[Air-l] CFP: Romancing (on) the internet

[Patrick B. O'Sullivan]

Below is a Call for Papers for a special issue of the Electronic Journal of 
Communication. Thanks!

CALL FOR PAPERS
Electronic Journal of Communication (EJC)
Special Issue: “Romancing (on) the internet”

Do romance and technology mix?

Is it possible that computer-mediated communication (CMC), once considered 
a cold and impersonal tool suited only for terse business information 
exchanges, might actually be capable of helping lovers find one another and 
build romantic relationships? In recent years, scholarly studies, the 
popular press, and our everyday experiences indicate that the answer is a 
definite “Yes!”  However, our knowledge of the extent of this phenomenon 
remains fragmented and underdeveloped, as does an understanding of the 
communication processes involved.

This special issue will present the best new research on romance via the 
internet. We invite scholarship that addresses the topic broadly, 
conceptualized to include romantic relationships initiated, developed, 
maintained, transitioned, and/or ended via one or more of the various 
internet-based communication technologies.

Empirical pieces, both qualitative and quantitative, are welcome for 
consideration, as are reviews of literature and theory (“think”) pieces. 
What each submission should have in common is a solid contribution to 
literature on romance and communication technologies. Of particular 
interest is scholarship that takes a communicative approach to the topic, 
i.e., that examines a chosen aspect through the lens of interaction and 
communication theories. In other words, scholarship that approaches CMC as 
an acronym for “communication mediated by computer” to reflect a 
foregrounding of the communicators and their communication process (rather 
than the communication hardware).

The following questions are only some of the possible topics but reflect a 
communicator/communication emphasis:
·       What are the parallels and what are the differences between 
relationships experienced primarily online and those experienced primarily 
face-to-face?
·       Are relationships experienced primarily online built and maintained 
with different practices, perceptions, and processes than those experienced 
primarily face-to-face?
·       Do the conventional relationships sequences or phases, observed for 
relationships experienced primarily face-to-face, also accurately describe 
relationships experienced primarily online?
·       How do partners in relationships experienced primarily online 
manage the dialectical tensions that exist in relationships experienced 
primarily face-to-face?
·       Do relationships experienced primarily online exhibit perceptual 
distortions (positive and/or negative)? Are those distortions different 
than those in relationships experienced primarily face-to-face?
·       Are online relationship activities as real, substantial, and 
consequential as those experienced face-to-face?
·       What is “lost” or missing in relationships experienced primarily 
online and what is “lost” or missing in relationships experienced primarily 
face-to-face?
·       Are relationships experienced primarily online “real” (whatever 
that might mean) or virtual (whatever that might mean)?
·       Do assumptions about relationships, which emerge from the 
literature on face-to-face relationships, apply to relationships 
experienced primarily online? What insights do relationships experienced 
primarily online provide that help scholars strengthen existing theory 
about all relationships (online and offline)?

The special issue is scheduled for publication in late 2005. Deadline for 
completed manuscripts is Monday, May 2, 2005. Submissions can be either 
electronic (.doc or .rtf format only, please) or hard copies. Inquiries 
about possible topics are welcome. Submissions and inquiries should be 
directed to:

Patrick B. O’Sullivan, PhD
Special Issue Editor, EJOC
Department of Communication 4480
Illinois State University
Normal, IL 61790
posull at ilstu.edu
(309) 438-2688 voice
(309) 438-3048 fax




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Patrick B. O'Sullivan, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Communication 4480
Illinois State University
Normal, IL 61790
309-438-2688 voice
309-438-3048 fax
posull at ilstu.edu
http://www.communication.ilstu.edu/posull/homepage