CARGC@5: Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication Celebrates Five Year Anniversary

When you ask current and former fellows about the Center for Advanced Research in Global Communication (CARGC) at the Annenberg School for Communication, they sing the center’s praises.

As a hub for the Annenberg School for Communication’s scholarship in global communication and its global vision, CARGC has accomplished much in its first five years. It has held more than 40 events and issued more than 20 publications. Its scholars in residence have published four books.

“It is undeniable that 21st Century communication is inherently global, requiring study from an international and comparative perspective,” said Dean Michael X. Delli Carpini. “No part of our school is more important to this educational and research mission than CARGC.”

Directed by Marwan M. Kraidy, Professor of Communication and the Anthony Shadid Chair in Global Media, Politics & Culture, CARGC is celebrating its five year anniversary. To mark the occasion, the center is releasing CARGC@5, a report of its activities and growth since its inception.

In addition to supporting 23 fellows — whom Kraidy calls the core of the center — CARGC has developed a robust and wide-ranging slate of programming during the last five years: panels, book talks, guest lectures, colloquia, symposia, and more, all designed to bring researchers at the forefront of global communication scholarship to the Annenberg School. In the past year alone, CARGC organized 16 events and co-sponsored an additional five.

“Working at CARGC has emboldened creativity in my research and writing that I have not been able to fully explore elsewhere,” said Rayya El Zein, 2017-2019 CARGC Postdoctoral Fellow. “The interdisciplinary nature of intellectual work that CARGC hosts encouraged me to pursue unorthodox approaches to enduring questions.”

CARGC is also committed to expanding the conversation beyond the walls of the Annenberg School. The CARGC Books video series highlights authors of new global communication books, and CARGC Press has published nine papers thus far, covering topics like mobile practices of refugees, Cuba’s media landscape, and perspectives of Chinese journalists. There’s also CARGC Briefs and CARGC edited special editions of academic journals.

And CARGC is just getting started. In the next five years, the center plans to expand its fellowship program, establish externally funded research and mentoring clusters, and continue to foster new generations of global communication scholars.

“Establishing CARGC has been the most meaningful milestone of my professional life,” says Kraidy. “Every day, I feel the joy of working with the most capable and inspiring group of people anywhere. As we forge ahead, we strive to expand our reach and deepen our impact by attracting ever more outstanding, diverse, and truly global cohorts of fellows.”

The full report, “CARGC@5: Taking Stock, Forging Ahead (2013-2018),” is available for download.

For more information about CARGC, please contact Marina Krikorian.