Author: Center for Intercultural Dialogue

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, the Director of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue, manages this website.

Peacebuilding through Dialogue N Ireland

For the second year , Gonzaga University‘s Master’s Program in Communication and Leadership Studies is offering a graduate course in Derry, Northern Ireland to MA and PhD students. January 2, 2014-Januray 12, 2014 Peacebuilding through Dialogue in Northern Ireland.

Program Overview:
This hybrid on-line and study abroad program, sponsored by the Master’s Program in Communication and Leadership Studies provides a unique opportunity for students to develop understanding and the skills necessary for fostering peacebuilding and storytelling.  With pre and post online components as well as eight days of residency in Derry, Northern Ireland, and a day excursion to Belfast, Northern, Ireland.  Additionally there is a free travel day to the Northcoast of Ireland.  The aim of this course is to introduce concepts from the field of communication that enable an understanding of how local peacebuilding can build bridges across conflicting groups in deeply divided societies. Communication and dialogue are closely intertwined and together act at the heart of establishing shared space and creating a common future. It is in this shared space that the process of peace has begun to take shape.  However as Bakhtin (1981) insists, “each word tastes of the context and contexts in which it has lived its socially charged life” (p.293).

The course will reflect on the causes and history of The Troubles (1969-1998) as well as the tortuous peace process following the Belfast Agreement in 1998. Based on that agreement, Northern Ireland’s devolved government finally became reality in 2008. Local peacebuilding through dialogue is central to understanding how peace has been maintained.

Dialogue requires responsiveness which is made possible by qualities of thought and talk allowing transformation to take place: transformation in how people understand the self, the other, and the societies they inhabit. These qualities of thought and talk include a willingness to risk change in one’s own perspective and a commitment to embracing and struggling with others whose worldviews may be different from and threatening to one’s own.

In addition, working with former combatant’s of these troubles, students will complete a profile writing component of using storytelling and photography to tell the story of a local community member for our Faces and Voices of Derry Project.

Course Objectives:
Given full participation in the course, the student will be able to:

  • Explain the role of dialogue in communication.
  • Analyze the causes and history of The Troubles and the post-1998 peace process.
  • Recognize the development of shared community.
  • Interview and tell a story in a photojournalistic style of a one of the citizens of Derry using the class blog/website.
  • Explain the role dialogue can play in effective leadership in contemporary America.

Program Highlights:

  • Meet with peace practitioners, former combatants and local leaders from both the Nationalist and Unioninst communities in Northern Ireland
  • Walk the famous 17th century wall of Derry with an experience local guide
  • Visit the Shankhill and Falls Road areas of Belfast, their murals, and “peace walls” with former combatants from the Nationalist and Unionist communities as guides
  • Hear first hand how local peace leaders have created projects to work toward understanding and healing
  • Learn interviewing and facilitation skills for building dialogic practices
  • Create daily photo and storytelling blog.

Additional Information: See an archive of the student work and reflections in the program.

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Heisey grad student scholarship

Dr. D. Ray Heisey Graduate Student Scholarship
Association for Chinese Communication Studies

Dr. D. Ray Heisey (1932-2011) was Director (1983-1996) and Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Kent State University. He was a renowned intercultural communication scholar who served as Adviser on many Chinese students’ dissertation committees. He had facilitated research collaborations between scholars and students in the US and from the Far East, Middle East, Europe, and North America. He loved traveling and experiencing other cultures, having lived in or visited over 40 countries. Dr. Heisey taught in Chinese universities and published a great number of research works on Chinese communication studies with Chinese students and scholars. Dr. Heisey was a long term ACCS member. His enthusiasm, dedication to education, and personal and scholarly integrity continue to impact ACCS scholars. In honor of Dr. D. Ray Heisey’s contribution to Chinese Communication Studies, the ACCS has decided to establish a Dr. D. Ray Heisey Scholarship each year. The award amount is $400.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

  • You must be a current ACCS member
  • You must be a second-year, or above, graduate student majoring in the area focusing on Chinese Communication Studies, enrolled full-time at a university.
  • You must complete an application form and submit all required materials* to the Committee of Dr. D. Ray Heisey Scholarship.

