Globalizing Intercultural Communication

Call for Submissions

Globalizing Intercultural Communication: A Reader
Editors: Kathryn Sorrells & Sachi Sekimoto
Publisher: SAGE Publications

Abstract Submission Deadline: February 12, 2013
Format: Send an extended abstract of no more than 500 words and a short list of references to sachi.sekimoto AT mnsu.edu For further inquiry, please e-mail kathryn.sorrells AT csun.edu and/or sachi.sekimoto AT mnsu.edu

Globalizing Intercultural Communication: A Reader is a compilation of research case studies and personal narratives that complement and extend themes introduced in the textbook, Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice authored by Kathryn Sorrells (Sage Publications, 2013). This textbook re-positions the study and practice of intercultural communication within the global context and offers a critical, social justice approach to grapple with the dynamic, interconnected, and complex nature of intercultural communication in the world today. The new book, Globalizing Intercultural Communication: A Reader, can be used as a companion volume to the existing textbook or used independently as a stand-alone resource.

We are soliciting submissions that offer in-depth analyses and exploration of the multifaceted and nuanced themes related to intercultural communication in the context of globalization. While our broad emphasis is on critical and postcolonial perspectives, authors may utilize a range of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of intercultural communication. We are seeking submissions that offer innovative approaches to the study and practice of intercultural communication by highlighting:
*   Globalization as the context for studying intercultural communication
*   The roles of history and power in intercultural relations
*   Multi-dimensional analysis (micro, meso and macro levels of analysis)
*   A social justice approach
*   Intercultural praxis (see Intercultural Communication: Globalization and Social Justice)

Please choose one of the following types of chapter entries for submission:
1.  A research case study that is comprised of primary, grounded, and/or historically specific research (approximately 15 pages in length). See the summary of chapters below for specific themes.
2.  A personal narrative (approximately 8-12 pages in length) that is theoretically informed and enables students to apply their knowledge of intercultural communication.  See the summary of chapters below for specific themes.

Summary of Chapters
The following list provides broad themes for each chapter.  Flexibility and innovation are encouraged as authors address topics within these general parameters.
Chapter One: The Study and Practice of Intercultural Communication
*   Research case study illustrating anthropological and critical/cultural studies  definitions of culture and highlighting the historical trajectory of the intercultural field
*   Personal narrative on intercultural praxis/intercultural competence
Chapter Two: Challenges to Intercultural Communication
*   Research case study addressing stereotypes, prejudice, ethnocentrism and inequitable relations of power
*   Personal narrative on barriers to effective intercultural communication
Chapter Three: Globalization and Intercultural Communication
*   Research case study analyzing the impact of globalization on intercultural communication
*   Personal narrative illustrating the roles of history and power in intercultural communication
Chapter Four: Identities in the Global Context
*   Research case study addressing the impact of globalization (mobility, technology, etc.) on theorizing identity
*   Personal narrative on multifaceted, complex, fluid, contested experience of identity today
Chapter Five: Race, Class, Gender and Sexuality
*   Research case study on the intersectionality of race, class, gender, sexuality, nationality
*   Personal narrative on race, class, gender, sexuality and nationality in context of globalization
Chapter Six: Language and Power
*   Research case study on language, politics and citizenship
*   Personal narrative on language, identity and power
Chapter Seven: Cultural Space and Intercultural Communication
*   Research case study on contested and/or hybrid intercultural spaces
*   Personal narrative on the role of place/cultural space and intercultural communication
Chapter Eight: Border Crossings and Intercultural Adaptation
*   Research case study on immigration and intercultural transitions
*   Personal narrative on intercultural adaptation
Chapter Nine: Popular Culture and Intercultural Communication
*   Research case study on popular cultural and the commodification of culture
*   Personal narrative on consuming, resisting and producing pop culture
Chapter Ten: New Media
*   Research case study on new media and intercultural communication
*   Personal narrative on the impact of new media on intercultural communication
Chapter Eleven: Intercultural Communication for Social Justice
*   Research case study on intercultural alliances for social change
*   Personal narrative on intercultural communication and social justice
Chapter Twelve: Intercultural Conflict
*   Research case study utilizing a multi-dimensional analysis of intercultural conflict
*   Personal narrative on intercultural conflict
Chapter Thirteen: Intercultural Relationships
*   Research case study on intercultural relationships, power and alliance-building
*   Personal narrative on intercultural relationships in the global context
Chapter Fourteen: Intercultural Communication in the Workplace
*   Research case study on intercultural communication in business contexts
*   Personal narrative addressing the complexities of global workplace issues

