Taos Institute: Strategies for Opening Master Conflict Narratives (Webinar)

EventsStrategies for Opening Master Conflict Narratives, Pulsating Practices: Constructionism in Action, Taos Institute (Webinar), 5 November 2025, 1-2:30 EST.

With Sara Cobb (Director of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, George Mason University, USA)

Persistent conflicts, such as wars, the rise of fascism, political and social conflicts over colonialism, marginalization, climate change, race, etc., depend on “master narratives” that keep the parties prisoner to their own logics, their descriptions of histories, and their vision of possible futures. We see master narratives at work, constructing the world, from the local to the global level, in personal conflicts where families fracture over their ideological differences, in communities divided by race, in professional settings where “merit” seems to challenge “diversity” and vice versa, in political settings where “science” is in opposition to “belief,” and of course, in violent conflicts. Indeed, the more persistent the conflict, the more power master narratives have, to maintain the conflict by sealing themselves off from re-interpretation or evolution. From this perspective, conflict transformation or even conflict evolution depends on opening master narratives to new logics/descriptions.

This webinar offers a strategy for evolving master narratives via the development of “proximate narratives.” Drawing on case examples, we will define ”proximate narratives” and explore how they can function to open new pathways for conflict transformation. Finally, we will practice the development of proximate narratives in our own master narratives and explore our experience of this process, sharing insights, for our collective learning.

DEA Program Fellowships 2026 (France)

FellowshipsCall for applications, Associate Director of Studies (DEA) Program, for 2026, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme, Paris, France. Deadline: 28 November 2025.

The DEA Program offers university professors from around the world the opportunity to carry out research in the humanities and social sciences (HSS) in France during stays of four to six weeks. Each year, the programme supports up to 30 projects, with a selection rate of approximately 30%.

Particular consideration is given to applications from countries where funding opportunities for the humanities and social sciences are limited, as well as to scholars for whom a stay in France would provide a significant opportunity to foster scientific collaboration.

Established in 1975 at the initiative of Fernand Braudel, the “Directeurs d’Études Associés” (DEA) Programme is the oldest international mobility scheme of the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme.

CFP UNESCO Futures of Education Ideas LAB

“UNESCO”
Call for short think pieces on What will shape the future of international cooperation for education? for the Futures of Education Ideas LAB, UNESCO. Deadline: 10 November 2025.

UNESCO’s Futures of Education IdeasLAB invites short think pieces (1500 words maximum) that reimagine, interrogate and analyze recent changes in global governance, multilateralism and international cooperation in education. They welcome contributions from all who engage with governance or education – including researchers, policy-makers, futures thinkers, public servants, private sector actors, educators, youth and civil society.

Multilateralism is in a moment of deep transition. The international system that optimistically pledged its commitments to ‘Education for All’ in 1990 appears less recognizable today. The frameworks and shared vision that once provided firm foundations for international cooperation in education have frayed, and in mid-2025 they appear more fragile than in past decades. At the same time, new imaginaries and solidarities offer opportunities to reimagine multilateralism, international cooperation and governance at all levels. How can we think about this present moment? What has changed, and what trajectories – both promising and perilous – appear ahead?

NOTE: The Center for Intercultural Dialogue held focus groups as part of the information gathering stage of the Futures of Education project, preparing what we learned as a report for UNESCO, in 2021.

Final Warning: CID LinkedIn Group being Discontinued in 2 Days!

About CID

The Center for Intercultural Dialogue’s LinkedIn group will be discontinued October 15. Daily posts will appear instead on the Center’s LinkedIn page. Please follow that instead.

This summer CID was swamped by nearly 800 requests to join our LinkedIn group, most identified as based in Ethiopia, and most obviously fake accounts. In addition to the sorting process being terribly time-consuming, I’ve been advised that this is probably some sort of scam, likely an attempt to gain access to legitimate members, by pretending to shared interests. In fact, I’ve now been subject to those myself – I was just asked to apply for a job that had nothing in common with any of my areas of expertise. After discussion with several other organizations, it seems the best road forward is to simply post to the Center’s organizational page on LI, which is here, and encourage current and future group members to follow that page. That way you can still see all the posts on the LI platform, if you prefer that to subscribing directly to the website.

If instead you prefer to now switch to the website, just enter your email in the box at the top right of any page if you view the site on a laptop, or just below the current posts if you visit using a phone. You get to choose whether you receive posts daily or weekly. Despite the common misunderstanding that we send out a newsletter, we do not; rather, followers receive regular notices directly from the website.

In order to give everyone time to move from the LI group to the LI page, as previously announced, the group is not being deleted until October 15. But no new members are being admitted between the first announcement in September and then, even the few legitimate ones.

My apologies for the inconvenience of changing how you follow the Center. However, beyond the few minutes spent changing from the group to the page, or to another platform, given that nearly all followers just read the posts and do not offer their own contributions, it seems unlikely to be a huge problem for very many. And the protection from potential spam attacks seems worth the inconvenience.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director
Center for Intercultural Dialogue

U Louvain: Lecturer or Professor of Discourse and Language Practices in Italian (Belgium)

“JobLecturer or Professor of Discourse and Language Practices in Italian, University of Louvain, Belgium. Deadline: 12 November 2025.

Within the Faculty of Philosophy, Arts and Letters and the Institute for Language and Communication, Social Sciences and Humanities Sector, this position will include the following teaching, research and community service duties:

Teaching
You will teach courses in Italian language and linguistics (taught in Italian) for students of modern languages and literature, and courses in linguistics in your field of specialization for a wider audience (language and literature programs, communication programs, etc.), taught in French or English.  Your expertise will enable you to build up an attractive range of courses, likely to reinforce existing programs at UCLouvain and/or contribute to the introduction of new and original programs responding to the interests and concerns of future students.

