Maria Flora Mangano: Gratitude is My Attitude

Guest PostsGratitude is My Attitude. Guest post by Maria Flora Mangano.

Thankfulness may become mutual, as it is focused on our approach to the Other.

Working with students can be more than a job; it may become a life choice, an answer to a call, which we choose every day. It may turn into an attitude, a perspective on reality, a vision of the world centered on the Other rather than on us. This approach may also change our relationship to our students, and, far more broadly, with our daily lives.

…If we can shift the center of gravity from ourselves to the Other, we may experience gratitude as a pure feeling which does not depend on us, thus on our abilities, successes, or results. It reminded me of the I-Thou relationship as theorized by Martin Buber (1937), thus, the basic idea that the relationship lies in the between, perhaps in the hyphen between, the I and the Thou (Mangano, 2018, p. 27). It is a space which depends neither on the I, nor on the Thou; it is in the middle, in the between, in the “space of us.”

When we are able to decenter ourselves and put the Other at the center of the scene, we may also see what already exists, rather than what is missing. We may experience wonder, as we do not expect a gift: the Other may already be a gift, and we do not need any additional expectation. This approach, that of an unexpected surprise, may provide a new perspective on reality as a glass half-full; sometimes even completely full. In this attitude, gratitude sounds likely to be close to hope, an endless source of water although just a few drops may be enough, as they can guarantee the strength to carry on.

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U Minnesota: Director of International Affairs (USA)

“JobDirector of International Affairs, University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN, USA. Deadline: 30 April 2025.

A member of the academic leadership team, the Director of International Affairs provides strategic leadership to support global engagement and campus internationalization as part of UMD’s mission. Reporting to the Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (EVCAA) and partnering with academic deans, senior administrators, faculty, and staff, the Director will lead campus efforts related to internationalization to strengthen and enrich our campus community. The Director of International Affairs leads IPS and partners to advance the following areas:

  • International Partnerships
  • Study Abroad
  • International Student Recruitment
  • International Student Success
  • Global Education at UMD
  • Faculty and Staff International Engagement
  • Passport Acceptance Facility

The Director collaborates with the Office of Strategic Enrollment Management, the Multicultural Center, the University of Minnesota System’s Global Programs and Strategy Alliance (GPS Alliance), and many other units at UMD. In FY25, a campuswide committee conducted a thorough analysis of institutional efforts and opportunities and provided a robust set of recommendations to assist UMD in significantly strengthening internationalization. They are looking for a leader to help enact that vision.

Global Cities: Education Program Manager (USA)

“JobEducation Program Manager, Global Cities, New York, NY, USA. Deadline: 30 April 2025.

Global Cities seeks an experienced, creative, and tech-savvy Education Program Manager to join its team of accomplished educators who design and implement the Global Scholars virtual exchange program. As part of Global Cities’ collaborative and innovative team, they apply a diverse skillset to create student-centered, project-based curricula, teacher professional development, and a lively e-classroom environment for young people worldwide. Their responsibilities also include liaising with Global Scholars classroom teachers, school leaders, and education district/ministry officials, and contributing insights to initiatives for all K-12 educators interested in integrating global competency into their curriculum and instruction.

Global Cities, Inc., a Program of Bloomberg Philanthropies, promotes skills that today’s youth require for citizenship in tomorrow’s world. Global Cities has extensive experience using technology to forge connections among students and educators that promote learning, including through Global Scholars, our signature virtual exchange program for public school students. Through the program, students ages 10 to 13 engage in constructive dialogue with peers across the globe in e-classrooms. Their posts, replies, and digital projects are primary texts for them to learn about other cities and perspectives, and how to solve the shared global issue they are studying. Currently, Global Scholars connects over 10,400 students and more than 500 educators in 546 cities around the world. In addition to operating Global Scholars, Global Cities has conducted research that demonstrates that direct peer-to-peer connections develop the knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviors that constitute global competency. What they have learned is relevant to all educators working to ensure every child has access to education that will prepare them for success in a globalized world, and they have an ambitious agenda to share this learning with the next generation of K-12 teachers. 

U London: Migrant Futures PhD Studentships (England)

“Studentships“Two Migrant Futures Goldsmiths Ph.D. Studentships, Goldsmiths University of London, London, UK.Deadline: 25 April 2025.

Two doctoral studentships are available for entry in 2025-26. These are fully-funded studentship that may be held on a full-time or part-time  basis, pro-rata, over three years and six years and are at an equivalent rate to fully-funded UKRI studentships. They cover tuition fees and an annual stipend at the yearly UKRI rate, together with a small annual research training and support fund.

One of the two awards for entry 2025-26 will be open to eligible home applicants who identify as migrants or refugees and from racialised ethnic minority backgrounds in any field of research and practice for which supervision is available at Goldsmiths, University of London. To be clear, applicants considered for this award need not be working on a migration related topic, but they should be able to describe how their work will enhance their own economic, creative and intellectual lives and that of others.

The second of these two awards will be open to all eligible home or international applicants – irrespective of background and experience – whose proposed PhD is focused on a topic related to migration, broadly conceived, including in relation to processes of race and racialisation. Proposals must be informed by the co-production of knowledge with people and groups from migrant and refugee backgrounds, and demonstrate potential for social and cultural impact.

Migrant Futures Doctoral Studentship holders will, upon award, be designated as Fellows of the Migrant Futures Institute and will be expected to contribute to developing and enhancing the research culture of the institute through their research, creative practice and participation in MFI activities and events. Successful applicants from racialised backgrounds will also be invited to participate in the activities of Generation Delta Goldsmiths.

