Dear Colleagues,
I am excited to welcome your submissions for the 2027 convention in Reston, Virginia. I am especially excited for this year’s theme of “Full Circle” as someone who began her ECA membership years ago as an undergraduate student and now has the opportunity to serve as the planner of the Communication Traits Interest Group (CTIG). Like many of you, I have benefited from the mentorship of advisors who have become friends, co-authors, and colleagues over the years. I encourage all of you to embrace this theme and think about how your teaching, scholarship, professional development, and/or relationships throughout your careers (whether they be in the novice or seasoned stages) have come “full circle." I am also excited for ECA’s first convention in Reston, VA and for the chance to experience a new location as a member of the country’s oldest professional communication association.
I have included the call for submissions to the CTIG below and hope you will consider submitting a paper or work-in-progress (a new option this year). We value the foundational and seminal works within the area of communication traits that have made significant contributions to the communication studies discipline. We also encourage new perspectives that conceive of traits more broadly and consider potential submitters to think about how their work on enduring characteristics (e.g., linguistic characteristics, relational characteristics, behavioral characteristics, communication) aligns with the interests of this group.
If you have any questions, please email me at e.glowacki@northeastern.edu
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Glowacki, Ph.D.
College of Arts, Media and Design
Bouvé College of Health Sciences
Northeastern University
The 118th Annual Convention of the Eastern Communication Association
Full Circle
Hyatt Regency Reston, Reston, VA
March 30 – April 4, 2027
Call for Papers: Communication Traits Interest Group
Submission Deadline: October 9, 2026, 11:59 P.M. PST
The Eastern Communication Association’s convention theme for 2027 is “Full Circle.” This theme invites reflection on the cyclical nature of ideas, relationships, and professional journeys. As scholars, we return — to foundational theories, to formative mentors, to the first questions that drew us to the discipline. As a profession, we cycle through waves of innovation and consolidation, of challenge and recommitment to core values. As an organization, ECA itself comes full circle to Virginia — renewing its connections to the region and communities where communication scholarship meets democratic life.
Thematic Call
The Communication Traits Interest Group (CTIG) encourages submissions of papers and works-in-progress for the 2027 convention. The works-in-progress submission format is a new option this year. These submissions should be projects that are fully conceptualized and are preparing for or are in the early stages of data collection or data analysis. Proposals reflecting the convention theme of “Full Circle” are especially welcome. These would include submissions that make connections between the past and present with regard to areas of focus, methodologies, and thematic patterns or recurring trends over the years of scholarship produced on communication traits. Proposals may also reflect trajectories reflecting how foundational works in communication traits have evolved into more innovative approaches to understanding how communication traits function, appear, and manifest in interactions. Further, proposals may consider challenges and recommitment to both preserving and extending the core values of communication traits research.
Proposals that are linked to specific contexts such as education, health, organizations, and relationships are also appealing because they present highly visible manifestations of communication trait research and illustrate how this group has applied foundational theories to both traditional and timely topics in traits research. Interdisciplinary collaborations that reflect the conference theme are also encouraged.
General Call
CTIG submissions could involve one or more traits, including (but not limited to), argumentativeness, communication apprehension, disclosiveness/conformity, loneliness, receiver apprehensiveness, rhetorical sensitivity, sense of humor, creativity, openness, emotional intelligence, linguistic intelligence, willingness to communicate, and verbal aggressiveness. These traits may be presented independent of context (e.g., a state-of-the-art literature review or conceptual piece) or in terms of their contextual impacts in interpersonal, organizational, public/community, or mediated settings.
We also encourage submitters to think about communication traits more broadly in the sense that work in this area does not have to be limited to examining traditional traits variables; rather, “traits” can be conceived of more broadly. In this sense, we welcome work on “enduring characteristics” (e.g., linguistic characteristics, relational characteristics, behavioral characteristics, communication characteristics) that extend the scope of traits to research examining temporally stable constructs beyond personality traits and the ways they are created by, shaped, and sustained through interactions and/or relationships.
Case studies and/or efforts to replicate research and validate measures are also appropriate. CTIG invites two forms of submission: 1) individual papers, 2) works-in-progress (fully conceptualized papers/projects that are in the early stages of data collection/analysis or theoretical development, depending on the nature of the work)
Submissions to CTIG do not require participants from two or more institutions. However, collaborative submissions are strongly encouraged. Submissions should reflect rigor, alignment with the interests of CTIG, and creativity/originality. Submissions extending systematic and/or programmatic lines of research are especially encouraged.
All submissions must be uploaded and processed through Attendee Interactive, accessed through https://ww4.aievolution.com/eca2701/.
Submissions are due by Friday, October 9, 2026, 11:59 P.M. PST
Contact CTIG Chair, Dr. Elizabeth M. Glowacki, at e.glowacki@northeastern.edu with any questions
When submitting a competitive paper, please adhere to the following guidelines:
When submitting works in progress, complete the following Attendee Interactive fields:
Statement of Professional Responsibility
The following statement MUST be included with every submission of a paper or work in progress to be eligible for review. If not attached with a submitted document, the chair is responsible for obtaining a completed copy of this form prior to the paper/work-in-progress officially programmed for presentation at the convention.
In submitting the attached paper or proposal, I/We recognize that this submission is our professional responsibility. I/We agree to present this paper or work in progress if it is accepted and scheduled. I/We further recognize that all who attend and present at ECA’s annual meeting must register and pay required fees.
Technology A/V Availability
The 2027 Convention will be equipped with technology capabilities. A projector, screen, sound, wireless mouse and slide advancer, and Wi-Fi will be available in most breakout rooms. Submitters will be asked to request technology, if needed, as part of the submission. Presenters must supply their own laptop. Google Slides and PowerPoint templates featuring the convention theme and logo are available on the convention tab of the website. We encourage all attendees to take full advantage of these resources to create engaging presentations!
If you have any questions, please contact me, the 2027 ECA CTIG Chair, Dr. Elizabeth M. Glowacki, e.glowacki@northeastern.edu