Dedicated to the memory of Eric McLuhan (1942-2018) – esteemed friend and colleague

Abstract

Anne Innis-Daag recently reminded me that her father, the foundational Canadian communication scholar Harold Adams Innis, visited Russia in 1945 for the 220th anniversary celebrations that marked the founding of the country's Academy of Sciences. It is now exactly a year ago since I myself had the privilege of visiting Russia, specifically Moscow's National Research University Higher School of Economics for its "Third International Scientific-Practical Conference on Media Literacy, Media Ecology, and Media Education". Among the many highlights of my trip, and the most important, of course, were the people I had the opportunity to meet, including of course those I'd previously met in North America, but also the kind students who did so much to make my trip so wonderful. Another highlight of my stay of course was to receive the invitation to co-edit this special issue with Varvara Chumakova.