Inspired by the life and work of Budapest native and renowned Communication and Media scholar Dr. George Gerbner (1919-2005), the conference has taken place between Friday, May 30 to Saturday, May 31, 2014 in Budapest, Hungary. The goal of the conference was to bring together individuals with a common interest in aggressive communication and conflict so as to foster international relationships that lead to research collaboration and knowledge exchange. The inaugural Gerbner Conference, held in May 2010, the second conference, held in June 2012, and the third conference held in June 2013, featured presentations by scholars from eight countries covering three continents.
This international conference has focus on aggressive communication and behavior, conflict, and other types of antisocial communication and behavior across contexts.
Topics include, but were not limited to: General TV Viewing, Genre-Specific Viewing and Estimates of Health Concerns, A Study about the Cultivation Effect of Television on University Students, Framing Effects on Attitudes toward Torture, A Post-Structural Critique of Afghanistan War Narratives, The Treatment of Women as Female Avenger Archetype in Blaxploitation Films, Televised Football and Fandom in the Nigerian Terrain
In the past years, the conference dealt with topics like media violence, media coverage of crime and violence, violence in advertising, political violence, workplace violence and aggression, aggression in instructional settings, war rhetoric, peace and conflict communication, verbal aggression, crime, oppression, injustice, incivility, assertiveness, argumentativeness, disagreement, bullying, indirect aggression, psychological abuse, anger, frustration, hostility, deception, child abuse, spousal abuse, domestic violence, youth violence, school violence, gang violence, sexual violence, discrimination, conflict styles, conflict resolution, the origins, causes, and predictors of aggression, and the management and prevention of aggression.
Co-organizers of the conference were Dr. Jolán Róka, Vice Rector for Research and International Relations at the Budapest College of Communication, Business and Arts, and Dr. Rebecca M. Chory, Professor of Communication Studies at West Virginia University and 2009 Fulbright Scholar at the Budapest College of Communication, Business and Arts.
