Our community has resources that exceed those found on this website and we welcome the opportunity to communicate and collaborate with you! We have an active Discord server that can be accessed by invitation. Contact eoldeathscholars@gmail.com to access the Discord.
This blog is meant to introduce new members of our community to the benefits of our Discord channels and provide a description of each chat space.
BENEFITS OF DISCORD USE
We have found that Discord, as a platform for consistent communication, can offer several benefits for researchers in communication studies and related interdisciplinary areas:
Community Building: Discord can serve as a platform to build and engage with a community of researchers, allowing for discussions, idea-sharing, and collaboration.
Real-Time Communication: Discord provides a real-time communication channel, enabling researchers to connect instantly with peers for discussions, feedback, and brainstorming.
Resource Sharing: Researchers can share resources such as PDFs, articles, books, and tools, facilitating access to valuable information within the community.
Collaboration Opportunities: Discord can be used to find collaborators for research projects, enabling researchers to work together across disciplines and institutions.
Event Organization: It can be used to organize and promote events such as conferences, seminars, and workshops, helping scholars to stay updated with the latest developments in our field.
Feedback and Peer Review: Researchers can use Discord to seek feedback on their work, engage in peer review, and improve the quality of their research outputs.
Networking: Discord provides networking opportunities, allowing scholars to connect with experts, potential collaborators, and mentors in their field.
Professional Development: Discord can be used for professional development, such as sharing job opportunities, discussing career paths, and seeking advice from experienced scholars.
For General Members of the Discord Channel
The following chat channels are available to use at your leisure…
#read-me
This is the “start here” section of the channel, which provides directive information about our organization and community.
This is where new members will show up automatically, as they join the channel. There is a prompt for new members: “Please select your pronouns and change your nickname so others can recognize you!”
This is where new members introduce themselves.
#chit-chat-and-humor
A general chat channel – any topic related to the community, end-of-life, death, and bereavement is welcome.
Any funny business including (but not limited to) memes, satire, and dark wisecracks.
#academic-chat
A chat channel for bouncing academic and institutional research and community ideas around.
A chat channel for people who are attending various conferences. Typically, this channel is most active during the National Communication Association (NCA) Annual Conventions and the International Communication Association (ICA) Annual Conferences, respectively.
Any PG-rated content that makes the community feel warm and fuzzy.
#death-around-us
Any news or current events related to the study of end-of-life, death, and bereavement.
#volunteer-needs
Calls for anything related to the National Communication Association Death and Dying Division.
Calls for research and event collaboration.
Calls for conference panels (regional, national, and international).
Calls for organizational volunteers specifically for the End-of-Life and Death Scholars nonprofit.
Calls for papers – publication opportunities.
Calls for things outside of papers, research collaborations, or volunteers. Basically, misc. calls.
BONUS: Looking for something specific? Discord has a search feature: https://support.discord.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000468588-Using-Search
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Chats for the Leadership Team:
These channels are private channels for the planning of events, research, and initiatives related to the functioning of our organization. While they are closed to the general public, folks should know of their existence, for transparency purposes. This is where we chat between executive board meetings.
#leadership-notes
A place for all of the leadership team to add notes about platform, infrastructural, or personnel changes.
#advisory-board
A space for the advisory board to share information and ideas that pertain to either the End-of-Life and Death Scholars nonprofit or the NCA Death and Dying Division.
#nca-division
A specific chat for current elected executive board members within the NCA Death and Dying Division.
#pr-outreach
A specific channel for the PR Manager to ask questions, add outreach contacts, and tag leadership on strategy.
#web-team
A specific channel to ask and answer Web Team-specific queries. The Web Team often uses this channel to plan and implement changes to the website, troubleshoot, and strategize for digital outreach, and various social media needs.
The dei channel conglomerates tools for digital accessibility, questions-and-answers, and event planning for DEI initiatives.
#grants-and-funds
The grants and funds channel is specifically for the Financial Manager and Assistant Financial Manager to keep track of opportunities for funding and grants for research and special projects.
#exec-board
The executive board chat is open to all members of the leadership team to plan and execute initiatives and continue conversations between official meetings.
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Blog Author:
As of 2024, C. Campbell Pendleton is a lecturer and researcher at the University of Colorado Boulder. She serves as the Vice Chair of the National Communication Association's Death and Dying Division. She is also the program manager for End-of-Life and Death Scholars.