Massey to host Oceania Hub of the International Communication Association conference

The conference, titled Disrupting and Consolidating Communication Research: Applying Communication Theory to Practice, aims to explore the connection between communication theory and communication practice through the lens of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and social justice.

The event is organised by the Center for Culture-Centered Approach to Research and Evaluation (CARE) and the communication and media studies programme at Massey and will be held in person on the Manawatū campus and online.

The conference is organised by four Massey academics; Dean's Chair of Communication and Director of CARE Professor Mohan Dutta, Associate Professor Sean Phelan, Senior Lecturer Dr Debalina Dutta and Senior Lecturer and Co-Director of the Political Ecology Research Centre Dr Sy Taffel.

Professor Dutta emphasises community-driven communication strategies to address health disparities and social injustices. He says the Oceania hub is not just an academic event.

“This event is a space for building solidarities, for challenging dominant knowledge structures and for co-creating transformative theories grounded in the lived experiences of communities.”

Dr Taffel, whose research focuses on the environmental and social impacts of digital technologies, says the conference is gathering at a time when questions around climate, inequality and digital governance are more urgent than ever.

“This Hub allows us to interrogate the material consequences of media systems and to imagine communication practices that are more sustainable and just.”

The conference will feature keynote addresses from University of Sydney Professor Terry Flew, Auckland University of Technology Professor Ella Henry and Working to End Racial Oppression Dr Arama Rata. It will showcase panels on Palestine, Te Tiriti and Indigenous organising, the future of media and artificial intelligence, the international culture wars and linkages of communication theory with practice.

The opening panel, Culturally centering the Palestine Question: Inviting Disruptions to Sustain Our Collective Futures, will be broadcast on the ICA main stage. It will explore questions of erasure, communicative inequality and voice infrastructures - the key concepts in the culture-centered approach developed by Professor Dutta.

The panel Aotearoa New Zealand perspectives on the internationalisation of the culture wars, organised by Dr Phelan, will see a group of Massey scholars talk about the culture wars from different disciplinary perspectives. Included on the panel will be Provost Professor Giselle Byrnes, Associate Professor Nick Holm, Associate Professor Nepia Mahuika, Associate Professor Dr Angela Moewaka Barnes and Professor Dutta.

The Hub will also include a collaboration with the ICA Hub in India, hosted by Manipal University, titled Comparing Communication for Social Change in Aotearoa and India: Scope, relevance and justification for policy, advocacy and activist research practices.

The engagement of the Hub with contemporary policy questions is reflected in the collaboration with the ICA main event in Denver, Colorado, that Professor Dutta is organising

The ICA conference will provide a platform for scholars, practitioners and community members to engage in critical discussions and collaborative sessions aimed at transforming communication research and practice.

You can learn more about the event and register your attendance here.