AUGUSTINE, Trinidad and Tobago. May 14, 2015– The Department of Literary, Cultural and Communication Studies at The University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine unveiled the Journal of Human Communication Studies in the Caribbean (JHSC). The launch, which took place today, May 14, in the Main Salon of the Office of the Campus Principal, also served to formally announce the upcoming 2nd Biennial Human Communication Studies International Conference which takes place on the campus on September 24 and 25, 2015 as well as the formation of Association for Human Communication Studies (AHCSC).
According to Dr Godfrey Steele, Editor of the JHSC, “The JHSC appears after 40 years of teaching and research in Media and Communication at the Caribbean Institute of Media and Communication (CARIMAC) at The UWI Mona, over 15 years of Communication Studies at The UWI St. Augustine and four years of Communication Studies at The UWI Cave Hill. The JHCSC is not only the first journal of human communication studies in the English-speaking Caribbean, it is also the first journal of its kind produced in the region.” The publication, coupled with the staging of the second Biennial Conference in September 2015 and the formation of the association, fulfils the three mandates from the Business Meeting of the inaugural Human Communication Studies International Conference in September 2013 at The UWI St. Augustine.
Speaking on the role of the new association as well as the upcoming conference, Dr Steele said that the AHCSC will promote the study, teaching and research of human communication studies in the Caribbean and beyond through membership and professional development activities, organising and hosting conferences and meetings and publishing research in an international peer-reviewed journal and other publication outlets. He added that the conference will celebrate and present the latest human communication studies research among students and academic staff from across the region and beyond.
Led by a team from three UWI campuses and supported by persons throughout the Caribbean and beyond, the journal aims to promote the study, teaching and research of human communication studies in the Caribbean and beyond by publishing peer-reviewed original research essays and articles on subjects and themes related to human communication studies. Scholars and other contributors with an interest in human communication studies in the Caribbean are invited to submit original academic research papers. Volume 1 issue 1, published in March 2015, will present research from the inaugural conference Human Communication Studies International Conference in 2013. The JHCSC aims to publish at least one volume consisting of at least two issues per year, with an online store to subscribe to the journal and purchase copies.
Pro Vice-Chancellor and Campus Principal, Professor Clement Sankat took the opportunity to commend Dr. Steele, who is also who is also Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies and Coordinator of the Communication Studies Postgraduate Programme at The UWI St. Augustine, together with the Associate Editors, Dr. Livingston White, from The UWI Mona Campus and Dr. Korah Belgrave, from The UWI Cave Hill Campus for spearheading the production of this, the first issue of the journal. “I am truly pleased to see that our Campuses worked together on this important initiative and that there is representation from all three of our physical Campuses. As a regional University, this is one of our strengths, we can achieve much more working together, as opposed to working individually,” he said.
For further information, log onto the JHSC website at http://journals.sta.uwi.edu/jhcsc/