Kathryn Sorrells, Ph.D.
Professor
Communication Studies
California State University, Northridge
18111 Nordhoff Street,
Northridge, CA 91330-8257
kathryn.sorrells AT csun.edu

Sachi Sekimoto, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Department of Communication Studies
Minnesota State University, Mankato
230 Armstrong Hall
Mankato, MN 56001
sachi.sekimoto AT mnsu.edu

EuroVision – Museums Exhibiting Europe

One Object – Many Visions
Launch of the EU project, EuroVision: Museums Exhibiting Europe

Augsburg/Germany – with around 2 million euros the Culture Programme of the European Union supports a museum project to be implemented between November 2012 and October 2016, coordinated by the University of Augsburg,  department of history didactics, headed by Prof. Dr. Susanne Popp. Project partners are the Université Paris-Est Créteil (France), Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy), the Bulgarian National History Museum in Sofia, the Museu Nacional de Arqueologia in Lisbon (Portugal), the National Museum of Contemporary History in Ljubljana (Slovenia), the art association monochrom in Vienna (Austria) as well as the Atelier Brückner in Stuttgart (Germany) headed by Prof. Dr. Uwe Brückner.

The ambitious aim of the project is to make museums more accessible in many ways: with an innovative and interdisciplinary approach developed by history didactics the project wants to re-interpret museum objects and put them into a broader context of national and transnational history. Visitors shall face objects not only on a regionally and nationally determined level of meaning, but discover transnational and European perspectives using new means of presentation, performances and possibilities for participation. At the same time the project develops creative concepts for audience development. Particularly by involving and activating the visitor, the project tries to attract the rather large number of “non-visitors” to the museums.

The concepts and ideas developed within this project will be presented and discussed on the project’s website. However, the project will not be presented to the wider public until approximately 3 years later. After the design phase the visitors to the museum can experience and examine the project’s results in the so called “Eurovision Labs.” These will be presented in each partner country in line with the motto “one object – many visions – EuroVision”.

Along with the “EuroVision Labs,” the project also implements a number of further methods which are intended to achieve the ambitious goals: During the course of the project a network of interested museums shall be established to collaborate in the long term. A scenographers’ competition adds novel synaesthetic ideas; Workshops for museum experts, cultural workers and university students are intended to implement the project’s results within the museum.

Project coordinator Prof. Susanne Popp about the launch of the project: “We are delighted that the work on the project finally starts and hope that with ‘EMEE’ we can make a contribution to a development and research of innovative museum work as well as to a productive cooperation of museum experts and educators, scenographers, cultural workers, media artists and researchers.”

For more information about ‘EMEE’ please contact:

Prof. Dr. Susanne Popp
Department of History Didactics
University of Augsburg
Universitätsstr. 10
86159 Augsburg
Email: info@emee-project.eu

EuroVision: Museums Exhibiting Europe

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U Northern Iowa job ad

A tenure-track position as an assistant professor in Communication Studies/Performance Studies at the University of Northern Iowa is available starting August 2013. Responsibilities include a 3/3 teaching load (9 credit hours per semester) of classes in Communication Studies and Performance Studies as described below, and engaging in creative work in our black box theatre. Opportunities exist to teach graduate courses, direct M.A. theses/research projects, and to mentor students in co-curricular activities and creative work. All members of the faculty are expected to participate in curriculum development, as well as department and university governance. In addition, each faculty member is expected to pursue individual scholarly/creative activity and professional service. Ph.D. in Communication Studies or Performance Studies is required. ABDs will be considered with evidence of degree completion by 8/1/2013.

