Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Debashis ‘Deb’ Aikat Profile

A former journalist, Debashis “Deb” Aikat (pronounced EYE-cut) is Associate Professor, and since 1995 has been based in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which is classified by the Carnegie Foundation as a leading research university.

An award-winning researcher and teacher, Dr. Aikat theorizes the role of social media, international communication, news media and the future of communication in the digital age. Dr. Aikat’s research interests range across the media. His research has been published in book chapters and refereed journals such as First Amendment Studies, Health Communication, International Journal of Interactive Communication Systems and Technologies, Global Media and Communication, Electronic Journal of Communication, Popular Music and Society, Convergence: The Journal of Research into New Media Technologies, and publications of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), and Microsoft Corporation. His research has been funded by the government (e.g. the US Department of State, US Department of Education’s Title VI grants), corporate foundations (e.g. the Freedom Forum, the Scripps Howard Foundation) and the industry (e.g. IBM, Knight Ridder). He has consulted pro bono with the Town of Chapel Hill, Orange County (NC), and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools among other organizations.

The Scripps Howard Foundation recognized Dr. Aikat as the inaugural winner of the “National Journalism Teacher of the Year award” (2003) for his “distinguished service to journalism education.” The International Radio and Television Society named him the Coltrin Communications Professor of the Year (1997). Dr. Aikat served from 2007 through 2013 as an elected member of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC), which evaluates journalism and mass communications programs in universities. He chaired in 2009-10 the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC)’s Committee on Teaching. He has served since 2011 as an elected member of the AEJMC’s Committee on Professional Freedom &
Responsibility, which is designated as the “conscience of AEJMC” for fostering freedom, ethics, diversity, and public service.

Besides teaching on-campus classes, Dr. Aikat has taught online courses since 1997. He conceptualized in 1997 UNC’s first online course in journalism and developed in 2003 a graduate level online certificate program in “Technology and Communication.” He has won fellowships from renowned research institutions such as the Institute for the Arts and Humanities (2000 & 2003) and the Journalism Leadership Institute in Diversity (2004-05) of the AEJMC and the Association of Schools of Journalism and Mass Communication (ASJMC).

His research and teaching excellence awards include a 2015 Scripps Howard Foundation Research Grant to Foster Academy-Industry Ties, AEJMC Top Research Paper Awards, a Distinguished Teaching Award for Post-Baccalaureate Instruction (2003), UNC-Chapel Hill’s highest honor for excellence in graduate studies, the David Brinkley Teaching Excellence Award (2000), AEJMC’s Baskett Mosse Award (1999), the Tanner Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching (1999), the UNC-Chapel Hill Students’ Undergraduate Teaching Award (1998), and an IBM Research Fund Award (1995). Several UNC-Chapel Hill senior classes honored him with the Edward Kidder Graham-Favorite Faculty Awards (1997 through 2005). He was selected by his peers to serve on the UNC Honor Court’s Faculty Hearings Board Panel that adjudicates violations of academic honesty, personal integrity, and responsible citizenship.

Dr. Aikat earned in 1995 a Ph.D. in Mass Communication and Journalism from the Ohio University’s Scripps School of Journalism. He completed in 1990 a Certificate in American Political Culture from the New York University. He has lectured in Asia, Australia, Europe, and the Americas. He graduated with academic distinction by attaining first rank in M. A. Journalism in 1990 from the University of Calcutta, India, where he also earned a B. A. with honors in English literature in 1984. He worked as a journalist in India for the Ananda Bazar Patrika’s The Telegraph newspaper from 1984 through 1992. He also reported for the BBC World Service.

Born in India, Dr. Aikat and his wife, Dr. Jay Aikat, became U.S. citizens in 2003. Jay serves on the faculty in the Department of Computer Science at UNC-Chapel Hill. They live in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, with their two children.

