Media of Interaction

The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction announces a call for papers for the 2025 annual meeting, which will be held at the Voco Chicago Downtown Hotel, August 6-8. The theme this year is "media of interaction," which invites exploration and emphasis on the diverse and dynamic media through which people communicate and interpret meaning. Media are essential aspects of social life and fundamental features of any social order, past or present. Discussions of “media” are often focused on mass or social media. However, a medium is any means or method used for the circulation of information and may include verbal and written language, music, clocks and calendars, clothing, memes, videos, emojis, and so on. A focus on media may emphasize the form through which symbolic interaction emerges, evolves, represents, and influences aspects of contemporary social life. These include face-to-face encounters, mass media representations (news, entertainment), digital media (texting messages, social media platforms, memes), Media interactionists may further distinguish among genres (ritualistic, journalistic, literary, instructional) and styles (formal or informal, persuasive or authoritative, experiential or reflective), among other analytical choices. “Media of interaction” is thus broadly conceived. Media play crucial roles in shaping interaction, selves, societies, and cultures, and investigations of media remain essential for understanding the accomplishment of everyday life in our rapidly evolving social world.

Potential Session Themes:

Face-to-face encounters
Mass media and cultural representation
Mass media of public discourse
Digital platforms and identity politics
Digital selves
Records, archives and memories
Media ecologies–interplay between traditional and emerging media
Media and ethics
Media, symbols, and power
Media performativity
Media and information (mis/disinformation)
Media and conﬂict/war
Media and authenticity
Propaganda
Media and religion
Media and perception

Submission Process:

Please make your submission to the conference organizers by sending the following information to symbolic.interaction2025@gmail.com

Deadline: Extended to April 15th 2025
Paper Title
Abstract (maximum 250 words)
Author(s) Name(s) and Institutional Affiliation(s)
Contact email and telephone number

If you are submitting a complete thematic panel, please include a panel title and individual information for all presenters and their papers.

All presenters are required to be members of SSSI at the time of the conference.

Inquiries and questions may be addressed directly to Chris Schneider at schneiderc@brandonu.ca

Registration

Tenured Faculty: $150
Non-Tenured & Retired Faculty: $100
Visiting Scholars & Post-Docs: $75
Student: $25

Banquet Tickets: Regular: $40/ Students: $20

Hotel Accommodations

A limited number of rooms have been reserved at the Voco Downtown Chicago Hotel for conference attendees at a special rate of $189 plus tax (single/double occupancy). To access this rate, you must book your room by July 11, 2025.

CLICK HERE TO BOOK YOUR RESERVATION

Keynote and Plenary Speakers

The organizing committee is pleased to announce that we have secured two remarkable speakers.

Dr. David L. Altheide will give our keynote address. Dr. Altheide is Regents’ Professor Emeritus on the faculty of Justice and Social Inquiry in the School of Social Transformation at Arizona State University. Dr. Altheide is the author of numerous books, the most recent of which is Gonzo Governance: The Media Logic of Donald Trump (Routledge, 2023).

Our plenary speaker will be Dr. Safiya Umoja Noble. Dr. Noble is the David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Gender Studies, African American Studies, and Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Noble is author of Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (NYU Press, 2018).

Conference Activities

The organizing committee is looking to gauge interest in two possible extracurricular conference activities.

Chicago Cubs baseball game on August 5 at 7pm

We are planning an outing to a Chicago Cubs baseball game Tuesday, August 5 at 7pm. We are currently exploring our options pertaining to purchasing a group block of tickets for interested SSSI members (we need at least 15 people for this option). Ticket prices and availability TBD.

Chicago Walking Tour

We are arranging a short walking tour (approximately 30 min) provided by Dr. Bill Savage. Dr. Savage is a Professor of Instruction in the English Department at Northwestern University. His teaching and scholarship focuses on Chicago literature, history, and culture. He has led tours of Chicago for the Chicago History Museum, the Newberry Library, and Northwestern University. The tour would depart from our hotel.

A time and date of the tour is still being arranged and depending on interest and availability could tentatively take place on the afternoon of Tuesday, August 5 (prior to the Cubs game) or Friday, August 8 following the conclusion of our conference. The tour is limited to 30 people.

If you are interested in attending a Chicago Cubs baseball game and/or the Chicago walking tour, please email your interest to Chris Schneider schneiderc@brandonu.ca

Spots will depend on availability and are on a first come first served basis.

Program Planning Committee:

Christopher J. Schneider, Vice President SSSI, Brandon University (Chair)
J. Patrick Williams, President SSSI, Nanyang Technical University
Jacqueline Low, Past-Vice President SSSI, University of New Brunswick
Thaddeus Muller, Past President SSSI, Lancaster University
Jeffrey van den Scott, Vice-President elect, Memorial University of Newfoundland
Jill Crocker, Treasurer SSSI, SUNY Old Westbury
Stacey Hannem, Secretary, Wilfrid Laurier University

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