Dear MAC members:

It’s time to submit your panel proposals for the 2012 AEJMC Convention in Chicago.  Please send your proposals via e-mail (as a Word document attachment) by October 17 to MAC’s Vice-Head/Programming Felecia Jones Ross at [log in to unmask]  We are seeking proposals for panels on research, teaching, and professional freedom and responsibility (PF&R).  At the end of this document, I include a description of what a teaching panel should contain, some general tips, and a sample research panel proposal.  

All proposals should be one page in length and include the following:
(1)    Panel Title
(2)    Panel Type:  Indicate whether the proposal is for a TEACHING, PF&R, or RESEARCH panel.
(3)    Panel Sponsorship:  Indicate whether you are proposing a MAC-only panel or a co-sponsored panel.  For co-sponsored panels, list other AEJMC divisions or interest groups for  which this proposal might prove relevant.  
Please note: MAC sole-sponsored panel proposals will be considered.  However, most AEJMC panels are co-sponsored across divisions and interest groups.
(4)    Description of Panel:  Provide a succinct description in paragraph form of the key issues or subject matter to be addressed by the panelists.
(5)    Possible Panelists:  Indicate individuals who would be appropriate participants for this panel (may include academics, professionals, advocacy organizations). For those you list, indicate whether they have been contacted and have committed to participate.  If you plan to 
recruit a local professional for the panel, indicate this as well.  
Please note: It is not necessary to have a full slate of four participants at the proposal stage.
Best to commit no more than 3 participant speakers at this point since other divisions may want to contribute one or more speakers once they agree to co-sponsor a panel.
(6)    Moderator:  This can be you or someone you nominate to moderate the panel.
(7)    Contact Person:  Include your name, mailing address, e-mail address, and telephone number as the contact person for this panel proposal.
 
I look forward to reading your proposals and ideas, 
Felecia Jones Ross
MAC Programming Chair



GUIDELINES FOR TEACHING and PF&R PANELS

Each TEACHING PANEL should address one of the following four general areas
identified by the AEJMC Standing Committee on Teaching Standards. Teaching panels 
submitted to the MAC division should attempt to link these general areas to specific 
pedagogical challenges and opportunities related to teaching diversity/multiculturalism.

1. Curriculum: the philosophy, design, and examination of issues, 
developments and trends in the journalism curriculum.  Examples include online media, 
web innovations, visual literacy, intellectual property, interactive multimedia
design, civic journalism, race and gender issues, historical context, convergence, and ethics.

2.  Leadership: the administrative and organizational efforts used to 
manage and improve the evolution of the field of journalism and mass 
communication.  Examples include unique mentoring projects or activities, an 
examination of teaching accountability, credibility or history, or exploring the 
future of teaching and learning in J-Schools.

3. Course Content and Methods: examining teaching techniques and strategies.
 Examples include strategies on writing and rewriting, syllabus exchanges,
distance learning opportunities, developing handbooks and other teaching aids,
using videos and other technology in classrooms.
 
4.  Assessment: weighing the effectiveness of journalism education.  
Examples include surveys and reports on teaching effectiveness, seminars or 
workshops to assess the state of the field in general or more specific areas, 
various activities evaluating course content, textbooks, journalism programs 
and syllabi.


GUIDELINES FOR PF&R PANEL PROPOSALS:
Each year AEJMC’s PF&R Committee expects programming centered on professional freedom and responsibility in one or more of the five areas targeted:  1) freedom of expression, 2) ethics, 3) media criticism & accountability, 4) racial, gender and cultural inclusiveness, or 5) public service.


GENERAL TIPS FOR PROPOSAL WRITING:
If you are proposing a panel for the first time, these tips may be useful.  In formulating your proposal keep in mind:
1)	Relevance of the topic for the mission of the MAC Division
2)	Recent programming to avoid repetition of topics
3)	Diversity in the scope of panels (variety of angles, speakers, theoretical and methodological perspectives)
4)	Availability of prospective speakers
5)	Currency and transcendence of topics selected





SAMPLE RESEARCH PANEL PROPOSAL FROM 2010

AEJMC Panel Proposal
Division: Minorities and Communication

1) Title: Advancing Inter-ethnic and Interracial Communication Research among Latinos, Asian-Americans and African-Americans 
2) Panel type:  Research
3) Possible Co-sponsorship:  MAC and Mass Communication and Society
4) Description of Panel:    
A dominant trend in the study of minorities and communication has been to examine communicative practices and media representation of racial and ethnic minority groups in isolation or in exclusive relation to the white population—and often within a black/white binary that tends to overlook the complexities of a multicultural public sphere.  This panel shifts the focus to stress the relevance of studying communication and media representation among Latinos, African-Americans and Asians with two main goals.  First, panelists will share their current research on interethnic and interracial communication.  A second objective of this panel is to discuss theoretical constructs, methodologies and broader frameworks of understanding--for instance, liberal multiculturalism as a dominant discourse, racial formation and public sphere, social scientific methods, media literacy, etc.--that would allow researchers to advance the study of communication across racialized minority groups.
5) Prospective Panelists (listed in alphabetical order):
	Yuki Fujioka, Georgia State University.  
	Catherine Squires, University of Minnesota 
	Michael Thornton, University of Wisconsin, Madison
(6)    Moderator/Chair:  Ilia Rodriguez, New Mexico
(7)    Contact Person:  Ilia Rodriguez, Department of Communication & Journalism, MSCO3 2240, The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131

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