The Speech Communication Association of America was founded in 1914, and was known then as the National Association of Academic Teachers of Public Speaking. The Association was renamed the Speech Association of America in 1946, and in 1970 assumed its current name. Also in 1970, the Interpretation Division of the Speech Communication was formed from a group which had been in existence since 1952 and had been known as the Interpretation Interest Group. The Interpretation Division, as was the Interpretation Interest Group before it, is devoted to the professional concerns of teachers of Interpretation, and sponsors conference presentations, publications, and research concerning the profession. The Interpretation Division of the SCA includes teachers of Chamber or Readers Theatre, a technique of staging narrative fiction which was pioneered at Northwestern University by Professor of Interpretation Robert S. Breen.
From the guide to the Records of the Interpretation Division of the Speech Communication Association, 1952-1986, (Northwestern University Archives)