CFP/ Wi: Journal of Mobile Media – Special Spectrum Issue

CFP Wi: Journal of Mobile Media – Special Spectrum Issue
Submission deadline: September 15, 2015
Publication date: February 2016

Alternately referred to as the radio spectrum and the electromagnetic spectrum, the spectrum is the central medium underpinning all forms of wireless communication. Creative thinking around the spectrum, its management and its uses, however has been fairly limited and thus so too have been radical challenges to its political, technical and economic foundations. Indeed, one could say that dominant approaches to understanding and managing the spectrum are wrapped up in power relations and technological capacity that hearken back 100 years.

The predominant understanding of the spectrum is that it is a set of frequencies used by communication technologies. However, just as Susan Crawford proposed that there are multiple imaginaries of the internet (Crawford, 2007), we can understand the spectrum in a of ways. The goal of this issue of Wi: Journal of Mobile Media, is to bring together a diversity of views of what the spectrum is, how it is used, and how it might be used and thought of in new ways. Together, we will question the fundamental nature of the spectrum. Further, how do we tie new spectral thought to political realities, creating significant and sustainable change not only in spectral epistemologies but in the politics around and the uses of the spectrum?

For this issue of Wi: Journal of Mobile Media, we seek papers and interventions that aim to open up debate and propose new ideas of what the spectrum is and how it might be used, documentation of epistemic disruption and innovative intervention. Papers should be 3,000-5,000 words in length.

Crawford, Susan. (2007). ³Internet Think². Journal on Telecommunications and High Technology Law.

Please send submissions and inquiries to Dr. Evan Light.
Mobile Media Lab, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada

CFP International Conference on Languages, Literature & Society (Bangkok, Thailand)

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Ithaca College, New York, USA, International Center for Research & Development, Sri Lanka, JK University, India & Unique Conferences Canada are proud to announce the Third International Conference on Languages, Literature and Society (LLS2016) which will be held from 18-19 January, 2016, Bangkok Thailand.

Languages 2016 is an interactive platform to connect and reconnect colleagues around the world. You can meet 2013, 2015 participants as well as new participants in our conferences. Languages2016 is the premier knowledge building event and the largest gathering in Language community in the Global South.

Check the list of topics accepted. Paper submission guidelines also available.

Abstracts due: September 15, 2015

AEJMC South Asian Initiative

Greetings from the UNC-Chapel Hill School of Media and Journalism! By way of introduction, my name is Deb Aikat. I am a faculty member in UNC-Chapel Hill’s School of Media and Journalism. Read my bio here.

In our commitment to the “Global Bridges” theme of the 2015 Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference in San Francisco, a group of long-standing AEJMC members are convening the South Asia Initiative to bring together AEJMC members with interest and expertise in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora worldwide.

The AEJMC South Asia Initiative will foster cross-disciplinary conversations and collaborative relationships.

We invite you to the inaugural meeting:
~~ Time: 3:15-4:45 p.m., Aug. 7, 2015 (Friday)
~~ Place: Willow Room (B2 Golden Gate Level), San Francisco Marriott Marquis Hotel, San Francisco.
~~ See more details here.

We hope you’ll attend this meeting and share your ideas. Let us know if you are unable to attend the inaugural meeting, but wish to be a part of the AEJMC South Asia Initiative. We also welcome your ideas.

Please share this note with graduate students and colleagues interested in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

CFP ICA 2016 Communicating with Power (Fukuoka, Japan)

CFP International Communication Association convention
Fukuoka, Japan, 9-13 June 2016

As communication scholars, we research a field so important that it is protected by all constitutions and, at the highest level, by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The subject matter of our study, human expression and its formal form as media, is protected because governments recognise (or at least declare that they do) human expression and the media can be politically charged. Through communication, we make the difference to democracy and thereby make a difference in the lives of others.

