Symposium: Educating Global Communicators

College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences

Leading academic researchers and practitioners discuss issues in communication education in global contexts

<h3>Symposium Chair: Sky Marsen </h3>The symposium will bring together world leading academic researchers and industry practitioners to explore communication study in universities and its impact on the practices of communication professionals internationally. The value of communication is recognised implicitly: being a ‘good communicator’ and possessing ‘excellent communication skills’ are essential criteria in many job advertisements, on par with problem solving and teamwork. Also, the versatility that contemporary workplaces require for success always entails communication strategies. However, university communication courses are losing prestige in many contexts internationally, or have an ambiguous status. Communication practices in the workplace are also rapidly changing with developments in technology, corporatization of the media industry and the intercultural skills required by globalised business.Each panel will have a Chair, who will introduce the theme, and invited panel members. Presentations will be followed by a discussion and Q&amp;A. <h3>Program (times in Australian Central Time)</h3>Educating Global Communicators Symposium
Symposium Organizer: Sky Marsen
When: Monday 6 December 2021, 09.00-15.00 (Australian Central Daylight Time)
Where: Online and Flinders University City Campus, Victoria Square, Adelaide
Program
9.00 – 9.15: Introduction and Welcome – Dr Sky Marsen (Flinders University)
9.15- 10.45: Panel One: Critical communication research and its impact on the communication industry
Chair: Peter Cardon (University of Southern California, USA)Kim Barbour (University of Adelaide, Australia): ‘Communication researcher for hire’, or what I have to offer the real worldIn this presentation, I consider the role of industry as collaborators in partnerships with communication academics, and unpack some of the concerns and opportunities academics may have when building research relationships outside of their own sector. I reflect on the interactions between specialist communication scholars in partnership with industry, government, and the not-for-profit sector, and the potential partnerships in research that exist at these intersections.
Stephen Carradini (Arizona State University, USA): Riding the tornado: Varied research stances as a response to extreme changes in communication environments Communication has undergone extreme changes since the public emergence of broadband internet in 2001. Constant changes make understanding workplace communication a moving target. We must reconsider, extend, and redevelop research on basic and advanced issues of communication in the workplace. Individual researchers must adopt and balance a variety of stances (descriptive, problem-solving, policy-oriented, critical) to report their research findings.
Angela Scarino (University of South Australia): Language and culture in a changing worldI consider the changing world and in particular, the changing nature of communication, foregrounding the crucial role of Language and Languages/Culture and Cultures in the exchange of meanings. I highlight that critical work needs to respond to the changing world, where multilingualism is the norm. Doing so necessitates finding alternative ways of working which respect the linguistic and cultural situatedness of participants in diverse contexts. Kirk StAmant (Louisiana Tech University, USA): Cognitive concepts for critical thinking and critical communication.Critical thinking reflects how our minds process information. Yet certain cognitive mechanisms affect what individuals perceive, recognize, and understand. This presentation examines core cognitive factors affecting critical thinking practices and critical communication processes. It also discusses how to address such factors in research, communicating, and teaching.
10.45-11.15: Coffee Break
11.15- 12.45: Panel Two: Connections among different communication disciplines Chair: Terry Flew (University of Sydney, Australia): The rise, fall, and rise again of communication as a disciplinary signifier after the ‘cultural turn’ and the ‘digital turn’I consider the somewhat contested history of ‘communication’ as a disciplinary signifier for a range of disparate fields in the Australian academy. I consider its fate with regards to what can variously be termed the ‘cultural turn’, the ‘creative turn’, the ‘digital turn’, and the ‘global turn’. While the first two of these tended to see the term communications sidelined somewhat for cultural studies and creative industries, the latter two turns have – perhaps surprisingly – seen the term become increasingly popular in Australian universities. Helen Fordham (University of Western Australia): Translating contexts: The function of communication in a digital world.This presentation commences with account of my educational and professional communications background in order to reflect upon the current tensions within the academic communications discipline. In particular I consider the paradox that emerges between positioning communications degrees as technical skills based programs as a way of amplifying the immediate employability of graduates, even as industry itself seeks practitioners who recognise that meaning-making always occurs within selected ideological, social, political, economic, technological and cultural constructs.