Experience teaching and/or academic training in three or more of the following areas in Performance Studies required: producing/directing/devising ensemble or solo performances with an emphasis on social and/or cultural issues; mediated/electronic performance; performance and social justice; aesthetics; cultural performance; contemporary qualitative research; performance as criticism; performance as building and celebrating community. Experience teaching and/or academic training in two or more of the following areas in Communication Studies also required: Communication Theory; Research Methods; Communication, Community and Change; Language and Communication; Qualitative Methods; Oral History; Health Communication; Intercultural Communication; Gender Communication; Social Movements and Protest. A demonstrated record of excellence in teaching at the college/university level for a minimum of two years; a demonstrated record of scholarship/creative work resulting in conference presentations, public performances and/or publications; and the ability to collaborate in continuing to develop a vision for a nationally recognized and pioneering program in Performance Studies required. Applicants with a graduate level coursework in Communication Studies, an interest in digital technology, demonstrated collaborative communication and leadership skills, and demonstrated written and oral communication skills preferred. The Department encourages applications from persons of color, women, persons living with disabilities, and veterans.  Pre-employment background checks are required. 

Apply here.   Applications received by January 21, 2013 will be given full consideration.  For more information, contact Dr. Jayne Morgan, Interim Head, at jayne.morgan AT uni.edu, or by phone at (319) 273-6118. The University is an equal opportunity employer with a comprehensive plan for affirmative action.

UNI is a smoke-free campus.

Ramapo College job ad

RAMAPO COLLEGE OF NEW JERSEY (Mahwah, NJ)

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF COMMUNICATION ARTS (MEDIA STUDIES):  The successful candidate will teach courses in media theory and criticism, communication research methods, along with media and public communication campaigns within a global and intercultural context. Sample courses, some which may serve the General Education and Honors programs, include campaigns in media and film, popular culture, persuasion, rhetorical criticism, and the foundation courses in media literacy and speech. This person should also be able to contribute to one or more of the following areas: journalism, cinema studies, writing for public relations and promotions.

QUALIFICATIONS: Ph.D. Degree; college level teaching experience; evidence of ability to build a record of academic research and creative and/or professional activity in relevant field; record of academic and professional service; professional achievements and/or relevant experience.

APPLICATION MATERIALS: Portfolio of recent creative work, examples of student work, 1-2 page artistic and teaching philosophy and sample course syllabi. Faculty members are expected to maintain active participation in research, scholarship, college governance, service, academic advisement and professional development activities.

ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE COMPLETED ONLINE

Attach resume, cover letter, statement of teaching philosophy, research interests, and a list of three references to our completed application. Since its beginning, Ramapo College has had an intercultural/international mission. Please tell us how your background, interest and experience can contribute to this mission as well as to the specific position for which you are applying.

Supporting documentation in non-electronic format can be sent to Patricia Keeton, Search Committee Chair, School of Contemporary Arts. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Position offers an excellent state benefits. To request accommodations call (201- 684-7361 or email pkeeton AT ramapo.edu

Ramapo College is a comprehensive institution of higher education dedicated to the promotion of teaching and learning within a strong liberal arts based curriculum, thus earning the designation “New Jersey’s Public Liberal Arts College.” Its curricular emphasis includes the liberal arts and sciences, social sciences, fine and performing arts, and the professional programs within a residential and sustainable living and learning environment. Organized into thematic learning communities, Ramapo College provides academic excellence through its interdisciplinary curriculum, international education, intercultural understanding and experiential learning opportunities.

 

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Florida Int’l U job ad

The Department of Communication Arts is part of the College of Architecture + The Arts at Florida International University. The department offers a BA in Communication Arts and a minor in Communication Studies. Additionally, the department offers a wide variety of classes that are required courses for several different majors as well as classes that comprise the core curriculum of the university. With 46,000 students, and faculty of over 2,000, Florida International University is one of Florida’s preeminent Carnegie research-extensive public universities.

Florida International University offers more than 180 bachelors, masters and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida’s anchor institutions, FIU is worlds ahead in its local and global engagement, finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission and enrolls students in two campus and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. More than 160,000 alumni live and work in South Florida.