*Required materials: personal statement, two recommendation letters, current transcript, curriculum vita, and a writing sample.

CRITERIA FOR SCHOLARSHIP SELECTION

  • The scholarship is awarded to a graduate student who has enrolled in the major in second year or above for the semester in which the scholarship is received.
  • An above average academic record (3.2 on a 4.0 scale) verifiable by current school transcripts.
  • An expressed desire to enter the field of Chinese Communication Studies in a 1-3 page typewritten statement of application.
  • Leadership skills and research records, and active involvement in ACCS activities.

The scholarships will be awarded for the academic year (Fall 2013-Spring 2014). The deadline for accepting applications is October 30, 2013. The application form is online here.

The Scholarship Committee Members:
Zhuojun Joyce Chen, Chair (2013-2014), University of Northern Iowa
Guo-ming Chen, University of Rhode Island
Hairong Feng, University of Minnesota – Duluth
Mei Zhang, Missouri Western State University
Mei Zhong, San Diego State University

Carolina postdoc for diversity

The Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity

As part of a continuing commitment to advance scholars from underrepresented groups in higher education, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity is pleased to announce the availability of postdoctoral research appointments for a period of two years. The purpose of the Program is to develop scholars from underrepresented groups for possible tenure track appointments at the University of North Carolina and other research universities. Postdoctoral scholars will be engaged full-time in research and may elect to teach only one course per fiscal year.

Fields: Applications for study in any discipline represented at the University are welcome.

Stipend: The stipend will be $39,874 per calendar year. Funds are available for research expenses, including travel.

Eligibility: Applicants who will have completed their doctoral degree no later than July 1, 2014 and no earlier than July 1, 2010 are eligible to apply. Preference will be given to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. This program is funded by the State of North Carolina. The primary criterion for selection is evidence of scholarship potentially competitive for tenure track appointments at the University of North Carolina and other research universities.

To Apply: Interested applicants should apply online. Directions for the electronic submission are provided at the application site. For additional information, please visit the program website. Questions may be directed to Program Manager Judson Fraley at jhfraley AT email.unc.edu

The application deadline is Friday, November 15, 2013.

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Health Comm app includes culture

Health Communication: Building Professional Skills

The Clinical Communication Collaborative (CCC) is proud to announce the release of its first iOS APP for clinicians! Now you can have quick and ready access to theory-driven and evidence-based communication tools that are useful in difficult conversations. Endorsed by the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium and renowned palliative care physician Diane Meier, this APP provides easy-to-deliver responses when communicating in moments of tension, sorrow, fear, anxiety, awkwardness, and hesitancy. Health Communication guides you to provide compassionate and culturally sensitive care to serious and critically-ill patients and their families.

Features:
* Over 100 different communication strategies
* Search by scenarios
* No need for Internet access

CCC also offers free teaching materials on this Website to advance a patient-centered training program called COMFORT. Based on years of clinical research, COMFORT offers healthcare professionals extensive materials – PowerPoint presentations, knowledge assessments, example cases and standardized patient assessment forms – designed to teach communication strategies for patient-centered palliative care.

COMING SOON on iTunes!!!Cultural Differences-APP screen

This iOS app has been designed for healthcare clinicians and students. Built from the COMFORT communication curriculum, an acronym that stands for the seven basic principles of palliative care communication, Drs. Elaine Wittenberg-Lyles (University of Kentucky), Joy Goldsmith (University of Memphis), and Sandra Ragan (University of Oklahoma) have translated health communication theory and research into the first ever
communication studies driven tool to assist clinicians with difficult conversations. Feel free to download the APP as a discussion tool for coursework in health communication, end-of-life care, communication and technology and the like – or better yet, pass it on to a clinician who may be teaching clinical communication.

CCC advances palliative care by fostering clinical communication practices for healthcare
professionals, including nurses, physicians, social workers, chaplains, students, and other members of interprofessional healthcare teams.

