Our History
Since its founding in 2015, the Communication & Media Studies Research Network has built a transnational community dedicated to understanding communication media as both a practice and a condition of modern life.
The Communication & Media Studies Research Network was founded in 2016 with its inaugural conference in Chicago, creating a space for scholars, researchers, and practitioners to explore the role of communication and media in shaping contemporary life. This gathering marked the beginning of a sustained international dialogue that now spans over a decade.
From its early conferences at the University of California, Berkeley, University of Bonn, and National University of Ireland, Galway, to later meetings at the Complutense University of Madrid, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Interamerican Open University in Buenos Aires, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, the Network has built a reputation as an intellectually serious, interdisciplinary community bridging media research, theory, and practice. Each host institution has contributed new perspectives on communication, culture, and technology—linking regional media landscapes to an expanding global discourse.
Throughout its history, the Network has welcomed distinguished and emerging voices shaping the conversation on media and society. Plenary speakers have included Linda Herrera (University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign), Mario Minichiello (University of Newcastle), Caja Thimm (University of Bonn), Dave Karpf (George Washington University), and Arne Hintz (Cardiff University), among others—each contributing insight into how communication and media frame the ways we connect, organize, and imagine collective futures.
We are thankful for the leadership of the following Research Network Chairs.
Current Chair, Editor (2023-)
Founding Chair, Editor (2006-8)
Current Chair and Editor
The Communication & Media Studies Conference has a rich history of featuring leading voices from the field, including:
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, USA
(2016)
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, USA
(2016)
University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia
(2017)
University of Bonn, Germany
(2017)
George Washington University, Washington, DC
(2018)
Cardiff University, UK
(2019)
University of Münster, Germany
(2019)
The Communication & Media Studies Conference has had the pleasure of working with the following organizations
