CFP Minzhu U China: Convergence, Diversity, and Development (China)

ConferencesCall for submissions: Conference on Convergence, Diversity, and Development, Minzhu University of China, Beijing, China. Deadline: 1 April 2024.

Working in collaboration with  the National Communication Association (NCA), the Communication University of China (CUC), and the Association for Chinese Communication Studies (ACCS), the Minzu University of China (MUC) announces an international conference addressing “Convergence, Diversity, and Development.” The conference will convene at Minzu University, in Beijing, China, on June 14-16, 2024. In Mandarin, minzu translates as ethnicities. This means that Minzu University—a campus dedicated to studying, implementing, and advancing the cause of Diversity, Excellence, Inclusion, and Access (DEIA)—is the ideal partner for hosting this event. As indicated in the conference title, organizers propose 3 lines of inquiry:

“Convergence” suggests the overlapping and intersecting of different communication infrastructures, platforms, and genres.

“Development” points to the geopolitics of modernization, including the ways U.S., Chinese, and international forces seek to spread political power by engaging in development projects in the Global South.

“Diversity”—and its expansion into the acronym DEIA—can suggest the intentional process of expanding the range of voices included in civil society, or it can be a catch phrase that leads to appropriation and cooptation.

Organizers seek research presentations rooted in the Communication discipline broadly configured among and across the lines of inquiry described above. Presentations will be limited to 10 minutes so that conference sessions can prioritize collaborative brainstorming, constructive feedback, and idea testing. Each panel session will include an equal number of Chinese and international presenters. Presentations and discussion will take place in English. Above all, they seek to facilitate dialogue and the fair and rigorous exchange of ideas representing international perspectives and diverse understandings.

Neus Crous Costa Profile

Profiles

Ms. Neus Crous-Costa is currently a researcher and lecturer at Girona University in Girona, Spain.

Neus Crous-CostaAs a researcher and lecturer, she is now at the crossroads of tourism studies, humanities, and personal transformation, as a result of her earlier career in cultural tourism and tourism management in museums, while volunteering in education for adults and refugees. She also engages in academic activism. Although in the past she has had the opportunity to travel and live on different continents, at the moment she is choosing slower forms of mobility. This lowers her ecological footprint, but even more importantly it is a creative endeavour to engage differently with the world around her.

Selected publications:

Caselas, D., & Crous-Costa, N. (2022). Dimensión socio-cultural del turismo. Girona, Spain: Documenta Universitaria.

Crous-Costa, N. (2022). Self-otherness in tourism: A semiotic analysis of China travel posters. Rhetoric and Communications Journal, 51, 20-43.

Villagrá Álvarez, C., & Crous-Costa, N. (2020). Genetic tourism: Key to multicultural understanding and peacebuilding? in J. Tavares da Silva,  Z. Breda, F. Carbone (Eds.), Role and impact of tourism in peacebuilding and conflict transformation (pp. 302-319). IGI Global.

Crous-Costa, N. (2020). Turismo y armchair tourism: Una reflexión sobre la naturaleza del turismo. Antrópica: Revista de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades, 6(11),  17-42.

Casas i Serrabassa, M., & Crous-Costa, N. (2020). Marketing como herramienta para la gestión: El caso de la Ruta del Vino de la D.O. Empordà (Costa Brava, España). Communication Papers, 9 (19).

Vidal-Casellas, D., Aulet, S., & Crous-Costa, N. (Eds.). (2019). Interpreting sacred stories: Religious tourism, pilgrimage and intercultural dialogue. CAB International.

Work for CID:

Neus Crous-Costa wrote Key Concept 110: Tourism and translated it into Spanish; she also is translating the CID Posters into Spanish and Catalan; the first several, #1: Comunicación / comunicació / competència intercultural, #3: Definición de diálogo intercultural, #4: Tipos de comunicación cultural have just been published, and #5: La comunicación como definición de cultura.

Lingnan U: 60 positions, various levels (Hong Kong)

“Job

Chair Professor / Professor / Associate Professor / Assistant Professor for Lingnan-60 Global Talent Recruitment, Lingnan University, Hong Kong. Deadline: Open until filled.

Lingnan University is one of the eight publicly funded institutions in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) with the longest established tradition among the local institutions of higher education. Lingnan University is a global leader in providing quality education focusing on whole-person development and conducting high-impact research for a better world. Moving forward, Lingnan University aspires to become a leading research-intensive liberal arts institution in the digital era.

