Cultural Communication Scholarship

After taking a year off to work, SCOM Cultural Communication Student of the Year for 2010, Jone Brunelle, enrolled in the graduate program of Communication Studies, at the University of Colorado, Boulder.  After a bit of hesitation, she decided to submit her paper written in SCOM 448 (Seminar in Cultural Communication) to the Intercultural Communication Interest Group of the Western States Communication Association.  Her paper, “Basque-American, What’s That?” Negotiating Hyphenated Identities and Discursive Spaces,” was competitively selected among graduate submissions for the Top Student Paper Panel by the WSCA reviewers.

Congratulations, Jone!

Public Debate at JMU Highlights International Education

Cultural Communication majors and minors, James Madison University will host it’s first public debate of the year, co-sponsored by JMU Debate and the Office of International Programs.

Please join the School of Communication Studies tonight (Wednesday 9-26) at 6:30pm in Wilson Auditorium to watch JMU debate the University of Pittsburgh and Wake Forest University on the topic Resolved: students have an obligation to return to their home country after receiving their education elsewhere.

The debate is part of one of the many events highlighting International Week at James Madison University.   See the highlights of events scheduled for the week and visit the “Our Community Speaks” tent sponsored by the Institute for Constructive Advocacy and Dialogue at this year’s Annual International Festival on Saturday, September 29 from noon – 6:00 pm.

Micro Grants for Supporting Intercultural Dialogue

The Center for Intercultural Dialogue, “bridging cultures through research” recently announced micro grants up to $1,000 to support international travel for building collaborative research relationships across cultures.  The first deadline for proposals is November 15, 2012. If remaining funds are available, the second deadline is March 15, 2013

These micro grants support the mission of the Center which is:

“To facilitate connections among Communication scholars studying intercultural dialogue, as well as facilitate intercultural dialogue among Communication scholars throughout the discipline, by encouraging international collaborative research, serving as a source for grants, and serving as a clearinghouse for information.”

You can find the complete call for proposals and to learn more about the center, check out the following site:

Center for Intercultural Dialogue: Micro Grants

Online Summer Course to Study Food Communication

Interested in exploring the intersections between food, culture and communication?  Consider enrolling in Paul Mabrey’s online summer course SCOM 313 Food Communication, taught during the first four weeks of the summer session. This course can be used to fulfill elective requirements in the Cultural, Health and Advocacy concentrations as well as the Environmental Studies minor.  Curious? See the informational poster below.

Student Exhibit to Explore Representations of Disability

All Together Different

Written by Katie Rosenberg, senior Cultural Communication major and student in the Institute for Visual Studies Course “Representing Disabilities”

A diverse group of students from various majors at James Madison University will be unveiling an exhibition on representing disabilities on Tuesday, April 17, 2012. This exhibition will feature four displays on representing Autism, Deaf culture and experiences, invisible disabilities, and mobility disabilities. The exhibition will be in the Institute for Visual Studies, located in Roop Hall room 208 on the quad of the James Madison University campus. The opening will be held from 11:00 am – 1:00 pm on Tuesday, April 17, 2012 and will remain in place through May 3.

The exhibition is a product of this semester’s Institute for Visual Studies (IVS) spring studio seminar entitled “Representing Disabilities” co-taught by Dr. Melissa Aleman (School of Communication Studies) and Bill Thompson (University Communications). IVS is a center at James Madison University dedicated to scholarly, scientific, and creative inquiry into the nature and workings of images through multidisciplinary teams of students and faculty. This semester the seminar brought students together from a variety of majors, including studio art, graphic design, communication studies, and the school of media arts and design, among others. The students worked in interdisciplinary groups and focused on one specific disability or specific group of disabilities: Autism, deafness, invisible disabilities, and mobility disabilities.

Keynote Speaker to Discuss Immigration and Identity in the Contemporary Media Era

Dr. Richard D. Pineda, Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Associate Director of the Sam Donaldson Center for Communication Studies at the University of Texas at El Paso, will be giving the keynote address at the 34th Annual Communication Studies Conference Communication and Identity in the Making.

Dr. Pineda’s address is entitled “(Re)Mediated Borders: Immigration and Identity in the Contempoary Media Era.” The address will be held on Tuesday, April 10 at 7:00 pm in Harrison Hall 2105.

Dr. Pineda’s keynote address will focus on the impact of contemporary mediated images on debate about immigration into the United States. His argument considers the representations of immigrants in popular culture and media that have changed from what were once highly prejudicial images to more balanced images, but at a cost to the social and policy engagement of citizens concerned about immigrant’s rights and welfare.

Miss Representation: Film and Panel Discussion

Interested in a critical discussion of representations of women in media and its consequences? Come to a screening of Miss Representation followed by a panel discussion, sponsored by Shout Out! JMU, Sisterspeak, SWO, the Women’s and Gender Studies program, and The School of Communication Studies.

Thursday, April 5 at 7:00 pm in Harrison 2105

For more information about Miss Representation and ways to take action visit: http://www.missrepresentation.org/the-film/