Institute of Current World Affairs: Fellowships 2026-28

Fellowships

Fellowships, Institute of Current World Affairs, Washington, DC. Letters of interest for 2026-28 appointment are due 15 June 2025.

ICWA advances deep understanding of global cultures and affairs by sending outstanding young professionals on independent writing fellowships abroad. Fellows submit monthly dispatches about their research, travel and life during two years of cultural immersion. Many go on to become leaders in their fields.

In a letter of interest, you would write up a description of you would do if you had a two-year, self-designed writing fellowship overseas and why you’re the right person to carry it out. There is no fixed length for the letter. The deadline for submitting an initial letter of interest is June 15, 2025. Selected candidates will be invited to submit a full application. The final fellowship selection will be made in mid-November. New fellows are expected to begin within six months.

CFP Communication & Sport: Sport, Media, and Migration: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

“Publication

Call for submissions: Communication & Sport special issue: Sport, Media, and Migration: A Cross-Cultural Perspective. Deadline: 1 September 2025.

Special issue editors: Sean R. Sadri (University of Alabama), Mahdi Latififard (Tarbiat Modares University, Iran), and Lindsey Meân (Arizona State University).

This special issue aims to explore the intersection of sport, media, and migration, examining how these elements influence global migratory patterns, public discourse, and media representations of athletes, coaches, and other sports figures. The guest editors welcome submissions employing a variety of methodological approaches and theoretical frameworks from disciplines such as communication, sociology, media studies, cultural studies, and political science. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to): race, identity, gender, nationalism, and the role of media in shaping sports migration narratives. Both qualitative and quantitative studies, as well as interdisciplinary perspectives, are encouraged.

CFP ELAN: Linguistic Anthropology in Europe: Past, Present, Futures (Netherlands)

ConferencesCall for papers, inaugural ELAN conference: Linguistic Anthropology in Europe: Past, Present, Futures, Leiden University, 6-7 November 2025. Deadline: 15 May 2025, extended to 1 June 2025.

The goal of this first conference of ELAN, the Linguistic Anthropology Network of EASA (European Association of Social Anthropologists), is to bring together a wide range of scholars interested in doing and defining linguistic anthropology in the European context, whether Europe is their fieldsite, institutional base, or European scholars are simply key interlocutors.

In this conference, organizers invite linguistic anthropologists, broadly defined, to come together to explore the range of theoretical and methodological approaches that have composed and now compose linguistic anthropological scholarship in Europe and to imagine future possibilities and directions for carrying out linguistic anthropological research in and on Europe. They welcome papers, panels, and roundtables that showcase scholars’ own linguistic anthropological scholarship, examine intersections and dialogues between different theoretical traditions, and/or reflect on the past, present and future of linguistic anthropology in Europe.

Lenehan and Lietz Guest Post: The Need for a Cosmopolitan Perspective

Guest Posts
The need for a cosmopolitan perspective. Guest post by Fergal Lenehan and Roman Lietz.

The very malleability of the cosmopolitan concept – which can sometimes make it seem incoherent – is actually the great advantage of the notion. The concept has the potential to greatly help scholars, as we argue in our book Reimagining Digital Cosmopolitanism: Perspectives from a Postmigrant and Postdigital World, to conceive of the relationship between human beings, their cultural contexts, and the wider communicative world in relation to digital technologies, in new and interesting ways which can potentially advance scholarship. This may be seen in relation to the theoretical re-thinking of the internet as a global and connecting technology, in terms of analyzing of those who use the internet, while the cosmopolitanism discourse also helps scholars when theorizing about the online spaces of encounters and the myriad of digital connections contained by, and possible with, digital technologies.

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Munich U of Applied Sciences: Business English & Intercultural Competence (Germany)

“JobProfessor of Business English and Intercultural Competence, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Munich, Germany. Deadline: 5 May 2025.

To further strengthen their team, HM Business School is seeking to appoint a Professor of Business English and Intercultural Competence for the winter semester 2026/2027. You will teach English language courses on specialized topics in business, economics, and intercultural communication at HM Business School in both undergraduate and advanced degree programs. Your in-depth knowledge of English-language business communication and your professional experience will enable you to successfully implement integrated modules and projects in business studies. You are a highly motivated individual (m/f/d) with academic expertise and professional experience in English business communication.

Wesleyan U: Global Language & Outreach Fellow (USA)

“JobGlobal Language and Outreach Fellow, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA. Deadline: open until filled; posted 18 March 2025.

Are you passionate about understanding other cultures and learning languages? Would you love to foster this same passion in students through creative programming? Do you believe that languages are one of the keys to intercultural understanding? Such traits are crucial for the success of Wesleyan’s Fries Center for Global Studies (FCGS), a unit committed to collaborating with all members of the Wesleyan community to advance the knowledge, language and intercultural skills, self-awareness, and empathy needed for responsible participation in our increasingly interdependent world.

Reporting to the Director of Language Resources and Technology, the Global Language and Outreach Fellow is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing high-impact initiatives that support campus internationalization through the lenses of language learning and multilingualism; and for promoting engagement with these initiatives through the FCGS’s social media and other channels.

The position works closely with colleagues in the Fries Center for Global Studies and collaborates with Wesleyan language faculty and Wesleyan student groups to further build culture- and language-based communities of practice across campus.