Luke Goode (University of Auckland, New Zealand): “What can I do with a Communication degree?” Dilemmas of relevanceLast year, I was tasked with leading the design and development of a new interdisciplinary Bachelor of Communication. While University leaders had their views on the general flavour of this new degree, we had relatively wide scope to design it from the ground-up. My presentation will offer some reflections on the challenges, opportunities, principles and dilemmas that informed our efforts to create a Communication programme fit for its time and its place.
Colleen Mills (University of Canterbury, New Zealand): Re-thinking communication sub-disciplines and professional competence
There are two things I value as a scholar. The first is that we can go back to first principles and the second is that we can define our own terms. I do both when I ask, ‘what is communication? My ‘go-to’ definition is that communication is the co-construction of meaning. This introduces the notions of relationality, the process of collaborative action, agency, and meaningfulness, which are the themes my presentation addresses.
Damien Spry (University of South Australia): Disciplines and punishments, and rewardsI have three competing tales to tell. The first is a discipline misunderstood as merely, or mostly, the production of content, and dismissed as something that anyone can do. The other is a discipline recognised as intrinsic to other fields. A third is a practice maligned as something that is ruining lives and societies. The challenge is to navigate these competing narratives to demonstrate distinctiveness, relevance, and value.
12.45-1.15: Lunch
1.15-2.45: Panel Three: Aligning course design with the international communication industry
Chair: Donald Matheson (University of Canterbury, New Zealand):We need to replace a narrow question of alignment – what skills graduates need to work in international communication industries – with a question of how universities prepare students for those careers. That broader question takes us away from specific skillsets and course content towards deeper competencies, particularly if students are to be prepared to work in intercultural and transnational contexts. How do students learn things like confidence in using a range of communication modes, developing ethical judgement, and accessing the social capital they need to build relationships?
Curtis Carbonell (Khalifa University of Science and Technology, UAE): Multi-modal communication in Khalifa University&#x27;s new core English coursesMy talk will cover a pilot course created for KU&#x27;s new first-year writing sequence. This new curriculum moved away from foregrounding the traditional argumentative research paper for multi-modal communication in which spiraling &#x27;digital composition&#x27; techniques were used for students&#x27; work. I will present a case study of a student&#x27;s work as an example of our goals for KU&#x27;s new minor in Digital Media and Composition.Natalia Chaban (University of Canterbury, New Zealand): Student research hubs: Teaching-research-practice intersections in public diplomacy teaching This contribution will explore an experimental teaching-research-practice format of Student Research Hubs – interdisciplinary, cross-cohort, student-led intellectual ‘laboratories’ in the field of public diplomacy. Working in research teams, students learn new methods, theories and skills and apply them to a range of public diplomacy projects working in collaboration with embassies and diplomats, as well as think tanks in international affairs. Alex Craddock (Head of Content at Insider Guides, Australia): International communication for the next-gen: Food for thoughtWhat were your prospects as a graduate? The media and communications industry is a rapidly evolving, erratic beast, with careers, role responsibilities, mediums and necessary skillsets constantly changing. Are students being prepared for this? And what is the catalyst for change in designing courses to reflect a globalised world? Let&#x27;s discuss.
Misa Fujio (Toyo University, Japan): New opportunities for Japanese universities to internationalise communication courses
Numerous communication-related courses are offered by Japanese universities, including Intercultural Communication or Professional Communication, which mostly incorporates English education rather than focusing on communication itself. As a result, they tend to be geared to English-speaking countries, particularly, the USA. However, the increasing opportunities for online study has started to shift our attention abroad toward the Asia-Pacific region with fewer time differences. In this panel, I will focus on joint classes with overseas universities, a policy encouraged by the Japanese government.