As its 60th anniversary approaches, Lingnan University has launched the Lingnan-60 Global Talent Recruitment and will recruit over 60 outstanding scholars from around the globe to join the University as tenured or tenure-track Assistant Professor, Associate Professor, Professor, or Chair Professor in all academic fields. Interdisciplinary areas will be focused on that would spearhead a digitalized future for the University’s teaching and research capabilities. Key areas include, but not limited to, the following:

  • Art and Technology
  • Metaverse and Humanities
  • Digital Humanities
  • Financial Technology
  • Financial Sustainability
  • Social Media Marketing
  • Human-AI Interactions
  • ESG and Disclosure in the Digital Era
  • Business Analytics and Technology
  • Computational Social Science
  • Social and Public Policy
  • Mental Health and Wellbeing
  • Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI)
  • Industrial Data Science
  • Sustainable Energy and Materials (clean energy, energy storage, energy efficiency, green materials, etc.)
  • Carbon Neutrality (carbon capture, utilisation and sequestration, carbon loop, carbon footprint analysis, etc.)
  • Sustainable Environment (climate change, ecosystem restoration, hazard mitigation, waste management, water treatment, desalination, etc.)
  • Smart Infrastructure (AI-driven material design, smart city, smart sensor network, etc.)
  • Any other interdisciplinary areas between STEM and Arts, Business, and Social Sciences

Eurac Research: Postdoc in Applied Linguistics / Linguistic Ethnography (Italy)

PostdocsPostdoctoral Fellowship in Applied Linguistics/Linguistic Ethnography, Institute for Applied Linguistics, Eurac Research, Bolzano, Italy. Deadline: 31 March 2024.

The Multilingualism and Plurilingualism research group at the Institute for Applied Linguistics at Eurac Research is looking for a postdoctoral researcher in applied linguistics/linguistic ethnography, who will co-lead the research project EduLiM with the project partners at the University of Innsbruck and join the research team of the project M-Spaces. The ideal start date for the position would be June 1st 2024.

Both projects explore the role of multilingualism and language education in early childhood with a linguistic ethnographic approach. EduLiM, which stands for Educational Transitions in the Context of Linguistic Minoritization, is funded by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano/Bozen South Tyrol in the framework of the Programme “Research Südtirol/Alto Adige 2022”. The project examines the role of language in children’s transition from early childhood education (ECE) to primary school in German-language education in South Tyrol. The project combines critical educational and sociolinguistic theories and is designed as a multi-sited ethnography conducted in first-year primary school classes and with children’s families. In this way, EduLiM aims to create new knowledge on (language) education policies and practices related to transitions, on collaboration across institutional boundaries and between families and institutions, and on different ways in which children are constructed as linguistically minoritized. M-Spaces, which stands for Researching and Transforming Multilingual Spaces, explores multilingualism and language education in pedagogical professionalization for ECE. It involves students of a vocational secondary school for ECE in Carinthia and in-service ECE teachers in Carinthia and South Tyrol in generating insights on pedagogical professionalization for ECE in linguistically heterogeneous migration societies.

The selected candidate will co-lead EduLiM from the outset of the project and will mainly be responsible for the family ethnography. Within M-Spaces, the selected candidate will contribute to the analysis of data generated on ECE teachers’ experiences with multilingualism in their pedagogical practice and to the dissemination of findings.

Boston U: Human Resources at Study Abroad London (UK)

“Job

Associate Director, Human Resources,
Boston University,
Study Abroad London, UK. Deadline: 26 April 2024.

Boston University London Programmes is seeking to appoint an experienced Associate Director, Human Resources. BU London Programmes is the largest of Boston University’s study-abroad programmes, providing the opportunity to study in London for 900-1000 students from the US each year. BU’s programme in London provides semester based, academic courses to undergraduate and graduate students in areas of Business, Communications and Media, Economics & Finance, Politics, Law & Social Sciences, and Arts and Humanities. The Associate Director, Human Resources develops and oversees the Human Resources and administrative polices of the Boston University London Programmes and provides guidance and support to approximately 80 employees and faculty, including line managers, on all HR matters in London.

This position is based full-time in London, UK, and the successful candidate must have the unrestricted right to work in the UK. The Associate Director is an employee of BU GP-SA London, with a benefits package appropriate to the UK.

Hamburg Institute for Advanced Studies: Fellowships 2024-25 (Germany)

FellowshipsHamburg Institute for Advanced Studies Fellowships, 2025-25, Hamburg, Germany. Deadline: 15 April 2024.

The fellowship program is aimed at outstanding scholars (minimum requirement: doctorate) as well as artists and cultural professionals of all career levels and nationalities. The most important prerequisites for a research fellowship at HIAS are substantial scientific or artistic achievements, intellectual curiosity and an above-average interest in other disciplines. Ideal candidates are individuals who reflect the basic assumptions of their discipline and are open to engage with topics and ways of inquiry beyond the confines of their own discipline. They should also be willing to cooperate with scholars or cultural professionals in Hamburg. Desirably, the applicant enriches both the fellow group and the city of Hamburg as a hub of science and culture with innovative impulses and strengthens their internationality with their own networks.

Since HIAS attaches great importance to equal opportunity, it particularly welcomes applications by early career researchers and emerging artists and cultural professionals as well as by individuals from usually underrepresented regions of the world.