Primary teaching responsibilities for this position include teaching courses in intercultural communication. Preference will be given to applicants who have demonstrated excellence in college or university level teaching as well as publishing.

Candidates should submit a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, and two letters of recommendation in a single pdf file. To receive full consideration, applications and required materials should be received by Friday January 25, 2013. Review will continue until position is filled.

Applications for the position (Job Opening ID #505059) can be submitted by following the “Find a Career at FIU” link on the FIU human resources web page.

Applicants must attach electronic copies of their curriculum vitae, cover letter and other documents within the application process as a single pdf file. All applicants are required to complete the online application including work history and educational details (where applicable), even when attaching a CV.

 

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Santoi Wagner – micro grant

Santoi WagnerDr. Santoi Wagner, Associate Director of TESOL at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education, received one of the National Communication Association’s micro grants in Fall 2012 in order to work with Dr. Eun Sung Park, Assistant Professor of TESOL/Applied Linguistics and Director of the General English Education Program at Sogang University, Korea. They share research and professional interests in issues surrounding second language teaching and learning. Through this international and intercultural collaboration, the project will contribute to a deeper understanding of the interactional competencies and expectations of appropriate communicative behaviors for the classroom that non-native English speaking teachers bring to their training, and take home with them. The collaboration will also help ensure that the question of how to best support international students will receive balanced consideration from the perspectives of training in TESOL programs in the United States and teaching in students’ home countries.

Project background: With the spread of English around the globe, and the growing use of English as a lingua franca, there is an increasing demand for English language teachers. A significant proportion of students in many TESOL graduate programs in the United States are non-native English speaking (NNES) international students. While the experience for these students is often a positive one, an under-examined aspect of their training is how well the programs prepare students to teach in their home countries. For researchers interested in the interface of language and social interaction in the classroom, an issue of concern is the potential diversity in culturally appropriate norms of classroom communicative behavior. Although the impact of teacher education on actual teaching practices is an established field of inquiry, there has been much less research with respect to NNES teachers. Much of the work relating to NNES teachers of English has only been completed in the past fifteen years, and is predominantly centered around teacher self-accounts through narratives, interviews, and surveys, rather than investigations of actual teaching practices. This project seeks to explore two related questions: (a) How are NNES teachers’ communicative behaviors in the classroom altered by undergoing a training program outside of their home country? (b) How is this communicative behavior affected when NNES teachers return home to classroom and educational contexts that may be significantly different? Because the focus is the interactional practices of NNES teachers as they engage in their teaching, the study will primarily employ a qualitative micro-analytic approach to analyze the data collected from classroom observations.

Andrew R. Spieldenner – micro grant

Andrew SpieldennerDr. Andrew R. Spieldenner, of the School of Communication at Hofstra University, received one of the National Communication Association’s micro grants in Fall 2012 to travel to London to meet with Dr. Fiona Burns (principal investigator) and Ibidun Fakoya (research fellow), of University College London, to discuss, plan and learn from a community engagement research project started there. Communication methods still have not been used to look at HIV biomedical community engagement. The particular community engagement research project – advancing Migrant Access to health Services in Europe (aMASE) – looks specifically at migrants and immigrants across Europe in health disparity research, with a special focus on HIV/AIDS and gay men. Spieldenner will review research protocols, conduct interviews with Community Advisory Board members and research partners, assess tools for adaptability to the United States framework, and give a presentation on current state and challenges of community engagement in the US.  He hopes that this is the beginning of ensuring that the best practices are developed to engage racial/ethnic minority gay men in life-saving HIV/AIDS services.

Background to the project: Even with the advancement of HIV treatment, African American and Latino gay men in the United States still suffer disproportionately from poor HIV-related health outcomes – including infection, late-stage diagnosis and higher mortality – compared to their White counterparts. With the expansion of HIV biomedical interventions, racial/ethnic minority gay men – as well as their service providers – need to be educated on the science, eligibility, solutions and challenges of these interventions.  HIV biomedical interventions require community acceptance, access and affordability in order to ensure adherence and success. Community engagement is an ongoing communication process that involves community members, key opinion leaders, service providers and researchers in the identification of issues, barriers and solutions. Research has shown that ongoing community engagement can play a critical role in the community acceptance of HIV biomedical interventions, such as vaginal microbicides, but there is a dearth of activities specifically targeting gay men.  In addition, much of this information is framed by clinical practice rather than social science. Communication, as a practice, is ideally situated to provide more relevant theoretical and analytical contributions to community engagement processes.