CFP EPICS VI conference in Spain

The research group “Intercultural Pragmatic Studies (English-Spanish): Pragmatic and Discourse Issues” is pleased to announce the upcoming Sixth International Symposium on Intercultural, Cognitive and Social Pragmatics (EPICS VI, after the Spanish acronym for “Encuentros de Pragmática Intercultural, Cognitiva y Social”). EPICS VI will be held on 12-14 May 2014, at the University of Seville, Spain.

After having addressed issues related to (im)politeness, intercultural pragmatics, interlanguage pragmatics and relevance theory in previous editions, the sixth EPICS Symposium turns its attention to conflict in language. Under the umbrella theme “Perspectives on Language Aggression and Conflict”, EPICS VI aims at providing a forum for practitioners of pragmatics and other related disciplines to present on their latest research, as well as to share experiences and suggest new avenues for research. EPICS VI also wishes to create awareness among graduate students of the growing interest in this area of linguistic expertise within the broad field of pragmatics.

EPICS VI will also host the European launching of the Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict. Co-edited by Pilar Garcés Blitvich (University of North Carolina at Charlotte) and Maria Sifianou (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens), JLAC focuses on the study of aggression and conflict, as manifested in language, from different perspectives such as discursive, pragmatic, sociolinguistic, cultural, cognitive, applied linguistics, or anthropological. Because of the thematic connections between JLAC and EPICS VI, a selection of the best contributions presented at EPICS VI will be published in a special issue JLAC.

Keynote Speakers:
We are very honoured that Professor Jonathan Culpeper (Lancaster University) and Professor John Joseph (The University of Edinburgh) have agreed to be EPICS VI keynote speakers.

Conference Fees:
Until January 30, 2014:
Attendants: EUR 100
Speakers: EUR 150

After January 30:
Attendants: EUR 125
Speakers: EUR 175

These fees are for the full conference (12-14 May) and include the conference pack, coffee breaks and lunches. There will be a conference dinner, whose price is not included in the conference fee. The account to deposit the registration fee will be announced in the second call for papers. Presentations will not be included in the final program if registration fees have not been prepaid. Please note that payment on site will not be possible. In the next call for papers, information about accommodation will also be included.

Call for Papers:
Conference Presentations Types:
We welcome original papers, written in English, on any of the subjects that come within the list of conference topics below or on any other topic related to language aggression and conflict. Presentations can be made in any of the following types:

A) Individual Oral Presentations
These must be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion.

B) Themed Panels
These must contain a number of thematically-related papers, each of which must be 20 minutes in length, followed by 10 minutes for questions and discussion. Proposals for panels should also include a chair.

C) Posters
Participants presenting a poster should follow the following guidelines:
– Posters should be no larger than 118,9 x 84,1 cm (A0).
– They may be printed in colour or in black and white.
– Poster presenters must bring a printed copy of their poster with them to the conference. Note that there will not be printing facilities at the conference venue. Presenters will also be responsible for displaying the poster and turning it down at the time and in the place designated by the conference organisers.

Topics:
EPICS VI especially focuses, but is not limited to contributions, that address, explore or analyse in depth language aggression and conflict from a pragmatic perspective, as well as to works that present theoretical developments and practical applications on, among others, the following topics:
– Gender differences in language aggression and conflict
– Language aggression and conflict among family members
– Language aggression and conflict in work/academic settings
– Language aggression, conflict and identity
– Emotional communication and conflict
– Impoliteness
– Language aggression and conflict in the classroom
– Language aggression and conflict in political discourse
– Language aggression and conflict in the (digital) media.
– Language aggression and conflict in inter/cross cultural communication
– Language aggression and conflict in service encounters
– (Intercultural) Business and conflict
– Forensic linguistics

Submissions:
Proposals must be sent as email attachment to both Manuel Padilla Cruz and Reyes Gómez Morón. Proposals must contain the following information:

A) Oral Presentations and Posters
Contributors to EPICS VI, regardless of whether they give an oral presentation or present a poster, must submit a one-page abstract no longer than 350 words, accompanied by the following information:
i. Author’s name(s) and affiliation
ii. Title of paper
iii. Audio-visual equipment required (computer, VHS video, OHP, etc.)
iv. E-mail address(es)
v. Postal address(es)

