Meet the student behind the 46th CCA Conference held in Windsor this June

This year, the University of Windsor will host the first independently organized Canadian Communication Association conference. First held in 1978, the annual CCA conference will feature award-winning scholars from the field of communication and media studies presenting their research and offer students, faculty and other guests a pivotal networking opportunity. According to Michael Darroch as stated on the website, UWindsor was where the initiative to form Canada’s communication association came to fruition. Nearly half a century later, the history of this rich discipline has come full circle, and what a time in our world to do so.

This is the first time the conference is being housed under UWindsor since 1988 and over 200 professors, students, and researchers across Canada and beyond are expected.

The conference will be held on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th of June 2026. Over 50 panel sessions and presentations are scheduled across the three days.

Fei Qin, a master’s student in the department of communication, media and film has worked alongside the department head Dr. Kyle Asquith in coordinating this significant event not only for the University of Windsor, but the field of communication and media studies.

Originally from Scarborough, Ontario, Qin moved to Windsor when they were 13 years old and has since garnered extensive knowledge on the culture and technological history of one of Canada’s most reputable boarder cities.

Qin was tasked with a multitude of important duties. As a full-time graduate student currently working on their thesis, they are venturing into deep waters. “I received plenty of support from Dr. Asquith in terms of what to look for: Windsor media history about the telegraph, communications, black and indigenous history, and such. I also received $500 to design the program for the CCA. The challenge was choosing which factoids and history tidbits to include in the program. The strength of receiving Dr. Asquith’s support was our ability to work as a team and connect with Dr. Nicole Cohen, the director of the CCA” remarked Qin.

The conference program booklet designed by Fei Qin is available on the CCA website as well as UWindsor’s correspondence regarding the conference.

Each day of the conference will feature research topics of diverse subject matters but paralleled significance in today’s ever-changing media and cultural ecosystem.

The 3rd of June will feature Dr. Alice Marwick’s keynote address. Dr. Marwick’s research confronts artificial intelligence and the picnic basket of titanic corporations which currently govern the technology as well as the public’s navigation of the world they have created. The keynote address will take place at the Winclare room which is located on the second floor of Vanier Hall. This is also where the CCA’s awards ceremony will take place right after Dr. Marwicks’s addressal.

Dr. Alice Marwick is currently the director of research at Data & Society, a New York-based non-profit organization that advocates for an information-driven and human-centered approach towards technological development affecting the online world. She has authored multiple books on social media technologies, is a former professor of communication at the University of North Carolina, and a member of the United Nations Commision on Science and Technology.

There will be a concluding celebration on the 4th of June between 1pm to 5pm at the ekō bar located on Pelissier street.

“The diverse array of research is quite pleasing to preview, from an analysis of Zohran Mamadani’s mayoral race, to fish technology, to imagining the future of tech; It expands our imagination to what is possible for the future of the field” remarked Qin.

According to Qin’s booklet, all concurrent panel sessions will take place in the infamous Dillon Hall. Signage and postage is to be expected on the days of the conference. The booklet contains all the necessary information regarding registration, arrival, parking, internet connectivity, and health and safety regulations.

Originally from a political science academic background, Qin found themself gravitating towards the field of communication due to Canada’s critical approach towards media literacy, an aspect which other regions fail to address completely. “Don’t get me wrong, political science was fine, but I found Communication studies were more grounded in the modern world that I lived in” said Qin.

The Master of Arts in communication, media and digital culture program Qin is a part of involves several other students each pursuing their own major research paper or thesis project. Qin’s research addresses a topic of paramount importance amidst the growing societal implications of underregulated generative artificial intelligence software.

“My own research pertains to how deepfake pornography is a new technologically facilitated form of misogyny online, how platform affordances allow women’s bodies to be modulated into a new context through bell hook’s theory of ‘eating the other’”

This conference is open to all. A registration through the CCA website is required while spots remain open.

Any questions regarding the conference can be directed to the CMF department or the CCA organizing team - acc.cca.ca@gmail.com