Renee Cowan – micro grant

Renee CowanDr. Renee Cowan, of the Communication Department at the University of Texas at San Antonio, received one of the National Communication Association’s micro grants in Fall 2012 to travel to Finland and meet with Dr. Denise Salin, of the Hanken School of Economics, to plan collaborative work on investigating conceptions of workplace bullying across nations. How bullying and bullying behaviors are understood is likely influenced by the values and beliefs of the larger culture or nation in which the activity has taken place. What constitutes bullying in one culture likely differs from other cultures because of differing value systems. Salin is an international expert on workplace bullying from an organizational perspective who has theorized several important antecedents to bullying in organizations and organizational responses to bullying from the Finnish organizational perspective. Cowan will begin an intercultural conversation with her in an effort to better understand workplace bullying from the European perspective as well as discuss possible collaborations with her on a large multi-national workplace bullying research project. The research question is: based on the assumption that the violation of national, gendered, or other cultural norms will be perceived as bullying behavior, to what extent will national differences in cultural values and communication norms be associated with differences in behaviors perceived to constitute workplace bullying? 

Louisa Edgerly – micro grant

Louisa EdgerlyDr. Louisa Edgerly, an independent scholar with a Ph.D. from the University of Washington, received one of the National Communication Association’s micro grants in Fall 2012 to travel to Brazzaville, in the Republic of Congo, where she will study the work of the International Conservation and Education Fund (INCEF), a non-profit organization that produces and distributes films on the topics of conservation and health in central Africa. INCEF’s main focus is on reaching rural audiences in remote areas, with largely illiterate populations. They bring their films to remote villages, screen them for the entire local population, and then use dialogue and discussion to enhance the learning experience initiated by viewing the films. The Republic of Congo is a multi-lingual, multi-ethnic country, and INCEF uses local speakers and local languages in their films, with the aim of connecting with local audiences. This local approach to communication aligns very closely with the approach of the ethnography of communication, and with the aims and interests of the University of Washington’s Center for Local Strategies Research, which is collaborating on the project.

The main goals of this first trip to Congo are to gain familiarity with the region, make closer contacts with INCEF’s staff, and make some initial field observations of INCEF’s dialogues and film screenings. As a pilot project for a longer-term project, this first field trip will allow Dr. Edgerly to build key local contacts, refine her overall research questions, and assess the feasibility of future field projects. In addition, this first trip will reveal what may prove to be some key terms and norms among the community of health and conservation communicators working in Congo. This information will be valuable in the longer term project of studying the communicative norms in the global health and development community.

Sarah Bishop – micro grant

Sarah BishopSarah Bishop, a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at the University of Pittsburgh, received one of the National Communication Association’s micro grants in Fall 2012 to travel to San Jose, Costa Rica. In San Jose, Bishop will work with Dr. Ana Sittenfeld, Director of the Office of International Affairs at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), to gather and analyze the reflections of graduate students who have studied abroad from Costa Rica to the United States for academic credit. Costa Rica boasts an impressive history of successful study abroad programs and strong connections to U.S. universities in particular. As the country’s oldest and largest university, UCR has spearheaded a movement to send graduate students abroad to gain international teaching experience with the belief that this opportunity makes the students better prepared and attractive candidates for teaching careers within Costa Rican universities. Bishop is interested in the ways an academic travel experience affects an individual’s sense of personal and national identity, as well as the intersection between study abroad, intercultural competence, and career preparation. This project will utilize an oral history methodology that entails conducting and recording qualitative, in-depth interviews using open-ended questions, and will work to extend Bishop’s continued efforts to navigate the ways in which international academic travel functions as a mediated, value-laden experience.