Research
You will develop your research activities, including the development of research projects, in a field of linguistics and communication studies, preferably around one of the following issues:
– Intercultural pragmatics and communication
– Language interactions in professional contexts
– Multimodal discourse analysis
– Digital communication

Your scientific expertise should complement and reinforce the major lines of research developed within the UCLouvain Language & Communication Institute.

You will be responsible for the supervision of PhD theses.

Manchester U: Assistant / Associate / Professor of Communication Studies (USA)

“JobAssistant / Associate / Professor of Communication Studies, Manchester University, North Manchester, IN, USA. Deadline: 17 October 2025.

Manchester University (in Indiana) seeks a dynamic teacher-scholar to join the Communication Studies program for the 2026-2027 Academic Calendar, continuing the University’s long tradition of scholarship rooted in empathy, listening, dialogue, and general semantics. The successful candidate will teach courses such as: Foundations of Human Communication, Intercultural Communication, Language & Thought, and Persuasion.

Preference will be given to candidates whose teaching and/or scholarship engage with general semantics. This endowed position carries a 25% course release to support faculty-student research and community engagement. Faculty also contribute to the general education curriculum and interdisciplinary initiatives. The standard teaching load is 18 semester hours per year.

Taos Institute: Crafting Peace Through Autoethnography (Webinar)

EventsDialogue with the Author: Crafting Peace Through Autoethnography, Reflexive Pedagogies for Navigating Difficult Times, Taos Institute (Webinar), 24 October 2025, 12-1:30 EDT.

With Susan Riva (Switzerland),  Sheila McNamee (USA) and Robin Cooper (USA).

Crafting Peace by Susan Riva book cover

With a foreword by Sheila McNamee and an afterword by Robin Cooper—both scholars from the Taos Institute—the book Crafting Peace Through Autoethography: Reflexive Pedagogies for Navigating Difficult Times is grounded in a social constructionist perspective and offers a reflective framework for navigating complexity in higher education.

In this work, Riva introduces the Transformational Learning Model and feature students’ Transformagram Portfolios—creative, personal expressions of their transformative learning journeys. She also shares how her online courses provide a safe and supportive virtual space for accompanying students through deeply experiential and reflective processes.

At Creighton University, her conflict resolution course uses personal conflict narratives to connect lived experience with theoretical frameworks. Students craft story mandalas and engage with autoethnography as a social science method, deepening their understanding of conflict, identity, and personal transformation.

Call for Nominations: JIIC Editor for 2027

Professional OpportunitiesCall for Nominations/ Applications: Journal of International and Intercultural Communication Editor-Elect, to serve 2027-30. Deadline: January 31, 2026.

During 2025, NCA’s Publications Council will nominate an Editor-Elect (or co-Editors-Elect) for the Journal of International and Intercultural Communication. The newly appointed Editor will begin processing manuscripts early in 2027 and will oversee the volumes for 2028-2030. The journal is published four times each year.

Editors of NCA journals occupy a particularly prominent leadership position in the field. In naming editorial boards, selecting reviewers for manuscripts, and making final publication decisions (among other duties), they make a vitally important contribution to the discipline, and they play a key role in maintaining the highest standards of integrity and scholarly inquiry.

The Journal of International and Intercultural Communication (JIIC) is a peer-reviewed publication of the National Communication Association (NCA). JIIC publishes original scholarship that expands understanding of international, intercultural, and cross-cultural communication. Widely interdisciplinary, JIIC features diverse perspectives and methods, including qualitative, quantitative, critical, and textual approaches to intellectual inquiry.

CFP BAAL Language Policy Forum 2026 (Spain)

ConferencesCall for papers: British Association for Applied Linguistics Language Policy Forum, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Spain, 22-23 April 2026. Deadline:  27 October 2025.

2026 marks 50 years since Joshua Fishman‘s foundational volume Bilingual Education: An International Sociological Perspective (1976), a cornerstone in establishing language policy as a distinct discipline. 2026 also marks 20 years since the publication of An Introduction to Language Policy: Theory and Method, a collection edited by Thomas Ricento and showcasing the leading lights of what had become by then a flourishing research field.

In his volume, Fishman argued that language policy (or more specifically bilingual education) was good for majorities, minorities, language learning, and education. In this spirit, LPF 2026 invites submissions informed by this disciplinary heritage, and those which go beyond it, to examine language policy across different areas of civic and societal engagement. We take a broad approach to language policy; we welcome any submissions related to decision-making about language use.

The Language Policy Forum is international, affordable, and accessible –– a premier international meeting of specialists with extra attention to facilitating access.

Norwegian Visiting Lectureship (USA)

FellowshipsNorwegian Visiting Lectureship, American-Scandinavian Foundation, New York, NY, USA. Deadline: 1 January 2026.

ASF invites all U.S. colleges and universities to apply for the Annual Norwegian Lectureship. The award is for one semester and is open to disciplines with a contemporary focus on Public Policy, Conflict Resolution, Environmental Studies, Multiculturalism, or Healthcare. The ASF Norwegian Visiting Lecturer receives a $20,000 teaching and research stipend along with an additional $5,000 travel stipend for lecture appearances outside the host institution. The lecturer must be a Norwegian citizen and a scholar or expert in a field appropriate to the host department or program.