B) Themed Panels
Panel proposals must include a one-page abstract no longer than 350 words for the panel, accompanied by the respective 350-word abstracts for each of the presentations included in the panel. The following information must also be included for each of the papers in the panel:
i. Author’s name(s) and affiliation
ii. Title of paper
iii. Audio-visual equipment required (computer, VHS video, OHP, etc.)
iv. E-mail address(es)
v. Postal address(es)

Dates:
Deadline for receipt of abstracts is 1 December 2013. Proposals will be peer-reviewed and notification of acceptance will be sent by 15 January. The organising committee will plan the programme as soon as it has selected the successful abstracts, so please indicate on the abstracts if you cannot present your paper on any day of the conference (12-14 May), as it is very difficult to reschedule papers after the programme has been planned.

Publication:
After the Symposium, EPICS VI participants are invited to submit revised and extended versions of their work for publication in any of the following venues:

A) Journal of Language Aggression and Conflict. Guidelines for publication can be found here.

B) An edited collection. Style guidelines will be provided in due course.

In both cases, the final text can be submitted after the Symposium, but no later than 31 July 2014.

Organising Committee:
Reyes Gómez Morón
Manuel Padilla Cruz
Lucía Fernández Amaya
María de la O Hernández López
Manuel Mejías Borrero

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CINMR Research Associates list

The names, university affiliations, and countries of all Center for Intercultural New Media Research (CINMR) Research Associates are now listed on the public CINMR website and available for the world at large.  CINMR consists of 238 Research Associates in 42 countries representing 190 universities worldwide.

In addition, CINMR now has a new category of membership: Student Research Associates.  Graduate students are now welcome to join CINMR.  The names, university affiliations, and countries of graduate students are also listed on the CINMR public website.

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CFP Globalization conference in Madrid

“Globalization: Texts • Performances • Practices”
April 24-26, 2014 at Saint Louis University Madrid
Call for Papers

In the provocative book Vermeers’ Hat, historian Timothy Brooks teases out the signs of nascent globalization in Johannes Vermeer’s seventeenth century paintings of Delft, Holland. These signs include the eponymous hats from “New World” pelts, textiles from Turkey, ceramics from China that were already established features of the Dutch quotidian and within the frame of the paintings. In other words, globalization predates Bretton Woods, the 1989 Revolutions, and the rise of Facebook!

Almost four centuries later, the depth and breadth of what we now regularly reference as globalization is still expanding. At the same time, in most moments, we as subjects are situated in palpable, immediate, super-organic localities. This and other paradoxes demonstrate that, however much “globalization” has become a widely circulated buzzword, we are still probing what it means for subjects in everyday terms.

Across three days, participants from all over the globe will reflect on the many registers in which the “structuring structures” of globalization play out as the conference assays to unpack “what’s going on.” While the event will be hosted by a Communication department, the organizers welcome cross-disciplinary effort.

Some specific areas of interest to the Organizing Committee include:
Globalization, on Screens Everywhere
—Media, Technology, and Society
—The Practice of International Journalism
—Digital Journalism
—New Media: New Subjects?
—Film & Television as International Couriers
—International Political Economy of Media Critical Intercultural Communication:
—Globalization and Subjectivity
—Culture, Identity & Mobility
—Tourism in Practice
—Glocalization and Cultural Heterogeneity
—Fluidity and Hybridity
—Performing Globalization
—Post-Colonial & Diaspora Studies
—New Cartographies Global Organizations
—Nations/TransNations
—The Confrontation with Neoliberalism
—The Corporation
—Human Rights & NGOs
—Modes of Protest

To be considered as a presenter, please email the following by 4 January 2014:
(1) Your name and title
(2) Institutional affiliation
(3) A title and abstract of your work (200-400 words)
(4) four “key words”

The conference’s designated language will be English in all its variants.

