In April 2018, Journal of Communication (JoC) shall publish a new special issue “Ferments of the Field” to review the development of communication studies in recent years and look forward into future research directions. This new special issue inherits the spirit of the 1983 JoC special issue “Ferment of the Field”, which not only takes stock of the field and its subfields but also examines the problems therein and the role of communication studies in society at large. This author is lucky to work with Christian Fuchs in editing the new “ferments” issue that includes 20 articles, half of which are along the tradition of critical studies broadly defned, the other half deal with more mainstream topics such as media effects, political communication and organizational communication. This article reviews the history of the “ferment” special issue since 1983, discusses the editorial process of the 2018 new “ferments” issue, while brie?y introducing its contents: (a) the dynamism of critical research and its relationship with mainstream communication studies, (b) a new materialist turn, (c) communication studies on the global scale, (d) the challenges of digital media environments, and (e) communication, praxis and organic communication intellectuals.