Although communication is present in many important areas of policy making and in the ways our societies are governed, yet we are not often heard or even consulted. The theme of this year’s conference is reminder to ourselves as well as the larger world about the potential contribution of our work and raising awareness about such contribution. The theme of the conference is therefore aimed at raising our profile in communicating effectively with not only government agencies and corporate players but also civil society and grassroots organizations. The acts of communication occur at micro, meso, and macro levels, from the psychological to interpersonal, from organizational to global. They need more theoretical critique, methodological rigor, philosophical reflection, creative intervention, and alternative historical imagination.

The theme may be understood at a couple of levels. Communicating power is about communicating—both sending and receiving—powerfully or forcefully. This is reaching out to the influencers, not necessarily just those holding formal positions. It is speaking with a louder voice, designing with cleverer graphics, shooting with more artistic and appealing videography. It is gamification so that messages are absorbed and acted upon. It is investigating phenomena and variables that, when better understood, will make a bigger difference with more people, making a corner of the world a better place.

But there is a level I would like members to consider: how can we make our research better understood by those with the power to use them for good. This is not just for the law and policy crowd and policy makers. How can, for example, health communication scholars reach their target audience—be they doctors, public policy-makers, citizens—with their findings? How can colleagues studying culture and identity help children and youth, who grow up in today’s global culture, to understand their own identity? After studying the latest video games or the next Gangnam Style, how can we communicate our meaningful discoveries to parents and teachers, to multimedia corporations such as Sony?

We cannot be naïve if we want to communicate with power. Sometimes, communicating with power requires us to bypass power centres entirely because they are flawed or corrupted and appeal directly to our audience. What are such occasions? What are the limiting conditions in appealing to power centres?

The currency of academia is influence. If we can influence to make a positive difference, we would have communicated with power.

Conference Program Chair
Peng Hwa Ang, President Elect
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Theme Session Proposals
Submissions to theme session must follow general guidelines (i.e., papers must be blinded and will be peer-reviewed; they should be no longer than 25 pages or approximately 8,000 words). Proposals for papers and panels on the conference theme are invited from all sectors of the field, and will be evaluated competitively by anonymous referees. Theme-based submissions should be cross-divisional; that is, they should span the interests and purview of more than one ICA Division or Interest Group. Papers or panels must not, however, be submitted simultaneously for consideration to more than one Division or Interest Group. All submissions should have broad appeal across the units of the association. All theme-based papers and panels may also be programmed on special panels or within the interactive paper (poster) session. Panel proposals on the conference theme must include a 400-word rationale explaining how the panel fits the conference theme and a 75-word summary of the rationale to appear in the conference program. In keeping with ICA tradition, an edited volume focusing on the conference theme will be published. This volume will draw from presentations in Divisions, Interest Groups, and theme sessions.

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CFP New Media, Old Money: Digital Technology, Social Media & the New Challenges to Campaigning and Democracy

New Media, Old Money: Digital Technology, Social Media and the New Challenges to Campaigning and Democracy
DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 17, 2015.

A by-invitation experts’ workshop to be held at The Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America Washington, DC, September 27-29, 2015.

Electronic media have played a central role in politics almost since their introduction. The role of media in election campaigns is often seen as the origin of media and communication studies. The variety of political systems worldwide, the wide range of media systems that operate within them, and the extensive array of regulatory schemes that govern this association raise thought provoking questions about the role of media in democracy. The media-politics-capital triad has raised concerns about the effect of money on the health and fairness of political and media structures. The use of digital technologies and collaborative media has now become a critical part of these complex relationships.

Increasingly, political campaigns are built around digital strategies rather than on traditional broadcast ad buys. The internet offers many additional groups cheap access to the public sphere and new possibilities for information and discussion. Accordingly, much of the most “impactful” money is spent “online,” calling on expertise in building networks, conversations and communities using social networking platforms, combined with applications designed to amplify messaging as well as volunteers and users generating their own content. In addition, the ability to find, analyze and apply personal information from “big data” is becoming more important than market research and the focus has shifted to the development of comprehensive social media strategies for young, ethnic, gendered and special interest groups. Finally, legacy media and their traditional business models are affected by change as well, raising questions about implications of the internet for journalism and democracy.