Additionally, we are delighted to announce two keynote addresses for the conference:
Radha S. Hegde, New York University: “Migrant Bodies and the Politics of Recognition.”
and
Natalie Fenton, Goldsmiths/University of London: “Mediated Public Spheres: The Problem of Politics and Dream of Democracy.”

Eckerd College job ad

Assistant Professor of Communication, tenure-track position, to start in September 2014. PhD. in Communication required. Eckerd College seeks an outstanding teacher/scholar with expertise in one or more of the following areas: interpersonal communication, intercultural/multicultural communication, or health communication. Applicants in other specialties whose research interests include ethnographic or other qualitative or mixed methodologies are also encouraged to apply. The successful candidate will be able to teach Introduction to Communication Theory, Public Speaking, Research Methods, and to develop courses in area(s) of expertise. Teaching load is seven courses per academic year (3-1-3). Candidates should be committed to teaching and mentoring undergraduates, and have a record of scholarship that leads to publication. The candidate’s approach to teaching, mentoring, and research should comport with Eckerd College’s Mission Statement.

Participation in an interdisciplinary, values-oriented general education program is required, including a regular rotation in the two-semester freshman program. Eckerd College, the only independent national liberal arts college in Florida, has a tradition of innovative education and teaching/mentoring excellence. Send letter of application, vita, teaching evaluations, statement of teaching philosophy, graduate transcripts, and contact information for three references here. Applications must be complete by December 1, 2013. Inquiries may be sent to Dr. Michael Mario Albrecht. Qualified candidates must be authorized to work in the United States for the College. EOE. Applications from women, minorities, and GLBT candidates welcomed.

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Int’l Journal of Intercultural Relations: editor needed

CALL FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST:
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTERCULTURAL RELATIONS EDITOR IN CHIEF

Expressions of interest are called for the position of Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Intercultural Relations, for a 3-year term, commencing 1 January, 2015.
The journal is the official publication of the International Academy for Intercultural Research. IJIR is dedicated to advancing knowledge and understanding of theory, research and practice in the field of intercultural relations, including, but not limited to, topics such as acculturation; intercultural communication; intergroup perceptions, contact, and interactions; intercultural training; and cultural diversity in education, organizations and society. The journal  currently receives between 275-300 submissions per annum, primarily from scholars in the discipline of psychology and secondarily from communication, but submissions come from a wide variety of disciplines. The Editor-in-Chief is currently supported by two Associate Editors.

Please direct Expressions of Interest to ijir AT vuw.ac.nz by 1 December, 2013. The EoIs should include a cv, with particular attention to editorial experience, and a statement of your vision for IJIR.  Past editorial experience and a supportive institutional environment are desirable.  It is also expected that the successful candidate will be (or become) a Member or Fellow of the International Academy of Intercultural Research.

Any general questions about the journal operations can be directed to Colleen Ward ,  the current Editor-in-Chief, at ijir AT vuw.ac.nz or to Dan Landis, Founding Editor, at danl AT hawaii.edu.

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Massey U (New Zealand) job ad

The School of Communication, Journalism and Marketing in the College of Business at Massey University (New Zealand) is searching for a Lecturer or Senior lecturer in Communication, to be located at the Albany Campus. Candidates will exhibit a record of, or a strong potential for, research and teaching in one or more of the following emphases: (a) public relations; (b) communication management; (c) professional and business communication; (d) journalism studies; and/or (e) health communication. The successful appointee will join other recent recruits in communication to assist in a substantial expansion of the communication programmes at Albany.

Massey University was ranked fifth most attractive employer in New Zealand in the 2013 Randstad awards, an international survey conducted across 14 universities. It was also the education sector winner. Massey University is ranked in the top 150 worldwide for communication and media studies in the QS World University Rankings 2013. The College of Business is AACSB and AMBA accredited and has New Zealand’s longest running MBA, journalism and entrepreneurship and small business programmes. The Albany campus is located in Auckland, consistently ranked as one of the most liveable cities in the world by the Economist magazine. The campus has good access to beaches, forests and boating, as well as the attractions of Auckland city.

Closing date: 30 October 2013
Reference number: A282-13SF

See here for further information and to apply online.

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