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Reflections on the International Association for Media and Communication Research pp 457–469Cite as

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Dallas W. Smythe and Détente at IAMCR

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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.

Keywords

  • China
  • Cold War
  • Dallas Smythe
  • Political Economy

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Notes

  1. 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. 2.

    The quote is from a handwritten note attached to the report sourced from the Dallas Smythe Archive, Simon Fraser University.

  3. 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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Gregory Taylor

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  1. Gregory Taylor
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Correspondence to Gregory Taylor .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Political Science, Philipp’s University of Marburg, Marburg, Hessen, Germany

    Jörg Becker

  2. Media and Communications Dept., London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK

    Robin Mansell

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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

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