Carinthia University of Applied Sciences: Remote-Work-Ready (Austria but Online)

Events

Career oriented virtual exchange, Global Work Competency Laboratory, Carinthia University of Applied Sciences, Villach, Austria, Webinar, 18 March 2024.

Join the Global Case Study Challenge’s Webinar: Get your Students Remote-Work-Ready with Virtual Exchange (VE) and Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) 🌐

Are you looking to enhance your students’ remote work capabilities? In this webinar we explore how the Global Case Study Challenge (GCSC) equips students for the future of work!

📅 Date: March 18, 2024 ⏰ Time: 13:00 CET

Discover how VE/COIL can:

  • Equip students with remote work skills.
  • Enhance cross-cultural and digital collaboration.
  • Prepare students for global career opportunities.

Reserve your spot now and take the first step towards transforming your students’ futures.

Sign-up here.

CFP Navigating Perspectives: Finding Balance between Self-regard and Greater-regard in Conflict

Conferences

Call for proposals: Navigating Perspectives: Finding balance between self-regard and greater-regard in conflict, High Density Panel for the Peace and Conflict Communication Division of the National Communication Association. Deadline: 29 March 2024.

Volume Editors: Jennifer Sanmiguel (University of Texas, Dallas), Elvis Nshom (California State University, San Marcus),  Erica Knotts (Southern Oregon University)

In the intricate and multifaceted terrain of conflict, the concept of positionality stands pivotal yet is frequently overlooked. Understanding positionality and its various lenses (the individual, group, social, cultural, economic, etc.) is crucial for comprehending the dynamics of conflicts, as it influences how parties perceive themselves, each other, and the issues at stake. Failure to acknowledge and account for positionality can and may lead to misunderstandings, biases, and ineffective conflict resolution strategies. Therefore, understanding positionality as a whole is essential for navigating the complexities of conflicts and fostering meaningful dialogue and reconciliation.

Central to this discussion, the editors hope to explore the notion that effective communication in conflicts requires a balance between empathy and compromise for others, (communication with greater regard) while still maintaining one’s self-regard. While it is critical to empathize and engage with different positions and perspectives, It is equally important to uphold one’s own identities, values, and convictions. What are the strategies for balancing these two? How do we enable individuals to navigate and communicate conflicts with greater regard for both selves and others? How do we foster constructive dialogue and mutual respect within divergent and polarizing viewpoints?

Cultural Insight Wednesdays Podcasts

Podcasts

Cultural Insight Wednesdays with Maria Hussain, podcasts on SoundCloud.

Each week, Maria Hussain is in conversation with Leeds University Business School students from a whole host of different countries, backgrounds, and levels of study. These fabulous students share their insights and experiences of what it means to be a student at the University of Leeds. The podcasts are partly designed as a way to develop intercultural competence through co-creation, as this is student-led podcasting.

Some specific titles from the series: 

These podcasts obviously should be relevant to students, both international and those based in their home countries, but they also would make a good classroom resource for teaching about intercultural competence, culture shock, and other issues. See KC3: Intercultural Competence, KC87: Culture Shock, as well as other Key Concepts in Intercultural Dialogue published by this Center for further related resources.

ICD Exercise #3: Mix, Mix, Remix: Drawing on Pop Culture Stories to Inspire Intercultural Dialogue

ICD Exercises

The next ICD Exercise is now available. Sangita Shresthova has written a new one, Mix, Mix, Remix: Drawing on Pop Culture Stories to Inspire Intercultural Dialogue.

The Mix, Mix, Remix workshop taps icons and narratives borrowed from popular culture to encourage intercultural dialogue and bridge divisions and differences. Participants begin by gathering and sharing stories that inspire them. Then, exploring each other’s stories, they start to mix and recombine elements between stories, seeing how the combinations of unexpected elements lead to entirely new creative narratives. As story remixing leads to real-life sharing, reflection, debate, and collaboration, as well as, most importantly, connection.

The use of narrative remix in this works promotes a mode of intercultural dialogue that can be easy to understand, accessible, and yet powerful. It encourages people to encounter each other through the act of building a remixed shared narrative, one that respects their individuality and yet allows them to connect through the weaving of stories that have been significant in their lives.

As with prior publications, ICD Exercises are available as free PDFs; just click on the thumbnail to download.

Intercultural Dialogue Exercise #3 by Sangita Shresthova

Shresthova, S. (2024). Mix, mix, remix: Drawing on pop culture stories to inspire intercultural dialogue. Intercultural Dialogue Exercises, 3. Available from: https://centerforinterculturaldialogue.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/icd-ex-3-shresthova-1.pdf

If you have an exercise you’ve used that works, and you would like to share it, please submit it. All authors will be asked to answer the same set of questions, and to make the exercises available for others to use, thus these are being published with a Creative Commons license (as is the case for all CID publications). If you are new to CID, please provide a brief resume. This opportunity is open to masters students and above, on the assumption that some familiarity with academic conventions generally, and discussion of intercultural dialogue specifically, are useful.

Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Director Center for Intercultural Dialogue

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