Author's Keywords: Carey, Chicago School, contagion, epidemic, epidemiology, Robert Park, transmission model, virus	Convention Submission, Review, and Scheduling! All Academic Convention can help with all of your abstract management needs and many more. Contact us today for a quote! Submission - Custom fields, multiple submission types, tracks, audio visual, multiple upload formats, automatic conversion to pdf. Review - Peer Review, Bulk reviewer assignment, bulk emails, ranking, z-score statistics, and multiple worksheets! Reports - Many standard and custom reports generated while you wait. Print programs with participant indexes, event grids, and more! Scheduling - Flexible and convenient grid scheduling within rooms and buildings. Conflict checking and advanced filtering. Communication - Bulk email tools to help your administrators send reminders and responses. Use form letters, a message center, and much more! Management - Search tools, duplicate people management, editing tools, submission transfers, many tools to manage a variety of conference management headaches! Click here for more information.
Association: Name: International Communication Association URL: http://www.icahdq.org
Citation: URL: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p298792_index.html Direct Link: HTML Code:

Russill, Chris. "Social Contagion: A Communicable Approach To Communication" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Marriott, Chicago, IL, May 21, 2009 <Not Available>. 2010-01-22 <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p298792_index.html>

Russill, C. , 2009-05-21 "Social Contagion: A Communicable Approach To Communication" Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Marriott, Chicago, IL Online <APPLICATION/PDF>. 2010-01-22 from http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p298792_index.html

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript Review Method: Peer Reviewed Abstract: This essay outlines the key dimensions of an epidemiological imaginary to aid development of an alternative conception of “the communicable”. Special attention is paid to the way this imaginary shapes popular perceptions of the role, working, and effects of communication. I focus on the importance of communication in developing and circulating this imaginary, as well as on discourse theorizing the effects of communication in terms inspired by viral contagion. I then discuss the contribution of Chicago School theorists of “social contagion” and I recommend intermixing this perspective with the viral and epidemic orientation of scholars inspired by Deleuze and Guattari. Popular theorists of meme dissemination and tipping points are also reconsidered from this more expansive perspective. In conclusion, this essay suggests that critical employment of key dimensions of an “epidemiological imaginary” can displace several modern assumptions about communicability in media and communication theory.

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