Graphic Novels: A Pedagogical Device for Understanding Key Concepts in Global Migration

Resources in ICD“ width=

Skop, Emily. (2024). Graphic novels: A pedagogical device for understanding
key concepts in global migration and encouraging empathy for the experiences of displaced
persons. The Geography Teacher, 21(2): 72-78.

This lesson plan prepared for faculty teaching geography should be of great interest to those in other disciplines teaching about migration given the novel approach used.

“Teaching global migration can prove difficult, given the subject’s complexity and its entanglement with social justice and human rights issues. To address these challenges, this lesson plan embraces graphic novels as an alternative media for engaging students in the subject of global migration. Graphic novels have many benefits when employed in the classroom because they support both visual and textual learning.

This lesson plan uses graphic novels to achieve the following learning goals:
* Explore and learn key geographical concepts related to global migration including space, place, movement, networks, scale, and territory.
* Engage with important theoretical themes discussed in migration studies such as citizenship and belonging, placemaking, intersectionality, identity, agency, and the role of the state in producing categories and policies that
shape the realities of displaced persons.
* Encourage empathy for the experiences of displaced persons through storytelling that provides both intimate and sensory expression.

The resulting outcomes illustrate that graphic novels are an excellent supplement to more traditional materials and that the topic of global migration takes on greater personal significance and becomes more tangible and relatable for students, most of whom likely have not experienced forced migration themselves.”

Concordia U: PhD Studentships in Immigration and Politics (Canada)

“Studentships“

PhD Studentships in immigration and politics, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada. Deadline: 29 April 2026.

The Institute for Research on Migration and Society (IRMS) at Concordia University is currently recruiting MA and PhD students to study immigration and politics under the supervision of Mireille Paquet, Antoine Bilodeau, or Colin Scott. Selected students will receive a generous funding package for their studies (including international tuition release), and the cost of living in the vibrant city of Montreal remains affordable. Concordia has an excellent track record for student placement, and provides a highly supportive training environment.

As part of the project Migrant Integration in the Mid-21st Century: Bridging Divides, the Department of Political Science at Concordia is pleased to offer generous admission awards and research fellowships for incoming graduate students.

These funding opportunities are available for incoming PhD students to conduct research under the direction of Mireille Paquet, Antoine Bilodeau and Colin Scott on topics related to immigrant integration. Topics include, but are not restricted to:

  • Immigrant integration in comparative perspective
  • Barriers to the political integration of immigrants
  • Belonging and trust among immigrant populations
  • The politicization of immigration in Canada and in comparative perspective
  • Immigration integration policies, past and future
  • The use of technologies, such as AI, in immigration management
  • The impact of online service delivery for immigrant integration
  • Trends in naturalization and citizenship acquisition
  • The impact of social media on immigration decisions and on integration processes
  • The relations between governments and “migration industries”, recruiters, immigration agents, etc.

NCA Institute for Faculty Development 2026 (USA)

Events

National Communication Association Institute for Faculty Development, 22 -26 June 2026, Duquesne University but online (Zoom). Deadline: 18 May 2026.

The 2026 NCA Institute for Faculty Development (IFFD) will be held virtually (on Zoom) June 22 – 26. Duquesne University of Pittsburgh is hosting for the third year in a row. The general purpose of the IFFD is to stay abreast of ongoing changes and issues in communication theory and research, with an eye to enriching instructional insights and practices. This five-day conference offers participants an opportunity to network with fellow undergraduate scholar-teachers and learn from and with leading scholars in the field.

Please note: The institute is directed at those already teaching with an advanced familiarity with the topics. Other participants, such as students, might feel left out of the conversation, which will be counter-productive to the institute’s aims.

Registration is limited to 50–60 participants and will be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Attendees must be current NCA members to register. Membership status will be verified upon registration. There is no cost to register. NCA proudly offers the IFFD as a benefit included with membership. However, a limited number of non–NCA members may be considered if the need can be demonstrated.