As a result, any current understanding of campaign spending and political communication must incorporate not just traditional advertising, but equally spending on internet and social networking platforms and the use of information technologies to identify and reach voters through multiple platforms. The same “Old Money” is being used to try to gain influence, but new media offer new approaches both to enhance and conceal its effects. Moreover, the same media brands with the same powerful owners prevail online as well.

The Institute for Information Policy at Penn State, the Department of Communication and Media Research DCM at the University of Fribourg and the Journal of Information Policy, are pleased to announce this call for paper proposals. Authors of selected papers will be invited to present them during a two day (September 28th and 29th, 2015) by-invitation workshop designed to bring together up to a dozen American and international experts and to be held at the Embassy of Switzerland in Washington, DC. The workshop will open with a reception on September 27th. Presenters at the workshop will be invited to submit their
completed papers for review by the Journal of Information Policy. By focusing on the media-politics-capital triad, and taking place a year before the presidential elections in the US and only weeks before the national elections in Switzerland, the workshop is ideally suited to provide important insights not only for scholarly research but also for policy-makers in both countries.

Invited topics include, but are not limited to:
– The role of media in election and referendum campaigns
– The (democratic) need for regulation of media and campaigns
– The role of money in campaigning and political communication
– The role of money in media policy and regulation
– Commercialization of the media and its effect on political coverage
– Ownership structures of new and old media and their implications for democracy, political communication and media policy
– Changes of political communication and journalism due to digitization
– The strategic use of social media by political actors
– Comparative studies of media regulation, political communication and campaigns
– New metrics for campaign expenditures in the digital age
– Political campaign money spending in online campaigns
– Limitations on campaign spending
– Limitations on contributions; on sources of contributions; requirements for disclosure; regulation of spending by advocacy groups; by political parties; and by individuals
– The challenge of diversity of views and voices in the digital age
– Applying broadcast political speech rules be applied on the Internet
– Should social media, blogs, listserves and websites be subject to political speech rules?
– How have the larger changes in the economics of media affected political news and commentary?

Abstracts of up to 500 words and a short bio of the author(s) should be submitted via email by July 17, 2015. Please write “IIPFUWS: Your Last Name” in the subject line.

Accepted presenters will be notified by July 31, 2015.

CFP Media Analytics for Developing and Testing Theories of Social Structure and Interaction

Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Department of Defense Multidisciplinary Research Program of the University Research Initiative – Media Analytics for Developing and Testing Theories of Social Structure and Interaction

The purpose of this initiative is to advance the state of social sciences and their formalization to develop causal theories and methods to recognize/ predict social contexts, relationships, networks, and intentions from social media, taking into account non-verbal communication such as gestures, micro-expressions, posture, and latent semantics of text and speech.

Research Concentration Areas: Research is needed to integrate empirical generalizations on latent features of communication – how language is used differently by individuals of different social statuses in groups – into one or more coherent theories (Communication). For instance, leaders use spoken and written language differently than followers (Sociology, Anthropology); women and men differ markedly in how they communicate; individuals from lower socioeconomic groups are frequently the innovators when it comes to developing new ways to use language vis-à-vis individuals from the upper-class. Yet, these commonly observable patterns have yet to be rigorously verified and integrated into coherent theories of language, social structure, and social interaction (Network Science). Also, research is needed to further develop algorithms (Computer Science) that can accurately detect key features of speech linked to these structural patterns (e.g., humor, metaphor, emotion, language innovations) and subtle non-verbal elements of communication (e.g., pitch, posture, gesture) from text, audio, and visual media (Machine Learning, Multi-media algorithms). Thus, this research necessarily requires an interdisciplinary, cross-cultural approach to link features of language use and structure in text and non-verbal communication styles to social structure and action (e.g., communicators’ changes of positions in status hierarchies, roles in power dynamics, shift in group alliances).

