  Our 2009 conference theme underscores the importance of seeking innovative and resourceful ways to connect. By identifying communication as the “heart of it all,” our theme heralds communication as the means through which we can transcend geographical, philosophical, political, theoretical, methodological, demographic, and sub-disciplinary boundaries to co-accomplish common bonds, social relationships, and collective activities.

The plenary session exemplifies the types of conversations that we will be enjoying in April. I invite all of you to join us for The View from St. Louis on Thursday, April 2, from 3:30-4:45 p.m. Mirroring the popular daytime talk show, this panel will feature six women from our discipline in various places, circumstances, and stages of their lives and careers. Dawn O. Braithwaite, Carolyn Calloway-Thomas, Eileen Gilchrist, Ruth Kay, Judy C. Pearson, and Jennifer Scott will discuss salient issues for communication teacher/scholar/ practitioners from their varied perspectives. We hope that this public conversation will reveal common viewpoints as well as diverse orientations. I urge you to contribute to this conversation by offering questions or topics that you would like for these panelists to address. Please e-mail me at Beck@ohio.edu to share your ideas. I welcome your input for our plenary conversation.

In addition to the plenary session, I applaud our 2009 unit planners for embracing the conference theme and approaching program planning with such a collaborative spirit. To emphasize connections throughout our program, I encouraged the unit planners to collaborate, and they did a tremendous job of working together to develop and co-sponsor compelling panels. Our conference will highlight intersections across our association and offer intriguing forums for interactions between people in various seasons of their academic careers, thanks in large part to the tremendously creative efforts of our unit planners! 

From Rising Scholar classes (offered last year as “master classes”) to research brainstorming sessions (such as a rhetorical critic “speed dating” session and a conversation analysis data session) to traditional competitive paper panels to a session entirely in “Second Life” to powerful panels with senior scholars sharing insights on varied topics (including the recent election, Lincoln’s legacy, journal editing and publication opportunities, and sexual communication) to sessions that give voice to high school teachers’ experiences with communication and cultures within their classrooms, the 2009 CSCA conference offers much for everyone, from the pre-conference on Wednesday through Saturday evening. Indeed, most panel slots, from early on Thursday until late on Saturday, include at least one top paper panel from our various planning units. Thus, book your flights so that you can stay through Saturday night; you won’t want to miss a thing. Please visit the CSCA website (www.csca-net.org) to learn what’s in store for you in St. Louis!!

When we meet in St. Louis, our opportunities for connecting and conversing will extend beyond formal sessions. If you arrive in St. Louis on Wednesday, April 1, but you’re not participating in one of the pre-conference sessions, consider joining other CSCA attendees for a tour of the historic Anheuser-Busch brewery. We’ll leave from the hotel at 2:30 p.m., tour the facility at 3 p.m., and enjoy taste-testing before returning to the Millennium. Please pre-register for this event, if your schedule permits. I also encourage you to join us for refreshments and the free screening of Meet Me in St. Louis on Wednesday at 8 p.m. What a great way to relax and visit prior to the formal start of our conference! 

On Thursday, April 2, please plan to attend our welcome reception from 6-8 p.m., featuring a live performance by R&B recording artist, Dr. J. W. Smith. At 9 p.m. on Thursday, we are also honored to present the North American premiere of Academy Award semi-finalist Denis Mueller’s Soldiers of Peace, a film that examines the history of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) and their conversion from soldiers to peace activists. After the film, Mr. Mueller will be available for conversation with attendees.

On Friday, April 3, we will celebrate the presidency of Nancy Brule with a party from 6:30-9 p.m., complete with complementary food and a great DJ! If you’re still up for even more fun, participate in the Third Annual CSCA Pub Crawl. Individuals will leave the hotel lobby at 9 p.m. to experience the night life in four nearby St. Louis establishments. (You can even pre-order a commemorative t-shirt to wear during the festivities!)

Saturday, April 4, may be the last day of our conference, but we won’t be winding down early by any means. Excellent panels extend into the late afternoon. We begin our evening entertainment with a Chamber Theater performance of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi, followed by a roundtable discussion, from 6:30-7:45 p.m. At 8 p.m. on Saturday, we will offer complementary light refreshments for the special performance of Heart Murmurs: A Memoir Play, written and performed by Linda M. Park-Fuller. In this play, a communication scholar and artist learns that she must have immediate heart surgery. By telling her tale, the author speaks out against a paradigm of “health by excision” embraced by both medical and corporate-academic institutions, but she also learns to transform loss and anger through a re-cycling of self. 

For those who would like to explore the St. Louis night life on our last evening in town, join the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Caucus as they gather to socialize and network at a night spot that is open and friendly toward gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered persons and their allies. Meet in the hotel lobby at 9:30 p.m. on Saturday to begin a night of dancing and fun!

As this summary suggests, the 2009 CSCA conference promises to be exciting, entertaining, enlightening, and educational. To maximize your experience, please be sure to explore the program on the website and to pre-register for the conference, carefully marking sessions that require pre-registration (such as the Rising Scholar courses, the pre-conference session, the brewery tour, the pub crawl, the luncheon, the president’s party, and the senior scholars brainstorming session). I truly look forward to meeting you in St. Louis in just a few months for a terrific time of connecting and conversing about communication!