Venue for IHPRC
The venue for the First International History of Public Relations Conference (IHPRC) will be Bournemouth University’s new Executive Business Centre (EBC). Situated near the town’s mainline rail station, with its direct connections to London, the EBC is also a short walk from Bournemouth’s famed sandy beaches and hotels.
“It’s a beneficial irony that this first conference on the history of public relations will held in BU’s newest building,” said conference chair Dr Tom Watson. “But the high quality facilities will make it all the more enjoyable.”
Papers chosen for IHPRC
All 34 authors of papers selected for presentation at IHPRC have now been advised – and there is a reserve list of papers should anyone drop out. The international peer review team did an excellent job in reviewing all the papers over the Christmas and New Year period so that we were able to make decisions and advise all the authors on time.
The quality of papers was very high and it was disappointing that many more could not be chosen. It certainly bodes well for the future of the conference and for scholarship in the history of public relations.
Identifying History of PR resources
We want this website to be a resource hub for information on history of public relations resources, especially those available online. Six sites have already been identified but we’d welcome advice and information from you about other sites. They can be in any language.
As well, we will be building a database of archives, book collections and other resources that can be accessed by research scholars. Please send your information via the Comment section on this post or by email to historyofpr@bournemouth.ac.uk.
Conference News – 2
Email: The conference email address is historyofpr@bournemouth.ac.uk. It will gradually replace prhistory@bournemouth.ac.uk. Both email addresses currently operate.
World-wide response: Interest in the conference has snowballed since it was announced in July and the Call for Papers was issued in August. Quite literally, enthusiastic interest has been expressed from all continents and from researchers and practitioners in numerous countries. Thanks to everyone who has ‘snowballed’ conference information to colleagues and listservs.
Some 65 abstracts have been received from six continents and are now out for peer review. Calls and emails have come from leading researchers giving their support to the conference and promising their attendance.
Conference News – 1
Award: The first Journal of Communication Management special issue on the History of Public Relations (2008 Vol 12. No.4) won a Highly Commended Special Issue Award in the Emerald Literati 2009 Awards recently. As well as being a very popular issue, it helped define the world-wide interest in this area of historical and practice research.
Website: As you can see, the conference website www.historyofpr.com has introduced and will be supported by a Twitter feed called ‘historyofpr, a Linked-In group and Facebook presence. It is being developed as a communication point for the conference, a guide to resources and a discussion centre. We aim to make access to existing online resources simpler.
Conference pricing: Tickets for the conference will be £240 per delegate, with an ‘early-bird’ rate of £200 for registration and payment by Friday, April 30 2010. There will be a special rate of £80 for doctoral and postgraduate students. Details of booking arrangements will be announced later.
Venue: The conference will be held at Bournemouth University in southern England from July 8-9, 2010. To find out more about this famous beach resort town, go to: http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/about/around_bournemouth/around_bournemouth.html . Before or after the conference, you can enjoy yourself in Bournemouth or visit Thomas Hardy country, the very old New Forest and take a day trip to Stonehenge.
CALL FOR PAPERS – update
The deadline for abstracts has now passed.
Academics, practitioners and research students are invited to submit competitive abstracts and papers for presentation at The First International History of Public Relations Conference.
This conference will be the first international opportunity for academic researchers, historians, interested practitioners and research students to meet, present papers and discuss this emerging area of research.
- Full Papers – 3000 to 6000 words
- Working Papers – 1500 to 3000 words
- Posters
Papers and posters for presentation at the conference will be selected, after peer review, on the basis of abstracts, of no more than a single page length. Author details must be printed on a separate sheet and the author(s) should not be identified in the abstract.
Manuscripts of the selected papers are to be submitted using Harvard referencing and according to the Journal of Communication Management editorial style found at: http://info.emeraldinsight.com/products/journals/author_guidelines.htm?id=jcom . The manuscript should be in MS WORD format, in 1.5 line spacing and 12 point font size.
Deadlines
- Submission of abstracts: December 7, 2009 (closed)
- Acceptance notification (by email): January 18, 2010
- Submission of selected papers: April 26, 2010
All accepted abstracts will be published in the conference programme, which will be available online. A selection of full papers will be published in a Special Issue of the Journal of Communication Management in late 2010.
Conference Themes (From Call for Papers)
As this is the first international conference on the History of Public Relations, the range of conference themes is wide and those listed below are the starting point for consideration, rather than a finite list.
- Public relations in history before it became a named or defined discipline
- Alternative approaches to the history of public relations, e.g. on the basis of culture (personal networks and influence) or via definitions of public relations
- The evolving naming of the field from propaganda and press agentry to corporate communications
- The history of public relations and its developing or diverging relationships with other disciplines like marketing, HR, legal and corporate governance
- The evolution of public relations in nations or parts of government or industry
- Seminal personalities or events that shaped the formation of public relations as a discipline (This can also include challenges to the “Great Man” or “Great Woman” approach)
- Key books or articles (or series of both) that have influenced public relations
- The history of political public relations and lobbying
- The history of public relations education
- The evolution of public relations theory(ies) over time – from propaganda to dialogue; the history of schools of thinking in public relations
- Formative influences on public relations theory and practice, such as in or by government, industry or consultancy
- The formation of industry and professional bodies and their impact, over time, on public relations practice and education
- The evolution of public relations education, training and continuing professional development
- The impact of technology, over time, upon public relations practice and theory
- Archival sources for the history of public relations
- The theories and processes of researching the history of public relations
- Oral histories of public relations; the role of this methodology
Conference launch
An academic conference on the History of Public Relations will be held from Thursday July 8 to Friday July 9, 2010 at Bournemouth University in Poole, England.
The conference, titled as The First International History of Public Relations Conference is being organised by the Centre for Public Communication Research in BU’s Media School. It will be the first international opportunity for academic researchers, historians and interested practitioners to meet, hear papers and discuss this emerging area of research.
A Special Issue on the History of Public Relations published in the Journal of Communication Management in 2008 12(4) showed convincingly that there was world-wide interest, with contributions from Australia, Spain, UK and the US. Some challenged orthodoxies whilst others brought less-considered topics and national PR industries into a well-researched view.
The Call for Papers resulted in 65 abstracts being submitted with a wide range of themes and topics. As this will be the first international conference of its type, it is hoped that the width and richness of the history of public relations can be demonstrated. All papers will be peer reviewed and a selection of them will be published in another Special Issue of the Journal of Communication Management in late 2010.