This year’s IFFD features the scholars and topics listed below:

  • Robert T. Craig, Communication Theory and the Art of Framing Problems
  • Molefi Kete Asante, The Architecture of Intercultural Communication: Toward a Transformation of Race in Communication
  • Qingwen Dong, Teaching with AI while Preserving Academic Standards
  • Aisha Durham, Cultural Studies In/As Crisis
  • Diane Keeling, Unsettling Histories of Settler Colonialism in Rhetorics of Science
  • Raka Shome, Thinking from/of the ‘Global South’

Southern Methodist U: Asian, Asian American & Pacific Islander Voices in Higher Education Symposium 2026 (USA)

Events

Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Voices in Higher Education, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, USA, 4 May 2026. Deadline: open until all 118 seats filled.

The Dedman College Interdisciplinary Institute (DCII) Asian Studies and Asian American Experiences (ASAAE) Research Cluster at Southern Methodist University invites you to attend the 3rd Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander Voices in Higher Education Annual Symposium on May 4, 2026, at SMU.

Centered on this year’s theme, Leadership and Representation, the symposium brings together multidisciplinary scholars, students, educators, and practitioners for a dynamic day of dialogue, learning, and community engagement. Through a combination of faculty and staff panel discussions, student-centered perspectives, and an engaging keynote address, the symposium will explore pathways to leadership and examine the structural factors shaping representation across institutions.

Participants will leave with new perspectives, research ideas, and practical strategies related to key questions, including:

  • To what extent does the “bamboo ceiling” exist in higher education?
  • How does AAPI leadership shape community members’ sense of belonging and success in university settings?
  • What are effective strategies for increasing AAPI representation across higher education>?
  • What institutional efforts are needed to support and advance AAPI leadership?

The program features a keynote by Mitchell J. Chang, a nationally recognized scholar whose work has significantly influenced conversations on access, inclusion, and faculty representation in higher education. Attendees will also have the opportunity to participate in an interactive leadership workshop led by Jillian Melton and Libby Magliolo, focused on building practical skills for advancing influence and impact for individuals from diverse backgrounds and experiences.

CID Poster 10: Multiculturalism vs. Social Cohesion Translated into Spanish

CID PostersThis poster was designed by Linda J. de Wit; it was the second to illustrate one of the Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue.

The content here combines KC19: Multiculturalism by Polina Golovátina-Mora and Raúl Alberto Mora with KC79: Social Cohesion, written by Narine Nora Kerelian and Gizem Arat.

The Spanish translation was provided by Neus Crous-Costa, and the graphic design work necessary to revise was by Yan Qiu. Here then is CID Poster 10: Multiculturalismo y cohesión social.

CID Poster 10: Multiculturalism vs. Social Cohesion, translated into SpanishJust in case anyone wants to cite this poster, the following would be the recommended format:

Center for Intercultural Dialogue. (2026). Multiculturalismo y cohesión social [N. Crous-Costa, trans.]. CID Posters, 10. Available from: https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/cid-poster-10-multiculturalism-spanish.png

As with other series, CID Posters are available for free on the site; just click on the thumbnail to download a printable version. They may be downloaded, printed, and shared as is, without changes, without cost, so long as there is acknowledgment of the source.

As with other CID Publications, if you wish to prepare an original contribution, please send an email before starting any work to receive approval, to minimize inadvertent duplication, and to learn about technical requirements. As is the case any series, posters should be created initially in English. If you want to volunteer to translate a poster into a language in which you are fluent, send in a note before starting, to receive approval and to confirm no one else is working on the same one.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz
Director, Center for Intercultural Dialogue
intercult.dialogue AT gmail.com

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Immigrant Council of Ireland: Communications Coordinator (UK)

“JobCommunications Coordinator, Immigrant Council of Ireland, Dublin, UK. Deadline: 8 May 2026.

The Communication Coordinator is responsible for leading the Immigrant Council’s primary communications activities. The role will help achieve organizational goals by raising awareness of its activities and building relationships with the media, stakeholders, and the public. Furthermore, the role will seek to inform and influence political will for change, as well as public opinion on immigration and integration-related issues and human rights perspectives.

A second position is available for Social Media Officer.

U Illinois-Chicago: Director, Study Abroad (USA)

“JobDirector, Study Abroad Office, University of Illinois – Chicago, IL, USA. Deadline: 29 April 2026.