Amount:
Upper $6,250,000USD Lower $1,000,000USD
It is anticipated that awards under this topic will be no more than an average of $1.25M per year for 5 years, supporting no more than 6 funded faculty researchers (and their teams). Exceptions warranted by specific proposal approaches should be discussed with the topic chief during the white paper phase of the solicitation.

Eligibility:
Eligible Applicants: Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Private institutions of higher education
This topic has been designated for potential US/UK collaborative proposals

This MURI competition is open only to and full proposals are to be submitted only by U.S. institutions of higher education (universities) including DoD institutions of higher education, with degree-granting programs in science and/or engineering. To the extent that it is a part of a U.S. institution of higher education and is not designated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Centers (FFRDC), a University Affiliated Research Center (UARC) or other University Affiliated Laboratory (UAL) is eligible to submit a proposal to this MURI competition and receive MURI funds. However, the eligibility of a UAL (other than an FFRDC) to submit a URI proposal does not exempt the proposal from any evaluation factor contained in this FOA. Ineligible organizations (e.g., industry, DoD laboratories, FFRDCs, and foreign universities) may collaborate on the research but may not receive MURI funds directly or via subaward.

Due Dates:
September 8, 2015: White paper
December 7, 2015: Full proposal

War and Media Network CFP: Colonialism, War & Photography (London)

As part of the research project: Cultural Exchange in Times of Global Conflict: Colonials, Neutrals and Belligerents during the First World War.

Colonialism, War & Photography
London – 17 September 2015

If the First World War is usually defined as the military clash of empires, it can also be reconceptualised as a turning point in the history of cultural encounters. Between 1914 and 1918, more than four million non-white men were drafted mostly as soldiers or labourers into the Allied armies: they served in different parts of the world – from Europe and Africa to Mesopotamia, the Middle East and China – resulting in an unprecedented range of cultural encounters. The war was also a turning point in the history of photographic documentation as such moments and processes were recorded in hundreds of thousands of photographs by fellow soldiers, official photographers, amateurs, civilians and the press. In the absence of written records, these photographs are some of our most important – and hitherto largely neglected – sources of the lives of these men: in trenches, fields, billets, hospitals, towns, markets, POW camps. But how do we ‘read’ these photographs?

Using the First World War as a focal point, this interdisciplinary one-day workshop aims to examine the complex intersections between war, colonialism and photography. What is the use and influence of (colonial) photography on the practice of history? What is the relationship between its formal and historical aspects? How are the photographs themselves involved in the processes of cultural contact that they record and how do they negotiate structures of power?

This workshop aims to explore the multiple histories and intensities of meaning that cluster around war, colonialism and photography. Organised under the auspices of the HERA-funded research project Cultural Exchange in the Time of Global Conflict: Colonials, Neutrals and Belligerents during the First World War’, the conference seeks to bring scholars interested in the topic from different disciplines, including visual culture, sociology, geography, anthropology, colonial and military history, cultural and literary studies. We would like to invite papers on, but not limited to, the following themes:
• Photography and the spaces of war (esp. in Africa and the Middle East)
• Photographing ‘the other’
• Photography and imperial war propaganda (in belligerent and neutral countries)
• Science, anthropology and photography
• Soldiers as photographers and collectors
• Photography and the colonial archive

While the historical focus of the workshop is the First World War, we would also be interested in papers concerned with photographic representations of colonial violence in the late 19th and early 20th century as well as theoretical investigations of the subject. Proposals from scholars at any stage in their career are welcome.

Keynote & Discussant: Prof Elizabeth Edwards, Director, Photographic History Research Centre, De Montfort University

Convenors: Dr Santanu Das & Dr Daniel Steinbach, King’s College London

Participants should send abstracts of up to 300 words for a 20-25 minute paper, a short biography, and any enquiries to Daniel Steinbach by 31 July 2015

American University of Kuwait job ad

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF KUWAIT
College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Communication and Media

The American University of Kuwait (AUK) is a private university in Kuwait organized on the U.S. model of undergraduate liberal arts education. The medium of instruction is English. The University is accredited by the Council for Private Universities of the Kuwait Ministry of Higher Education. AUK also has a Memorandum of Understanding with Dartmouth College in Hanover, NH. AUK admitted its first students in September 2004 and currently has approximately 2,000 students and over 120 UG faculty members.

