The American Journalism Historians Association invites paper entries, panel proposals, and abstracts of research in progress on any facet of media history for its 39th annual convention to be held online Oct. 2-3, 2020.
The deadline for all submissions is July 1, 2020.
The AJHA views journalism history broadly, embracing print, broadcasting, advertising, public relations, and other forms of mass communication that have been inextricably intertwined with the human past. Because the AJHA requires presentation of original material, research papers, research in progress, and panels submitted to the convention should not have been submitted to or accepted by another convention or publication. Research submitted for the conference must be significantly different than previous work, meaning the submitted research would represent new archival research, interviews, or content analysis that has not been presented before at a conference and represents a new departure from prior presented or published work. Research that previously was presented as a research in progress presentation at an AJHA convention or the Joint Journalism and Communication History Conference or as a paper at the AJHA Southeast Symposium, however, may be submitted as a research paper. Each author may submit at most one paper, one Research in Progress abstract, and one panel proposal.
Research Papers
Authors may submit only one research paper. They also may submit one Research in Progress abstract but only on a significantly different topic than the paper. Research entries must be no longer than 25 pages of text, double-spaced, in 12-point type, not including notes. The Chicago Manual of Style is recommended but not required.
Papers must be submitted electronically as PDF or Word attachments. Please send the following:
An email with the attached paper, saved with author identification only in the file name and not in the paper.
A separate 150-word abstract as a Word attachment (no PDFs) with no author identification.
Author’s info (email address, telephone number, institutional affiliation, student or faculty status) in the text of the email.
Send papers to ajhapaper@gmail.com. All authors will be notified in mid-July whether their papers have been accepted.
Authors of accepted papers must register for the convention and attend in order to present their research.
Accepted papers are eligible for several awards, including the following:
David Sloan Award for the outstanding faculty research paper ($250 prize).
Robert Lance Award for outstanding student research paper ($100 prize).
Jean Palmegiano Award for outstanding international/transnational journalism history research paper ($150 prize).
J. William Snorgrass Award for outstanding minority-journalism research paper.
Maurine Beasley Award for outstanding women’s-history research paper.
Wally Eberhard Award for outstanding research in media and war ($50 prize).
Research Chair Erin Coyle of Louisiana State University is coordinating paper submissions.
Panels
Preference will be given to proposals that involve the audience and panelists in meaningful discussion or debate on original topics relevant to journalism history. Preference also will be given to panels that present diverse perspectives on their topics. Entries must be no longer than three pages of text, double-spaced, in 12-point type, with one-inch margins. Panel participants must register for and attend the convention.
Panel participants must register for and attend the convention.
Panel proposals must be submitted electronically as PDF or Word attachments. Please include the following:
A title and brief description of the topic.
The moderator and participants’ info (name, institutional affiliation, student or faculty status).
A brief summary of each participant’s presentation.
No individual may be on more than one panel or in more than one panel proposal. Panel organizers must make sure panelists have not agreed to serve on multiple panels. Panel organizers also must secure commitment from panelists to participate and make sure the panelists are not included in another panel proposal before submitting the proposal. Although moderators are discussion facilitators and may not serve as panelists, moderators can only be included in one panel proposal. Failure to adhere to the guidelines will lead to rejection of the proposal.
Moderators are discussion facilitators and may not serve as panelists. Failure to adhere to the guidelines will lead to rejection of the proposal.
Rob Wells of the University of Arkansas is coordinating the panel competition. Authors of panel proposals will be notified in mid-July whether their panels have been accepted. Panels must register for the convention and attend.
Research in Progress
Each author may submit only one Research in Progress abstract.The research in progress category is for work that will NOT be completed before the conference. Research in progress must be significantly different than previously presented or published research. Participants will give an overview of their research purpose and progress, not a paper presentation, as the category’s purpose is to allow for discussion and feedback on work in progress. RIP authors may also submit a research paper on a significantly different topic.
For research in progress submissions, send a blind abstract of your study. Include the proposal title in the abstract. The abstract should include a clear purpose statement as well as a brief description of your primary sources. Abstracts must be no longer than two pages of text, double-spaced, in 12-point type, with one-inch margins, excluding notes.
Primary sources should be described in detail in another double-spaced page.
Entries that do not follow these guidelines will be rejected.
The AJHA Research in Progress competition is administered electronically.
Proposals must be submitted as Word attachments, saved with author identification ONLY in the file names and NOT in the text of the proposal.
Each proposal must be submitted as an attachment, with author’s info (name, project title, telephone number, email address, institutional affiliation, and student or faculty status) in the text of the email.