This position supports the University of Illinois – Chicago’s internationalization strategy, spearheaded by the Office of Global Engagement’s (OGE), by providing innovative leadership to develop, implement, manage, and market a diverse range of study abroad programs, including faculty-direct, embedded, exchange, research, internship and direct enroll programs that increase UIC students’ access to global learning opportunities. Under the leadership of the Vice Provost for Global Engagement, the Study Abroad Office (SAO) Director coordinates with academic and administrative units to develop and support study abroad policies and procedures, including relevant government regulations, and student safety. The SAO Director manages the International Travel Safety portal and advises the VPGE on international travel risks.

Towards Intercultural Adaptive Conversational AI

Resources in ICD“ width=

Brandt, A., & Hazel, S. (2025). Towards interculturally adaptive conversational AI. Applied Linguistics Review, 16(2), 775–786 

“Among the many ways that AI technologies are becoming embedded in our social worlds is the proliferation of Conversational User Interfaces, such as voice assistants (e.g. Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa), chatbots and voice-based conversational agents. Such conversational AI technologies are designed to draw upon the designers’ understanding of interactional practices employed in human–human conversation, and therefore have implications for intercultural communication (ICC). In this paper, we highlight some of the current shortcomings of conversational AI, and how these relate to ICC. We also draw on ndings from Conversation Analysis to discuss how pragmatic norms vary across linguacultural groups (see Risager 2019 for a discussion of the term‘linguaculture’), noting that this poses further challenges for designers of conversational AI systems. We argue that the solution is to work towards what we call interculturally adaptive conversational AI. Finally, we propose a framework for how this can be conceptualised and researched, and argue that researchers with expertise in language and ICC are uniquely placed to contribute to this endeavour.”

Grant Foundation: Institutional Challenge Grant 2026

Grants

Institutional Challenge Grant, William T. Grant Foundation, New York, NY, USA. Deadline: 9 September 2026.

The Institutional Challenge Grant supports university-based research institutes, schools, and centers in building sustained research-practice partnerships with public agencies or nonprofit organizations in order to reduce inequality in youth outcomes. The grant requires that research institutions shift their policies and practices to value collaborative research. Institutions will also need to build the capacity of researchers to produce relevant work and the capacity of agency and nonprofit partners to use research.

They welcome applications from partnerships in youth-serving areas such as education, justice, child welfare, foster care, mental health, immigration, and workforce development. They especially encourage proposals from teams with African American, Latinx, Native American, and Asian American members in leadership roles. The partnership leadership team includes the principal investigator from the research institution and the lead from the public agency or nonprofit organization.

Research-practice partnerships—long-term, mutually beneficial collaborations that promote the production and use of rigorous and relevant research evidence—are a promising strategy for better aligning researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in their efforts to reduce inequality. Researchers who partner with practitioners or policymakers are better equipped to understand local contexts, address pressing questions, and produce informative and actionable findings. They also gain access to programmatic and/or policy insights and data that can facilitate rigorous and groundbreaking research to make headway on issues relevant to youth. Policymakers and practitioners, meanwhile, can more easily access, interpret, and use research evidence when they collaborate with researchers. They can also help define and shape research agendas. Partnerships, then, equip public agencies and nonprofit organizations with new knowledge and tools to better serve youth.

NOTE: An informational webinar is scheduled for May 6, hosted by Senior Program Officer Jenny Irons and President Adam Gamoran. They will discuss the background and goals of the program, as well as provide an overview of eligibility details, required materials, and review criteria; as well as field questions from attendees and share practical advice on how to prepare a competitive application.

Multilingual Voices Project

Applied ICDMultilingual Voices Project: Digital Storytelling for Belonging and Inclusive Teaching, will be directed by Li Hou, a Ph.D. candidate in the Language, Literacy, and Culture program and an instructor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

The project aims to foster belonging and community dialogue at UMass Amherst by creating spaces for multilingual students, instructors, and staff to share their lived experiences through digital storytelling. Through a series of interactive workshops and collaborative storytelling activities, participants will reflect on identity, language, and teaching and learning experiences across cultural and linguistic differences, culminating in a shared collection of multilingual narratives that highlight diverse voices within the UMass community. By centering the often underrepresented perspectives of multilingual learners, the project seeks to promote empathy, cross-cultural understanding, and a more inclusive campus climate.

The project will host a series of interactive workshops with participants from multilingual and diverse cultural backgrounds, while also actively engaging domestic students and faculty to encourage cross-cultural dialogue.