The University is seeking terminally qualified faculty committed to excellence in teaching, scholarly research, and service. American education or teaching experience is preferred as is evidence of research activity. Outstanding communication skills, cultural sensitivity, and effective use of classroom media and technology are expected. Faculty rank will be determined by the candidate’s degree and previous employment history. Successful candidates will teach undergraduate classes to majors and non-majors of diverse cultural backgrounds, conduct research, participate in student advising, honor office hours, and serve on faculty committees.

AUK offers competitive compensation, as well as an attractive and comprehensive benefits package. There is no personal income tax, and US citizens may be eligible to take advantage of the IRS foreign tax exclusion. AUK is an equal opportunity employer, fully committed to becoming a model university of the twenty-first century in the region.

Contracts are issued for 3 years and are renewable.

Application Instructions:
Application packages are to be submitted electronically to faculty@auk.edu.kw (attachments must not exceed 10 MB per e-mail). The package should contain the following:
1) Cover letter, detailing the candidate’s specific interest in AUK, and how the candidate’s past experience provides a suitable basis for performance in the position for which they are applying;
2) A current CV;
3) Statement on research and service and statement of teaching methodology, including curricular development that the individual has initiated and executed;
4) Copies of teaching evaluations if available;
5) The names and addresses, both electronic and postal, of three referees;
6) Two recent publications /two writing samples;

In completing your application, please quote position code number. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For full consideration, applications should be reviewed by August 28, 2015.

Visit the AUK website to learn about the degree programs, university facilities, and campus life.

Electronic Media (Position Code No. 15-201- ICA 06): Full-time position in electronic media. Rank Assistant Professor, or higher, depending upon qualifications and experience. The candidate will possess the necessary expertise required for the development of a new track in electronic media in the Department. The ideal candidate will be able to teach a variety of classes in digital media, social media, and other forms of ‘new’ media. The ability to teach inter-disciplinary classes is a plus. Practical industry experience is desirable. The ideal candidate will also aid in curriculum development and program assessment and carry out other tasks assigned by the Chair. Ph.D in Media Studies / Communication, and/or a related discipline, is required.

Media Studies (Position Code No. 15-202- ICA 06): Full-time position in Media Studies. Rank Assistant Professor, or higher, depending upon qualifications and experience. The ideal candidate will be able to teach courses in media planning, public relations and advertising, advertising campaigns, and media and cultural studies. A focus on the Arab world is desirable. The ability to teach inter-disciplinary courses is a plus. Practical industry experience is desirable. The ideal candidate will also aid in curriculum development and program assessment and carry out other tasks assigned by the Chair. Ph.D. in Media Studies / Communication, and/or a related discipline is required.

Key Concept #70: Verstehen by Raul Mora

The next issue of Key Concepts in intercultural Dialogue is now available. This is KC70: Verstehen by Raul A. Mora. As always, all Key Concepts are available as free PDFs; just click on the thumbnail to download. Lists organized chronologically by publication date and number, alphabetically by concept in English, and by languages into which they have been translated, are available, as is a page of acknowledgments with the names of all authors, translators, and reviewers.

Mora, R. A. (2015). Verstehen. Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue, 70. Available from: https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/kc70-verstehen-by-raul-mora.pdf

The Center for Intercultural Dialogue publishes a series of short briefs describing Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue. Different people, working in different countries and disciplines, use different vocabulary to describe their interests, yet these terms overlap. Our goal is to provide some of the assumptions and history attached to each concept for those unfamiliar with it. As there are other concepts you would like to see included, send an email to the series editor, Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz. If there are concepts you would like to prepare, provide a brief explanation of why you think the concept is central to the study of intercultural dialogue, and why you are the obvious person to write up that concept.

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

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