2.45-3.00: Where to from here? Dr Sky Marsen (Flinders University, Australia)
PresentersKim Barbour is a Senior Lecturer at the University of Adelaide’s Department of Media. As a qualitative social media communication researcher, Kim works in persona studies, investigating the strategic performance of self in online spaces. Kim teaches both foundational media and communications courses and courses in online identity and popular media.Curtis D. Carbonell is Associate Professor at Khalifa University in the UAE. He is interested in representations of technology and their effects on human beings in science fiction and fantasy studies, as well as in how analog-and-digital game studies are new fields that describe complex modes of cultural production. His book Dread Trident: Tabletop Role-Playing Games and the Modern Fantastic (Liverpool University Press) examines how tabletop role-playing games offer an archive of fantasy and SF gametexts ripe for an investigation into the rise of realized worlds. Peter Cardon is Professor of Business Communication at Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California. He is Past President of the Association for Business Communication (ABC) and recipient of ABC’s Outstanding Researcher Award. His primary research interests are intercultural communication and social networking. Before working in higher education, he held several marketing and management positions in the tourism and manufacturing industries.Stephen Carradini is Assistant Professor of Technical Communication at Arizona State University. He researches how emerging technologies affect professional communication and inter/disciplinary issues. He has published in New Media and Society, IEEE Transactions on Professional Communication, Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, and Journal of Technical Communication and Writing. He teaches social media in the workplace and digital ethics. Natalia Chaban is Professor at the Department of Media and Communication, University of Canterbury, New Zealand. Natalia focuses her interdisciplinary research on cognitive and semiotic aspects of political and media discourses, image and perceptions studies within the EU and IR contexts, political communication and public diplomacy. She widely publishes on these topics and leads multiple transnational projects supported by the European Commission, EEAS and NATO. Alex Craddock is the Head of Content at Insider Guides, Australia&#x27;s largest media company for international students. Since graduating from The University of Adelaide with a media degree in 2017, Alex has held positions across the industry, with roles in journalism, television, digital media production, marketing, and education. From 2018 to 2020, she was an Academic Tutor at her alma mater, educating the next generation of media students.
Terry Flew is Professor of Digital Communication and Culture at the University of Sydney. He was President of the International Communication Association (ICA) from 2019 to 2020 and was elected ICA Fellow in 2019. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities (FAHA). He has advised companies including Facebook, Cisco Systems and the Special Broadcasting Service, and government agencies in Australia and internationally, including the Australian Communication and Media Authority and the Singapore Broadcasting Authority.
Helen Fordham teaches in media and communications at the University of Western Australia and is Coordinator of the Master of Strategic Communications Degree. Her research interests include journalism history, Indigenous memoir, and public intellectualism. Prior to becoming an academic Helen was a journalist, publisher and communications strategist. Misa Fujio is Professor at Toyo University in Japan. Her interests lie in intercultural communicative competence both at the individual and corporate level. She has received many best paper awards, including ones from Global Advances in Business Communication (GABC) and from the Japanese Business Communication Association (JABC). She is a former executive director and the president of Tokyo Chapter of JABC. Luke Goode is Associate Professor and Communication Programme Director at the University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand.Sky Marsen is Director of the Communication Program at Flinders University, Australia. She has an educational background in applied linguistics and communication, and her research and teaching expertise lie in semiotics, narrative theory, and strategic communication. She has international experience having worked in different countries, including New Zealand, USA, and Hong Kong. Donald Matheson is Professor in the Department of Media and Communication at the University of Canterbury. He combines research interests in journalism, social media and ethics with expertise in discourse analysis and computer-assisted approaches to discourse. He has published widely on conflict journalism, communication ethics and newswriting. Colleen Mills is Professor of Management at the University of Canterbury Business School, New Zealand, and an International Faculty Affiliate (FIA) at Audencia Business School, Nantes, France. Her research examines organizational communication and sensemaking during periods of ambiguity and change such as business startup and natural disaster. She is currently the Editor-In-Chief of Communication Research and Practice. Angela Scarino is Associate Professor in Applied Linguistics and Director of the Research Centre for Languages and Cultures, in Justice and Society at the University of South Australia. Her research expertise is in languages education in linguistically and culturally diverse societies, and second language learning within an intercultural orientation. She has been a Chief Investigator on a range of research grants and has worked in diverse contexts, including Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, France and New Zealand.Damien Spry is Lecturer in Media and Communications at the University of South Australia. His research focusses on digital influence campaigns in international contexts, including digital diplomacy, strategic communications and interference campaigns, and the impact of information disorder on international relations.Kirk St.Amant is Professor and the Eunice C. Williamson Chair in Technical Communication at Louisiana Tech University (USA). He is also an Adjunct Professor of Health and Medical Communication with the University of Limerick (Ireland) and a Research Fellow in User Experience Design with the University of Strasbourg (France).Event Contact: Sky Marsen, sky.marsen@flinders.edu.au

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