The 10th International Conference on Intercultural Communication (ICIC 2019) will be held from November 15 to 17, 2019 in Wuhan University. The theme of Conference is Connection and Disconnection: Intercultural Communication in the Internet Era. The notice of the meeting is hereby announced as follows:

As noted by Sherry Turkle, the rise of network society has placed before us the questions of why we have come to expect more from technology and less from each other, and whether or not we really are “alone together”?

Facing the paradoxical relationship between internet usage and loneliness, we have come to see that hidden behind our feelings lies a new phenomenon, a disconnectedness within our networked society. It would seem that internet use leads to a reduction in peoples’ participation in “real” society as well as their willingness to engage in other non-virtual social activities. Rather than bringing us closer together, our increased interconnectedness has led to a reduction of meaningful interactions between people, and in turn, more “weak ties”.

In this context, in-group cultural interaction is being dissolved; intergroup contact and intercultural communication are being virtualised; diminishing levels of face to face interaction are weakening our acculturation abilities; and screen-mediated communication has led to increased risks for intercultural communication. As a result, there are increasing feelings of estrangement, isolation, and depression amongst internet users.

Yet in spite of this, there are those who enthusiastically expect network society to strengthen the bonds between people and facilitate better intercultural communication. For example, when faced with refugee-related issues, people have used the internet to gather together, to provide food and clothing for those in need, and to overcome cultural indifference and opposition. Or in the aftermath of terrorist attacks, we have seen people go online to share information about overcoming cultural conflict, as well as ideas of cultural pluralism.

When the internet is used in these ways, a strong case can be made that sometimes, it is technology that enables our togetherness, rather than the thing that leads us to “expect less of each other”. These examples demonstrate that we do possess the ability to restore our intercultural communication abilities and re-establish reciprocal, understanding relationships between cultures in the Internet era.

In light of the above, it is therefore necessary for us to face these questions of connection and disconnection in the internet age. We must seek-out, within the context of humankind’s collective fate, a more realistic path for intercultural communication.

Conference Theme
Connection and Disconnection: Intercultural Communication in the Internet Era
The above theme includes, but it not limited to the following topics:
1. Intercultural Communication and the Internet: Contradictions, Questions, and Pathways.
2. Constructing Intercultural Relationships in Online Communities.
3. Intercultural Psychology of Online Interactions.
4. The Online Practices of Intergroup Interactions.
5. Human-Machine Interactions and the Dissolution of Intimate Relationships.
6. The Intercultural Communication of Online News Platforms.
7. The Construction and Dissolution of Virtual Communities.
8. Cultural Memory in the Online Space.
9. Intercultural Communication Theory in the Internet Age.
10. Intercultural Connectivity in Context of Humanity’s Shared Fate.

Conference Organizer
Sponsors: Center for Studies of Media Development, Wuhan University (Key Research Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences at Universities, Ministry of Education, P.R.C.) , School of Journalism and Communication, Wuhan University.
Conference Convener: Professor Bo Shan(Director of Center for Studies of Media Development)

Paper Requirements
1. Papers submitted are expected NOT to have been presented at other academic conferences or published in other collections or journals.
2. The official languages of the conference will be Chinese and English. Papers submitted for the conference can be written with either one of the official languages
3. The deadline for the submission of essay abstracts is April 30, 2019. For essays written in Chinese, the submitted abstract must not exceed 500 characters. For essays written in English, the submitted abstract must not exceed 250 words.
4. Abstracts should also include your name, academic rank, current position, and contact information.
5. The conference’s organizing committee will provide confirmation of attendance before May 10.
6. Papers must be submitted in full before August 31.

Contact Details:
Email: whucsmd@163.com
Phone: +86 27-68756616 (Dr Xiao Jincao)
Address: Centre for Studies of Media Development, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei Province, P.R.China. 430072
Yours sincerely,
Shan Bo
Chair for the International Conference On Intercultural Communication