#ICA23 - Toronto

Recapping the International Communication Association conference in Toronto, CA.

LEARNINGTRAVELGRADUATE SCHOOLCAREER

Chris Dobmeier

5/29/20232 min read

This year's meeting of the International Communication Association took place in a place close to home: Toronto. Every day was spent meeting new friends and reconnecting with old ones (shoutout to the SUNY Buffalo Dept. of Comm), fueled by Tim Hortons (and the occasional Aroma Café, which was my "Israeli Tim Hortons" last summer).

I presented our projects on (1) the potential for stories to reduce our disgust-related risk perceptions of novel sustainable foods (seaweed, edible insects, etc. - yum!), and (2) an analysis of other scholars' analyses (what we call a "meta-analysis") on the persuasive effects political satire programs like Last Week Tonight with John Oliver and Saturday Night Live! From gross foods to comedy, this weekend reminded me how much I enjoy my research discipline.

I also heard some fascinating presentations on topics from the effects of deepfake resurrection videos to the de-amplification of exemplar suicide news reporting to partisan differences in watching morally conflicting TV shows (among so many others). The conference was a true academic exchange of knowledge and networks that have re-energized me to finish the quarter strong and start planning for some fun projects for summer.

As I type this update from Billy Bishop Airport, looking across the water at the distinct Toronto skyline, I feel reassured that I'm on the right path for me. Bye, Toronto! See you all for #ICA24 in Gold Coast, Australia!