Abstract
This chapter draws upon archival materials and explores Dallas W. Smythe’s relationship with IAMCR. Despite playing a major role in the 1960s and 1970s, Smythe’s connection to IAMCR is shown to have experienced periods of turbulence. The chapter highlights Smythe’s engagements with UNESCO and other leading contributors to IAMCR, emphasizing his independence, his challenges to academic orthodoxy, and his collaborations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Notes
- 1.
The author would like to thank Benjamin J. Birkinbine of the Reynolds School of Journalism & Center for Advanced Media Studies at the University of Nevada for generously allowing access to the 195-page Smythe FBI file he accessed via a FOIA request.
- 2.
The quote is from a handwritten note attached to the report sourced from the Dallas Smythe Archive, Simon Fraser University.
- 3.
In this letter, Smythe also names fellow IAMCR members he believed were instrumental in him “being dumped” from the UNESCO Panel. Since I have no way to confirm these accusations, I have left them out of this chapter.
References
Babe, R. E. (2000). Canadian communication thought: Ten foundational writers. University of Toronto Press.
Bourquin, J. (1972a, December). 26th presidential letter. IAMCR. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://iamcr.org/fr/node/10510
Bourquin, J. (1972b, July 14). [Dear colleagues,]. F-16-8-1-0-6. Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University.
Fuchs, C. (2012). Dallas Smythe Today—The audience commodity, the digital labour debate, Marxist political economy and critical theory. tripleC: Communication, Capitalism and Critique, 10(2), 692–740. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://www.triple-c.at/index.php/tripleC/article/view/443
Halloran, J. D. (1976, December 3). [Dear Dallas]. F-16-8-1-0-10. Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University.
IAMCR. (2020). 2020 Smythe award winner. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://iamcr.org/awards/smythe-2020-winner
Lent, J. A. (1995). A different road taken: Profiles in critical communication. Westview Press.
Mond, G. H. (1976, October 12). [Dear Professor Smythe,]. F-16-8-1-0-10. Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University.
Murdock, G. (1978). Blindspots about Western Marxism: A reply to Dallas Smythe. Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory/Revue canadienne de théorie politique et sociale, 2(2), 109–115. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ctheory/article/view/13744
Nordenstreng, K. (1994). The Unesco expert panel with the benefit of hindsight. In C. J. Hamelink, O. Linné, & J. D. Halloran (Eds.), Mass communication research: On problems and policies: The art of asking the right questions: In honor of James D. Halloran (p. 3–19). Ablex Publishing Corporation.
Park, D. W., & Pooley, J. (2008). The history of media and communication research: Contested memories. Peter Lang.
Smythe, D. W. (1973/1994). After bicycles, what? In Gubeck, T. (Ed.), Counterclockwise: Perspectives on communication (pp. 230–244). Westview Press and F-16-6-1-0-178. Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://atom.archives.sfu.ca/f-16-6-1-0-178
Smythe, D. W. (1976, October 23). [Dear Kaarle,]. F-16-8-1-0-10. Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University.
Smythe, D. W. (1977). Communications: Blindspot of Western Marxism. Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory/Revue canadienne de theorie politique et sociale, 1(3), 1–27. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ctheory/article/view/13715
Smythe, D. W. (1978). Rejoinder to Graham Murdock. Canadian Journal of Political and Social Theory/Revue canadienne de théorie politique et sociale, 2(2), 120–127. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://journals.uvic.ca/index.php/ctheory/article/view/13745
Smythe, D. W. (1981). Dependency road: Communications, capitalism, consciousness, and Canada. Ablex Publishing.
Smythe, D. W., & Guback, T. H. (1994). Counterclockwise: Perspectives on communication. Westview Press.
UNESCO. (1970). Mass media in society: The need of research. UNESCO.
UNESCO. (1971). Proposals for an international programme of communication research (Panel of Consultants on Communication Research). Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University.
UNESCO. (1972, July). Report of the meeting of experts on communication policies and planning. Dallas Smythe Archive. Simon Fraser University.
Wasko, J. (2013). The IAMCR political economy section: A retrospective. The Political Economy of Communication, 1(1), 4–8. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from http://www.polecom.org/index.php/polecom/article/view/11/149
Wasko, J., Mosco, V., & Pendakur, M. (1993). Illuminating the blindspots: Essays honoring Dallas W. Smythe. Ablex Publishing.
Zhao, Y. (2007). After mobile phones, what? Re-embedding the social in China’s ‘Digital Revolution’. International Journal of Communication, 1(1), 92–120. Retrieved 15 June 2022, from https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/5
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Taylor, G. (2023). Dallas W. Smythe and Détente at IAMCR. In: Becker, J., Mansell, R. (eds) Reflections on the International Association for Media and Communication Research. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16383-8_30
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-16383-8_30
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-031-16382-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-031-16383-8
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)