Korean American Communication Association (KACA)

Submission Deadline: Wednesday, March 27, 2024, 11:59 PM PST

Call for Submissions

The Korean American Communication Association (KACA), an affiliate organization of NCA, promotes research, teaching, scholarly community, and professional development in Korean communication studies, which includes, but is not limited to, research about Korea, about Korean diasporas, and about cross-cultural or international comparative studies that include Korea or its diasporas.   

KACA seeks submissions that advance the 2024 NCA Convention Theme "Communicating for the Greater Regard." For the 2024 conference, we particularly welcome panels, papers, performances, and abstracts that seek to build community and structures of support. We are especially interested in round table sessions that address the needs of Korean communication studies as a field and of scholars who participate in these spaces. 

Questions that you might consider are: How do we better articulate Korean communication studies? How can we better support one another as graduate students and as early career, mid-career, and senior colleagues? How do we strengthen community and effect change in the discipline of communication studies? What fields of study and which scholars are historically marginalized and rendered invisible in Korean communication studies, and how can we work together to communicate for the greater regard in order to produce greater equity and to make structural change? 

For session submissions, we value panels that reflect the heterogeneity of Korean communication studies - institution, institution type, location, generation, diasporic experience, marginalized positionalities within the diaspora and in Korea, and racial difference. 

This year, in the spirit of communicating for the greater regard, KACA will accept extended abstracts on projects-in-progress by graduate students and early career faculty. Please note that extended abstracts will only be considered for a possible research-in-progress mentoring panel. That should be noted in your rationale, and acceptance will also be dependent upon receiving a sufficient number of abstracts to program a session. The purpose of a research-in-progress panel is to provide feedback from senior faculty, who can help address absences with scholars’ academic mentors. For instance, many graduate students do not have faculty mentors in their departments with knowledge about Korean communication studies, and a research-in-progress mentoring session can help to address these gaps. 

To clarify, KACA membership is not required for submission, although it is expected upon acceptance. Further, submissions do not have to be solely about Korean contexts. For example, a panel that includes participants who discuss queer experiences in Korea and other countries can be relevant to Korean communication studies. This allows for co-sponsorships with other affiliated associations and interest groups. As another example, a paper could be comparative, examining US and Korean participants’ beliefs about brand messaging, and this would be considered relevant for KACA. Finally, Korean communication studies does not have to be about Korea as the site of study, but it can be about its diasporas or about transnational connections - Zainichi, Korean American, Joseonjok, Koreans in Kazakhstan, mixed race, adoptees, interracial or interethnic relationships, etc.  

In order to lean into this conference’s theme, we are especially interested in submissions that are centered around how we build community and structures of support. This can include professional support, such as advice on topics such as, but not limited to, the job market and its impacts on future careers, tenure and promotion, mentoring as a critical practice, intersectional discrimination in the classroom and in the department, mutual support for leadership, organized presence in the field, publication in journals and books, and supportive peer review practices. It can also include discussions about how to effectively mentor, to organize for award committee participation and for award recognition, to move into leadership pipelines, and to support one another through mentorship and external letters - support, recommendation, and tenure review. It can include discussions that build community, such as envisioning an inclusive KACA - epistemology, life experience, linguistic community, generation, class, gender, race, sexuality; such as developing mutual cooperation - inviting each other for book talks, nominating one another for awards, co-authoring; and such as using social time and play to strengthen jeong (情) through joyful time together. 

Given the interests this year, we especially welcome panel discussions, but KACA accepts multiple types of submissions: (1) panel discussions, (2) paper sessions, (3) performance panels, (4) individual papers, (2) extended abstracts, (3) paper sessions, (4) performance panels, and (5) extended abstractspanel discussions. All submissions must be made via NCA Convention Central and must conform to expectations of NCA. Submissions received in other capacities will not be accepted. 

1. Panel Discussions: Submissions must include a title, a rationale (400-500 words), session description (75 words), and a chair (respondent is optional). Submissions must include a list of each presenter and their institutional affiliations. Please provide a clear rationale for the importance of the panel with respect to the mission of KACA and/or the NCA Convention Theme. There will be a strong preference for sessions that reflect the heterogeneity of our field and its members. 

2. Paper Sessions: Submissions must include a title, panel rationale (400-500 words), description (75 words max), and a chair (respondent is optional). For each paper on the panel, include the title, description (abstract of 150 words or less), and authors with contact information. Please provide a clear rationale for the importance of the panel with respect to the mission of KACA and/or the NCA Convention Theme. There will be a strong preference for sessions that reflect the heterogeneity of our field and its members. 

3. Performance Panels: Submissions must include a title, a rationale (250 words or less), and description (75 words), chair (respondent optional), and panel title. Each performance must include a title, abstract (100 words or less), performance titles, and the names of the performers with their contact information. Please provide a clear rationale for the importance of the panel with respect to the mission of KACA and/or the NCA Convention Theme. There will be a strong preference for sessions that reflect the heterogeneity of our field and its members. 

4. Individual Papers: Submissions are limited to completed papers that are no longer than 30 double-spaced pages. Copies must be uploaded to NCA Convention Central and must be anonymized. Instructions on how to prepare an unidentifiable copy are provided in the Convention Library. Please consider possible co-sponsorships when submitting your paper so that KACA can deepen its relationship with NCA interest groups. All methodologies and Korea/n-related interests are welcome. 

5. Extended abstracts: Submissions must be between 1,000-1,500 words and represent work-in-progress. The proposal should include a purpose, a rationale, a brief review of relevant literature, guiding research questions, proposed methodology, and desired outcomes. Please note that acceptance will be contingent upon receiving a sufficient number of extended abstracts to constitute a research-in-progress session. The abstracts will not be “presented” but rather discussed in groups with senior colleagues. 

Deadline for all submissions is March 27, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. Pacific.

Helpful resources, including live and recorded step-by-step instructions on how to submit, are available in the Convention Resource Library. All submitters are encouraged to review the Convention Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and the NCA Professional Standards for Convention Participants prior to submission.

You do not need to be a member of the NCA or the KACA to submit an individual paper, paper session, or panel discussion. However, if accepted, at least one author will need to (1) register for the NCA convention, (2) join or be an existing member of KACA, and (2) attend the convention to present the work. 

For additional information or questions, please contact the KACA Division Planner, David C. Oh (dcoh@syr.edu)