The Emerging Scholars Network is a section of the academic organization International Association of Media and Communication Research (IAMCR). The network seeks to engage emerging scholars from around the world in academic exchange, debate, and participation through creating scholarly panels, roundtable discussions, and other activities in close association with our parent organization, IAMCR. As its name suggests, the ESN seeks to establish a network among students, new scholars, and senior scholars, and to provide advice, feedback, resources, and opportunities to those scholars newer to academic and to the field of communication.
The Emerging Scholars Network is open to graduate students, new professors, and all researchers who feel 'young' in academia.
History
The Emerging Scholars Network was founded in Glasgow, Scotland in 1998, during the 21st general assembly of the IAMCR, from an idea and inspiration of Ramona Rush, Professor in Communications at the University of Kentucky. Originally called the Junior Scholars Network, its name was changed in 2006. The ESN organised its first round table in Leipzig, in July 1999 with the general theme "global communications, talking in future tense."
Organized and vitalized by its first chair, Katharine Sarikakis, the then-working group called JSN struggled to gain acceptance within IAMCR. Dr. Sarikakis' hard work and dedication along with strong support from senior scholars helped esn be voted a full section by the international council in the 2000 general assembly of the IAMCR. ESN now organizes and runs about ten panels with about 50 panelists every year, and organizes roundtables and special session in cooperation with the other IAMCR thematic sessions.
Then ESN held a second roundtable at the IAMCR conference in Singapore in July 2000. The theme of the roundtable discussion was "Riding the information highway and the dispossessed sideways." A first ever poster session on work in progress also took place.
In 2003, IAMCR in Taipei was canceled due to the sars outbreak in Asia. The ESN held the organization's first ever virtual conference, where participants posted papers online and readers had the opportunity to comment and respond.
The ESN continues to grow and expand its mission. In 2007 the ESN launched a mentorship programme to pair emerging scholars with senior scholars within IAMCR. Especially vital to students local to conference sites, ESN also aims to integrate IAMCR members and local academic and student organizations.
The current co-chairs, Ksenia Ermoshina and Sylvia Blake, were elected in Leicester in 2016, and will serve in the position till July 2020.
Past Officers (and honorary lifetime members):
- Francesca Musiani and Sandra Ristovska, co-chairs 2012-2016
- Sara Bannerman and Stefania Milan, co-chairs and website 2008-2012
- Rosa Mikeal Martey, chair and website management 2002 - 2008
- John Sullivan, chair 2000 - 2002
- Katharine Sarikakis, founding chair - 1998 - 2000
Founding Members:
Raffaella Benanti, Paula Chakravartty, Jessica Davis, Philip Drake, J. A. Dumas, Lisbeth Egsmose, Kerstin Engstrand, Arild Fetveit, Sara-Jane Finlay, Audrey Gadzekpo, Dietmar Gattwinkel, Leona Geudens, Aine Haslam, Michael Higgins, Hyun Joo Lee, Kris Jozajtis, Lewis Kaye, Claire Mackie, Philippe Meers, Colm Murphy, Petr Pavlik, Shoba S. Rajgopal, Ellen Riordan, Nandini Sen, John Sullivan, George Terzis, Trond Arne Undheim, Uta Wehn