Jan. 31, 2018 — Few would argue that the state of communication in the United States right now leaves something to be desired.
“Communication is the thread that weaves through every issue we face today and the thread that has potential to bring every problem to a solution,” said Assistant Professor of Communication J. Jacob Jenkins, Ph.D. “Yet sadly, we seem to have become even more polarized in recent years. There seems to be less middle ground, less compassion, and less compromise than ever before.”
With this sentiment in mind, Jenkins and a colleague, Assistant Professor of Communication Megan Kenny Feister, Ph.D., put their heads together and organized a campus-wide panel discussion with four internationally-known communication experts from across the U.S.
“Organizing for Social Change” will be held from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5 in the Grand Salon. The event is open to students and the public.
“There are a lot of social movements right now that need to be addressed that affect our students,” said Feister. “With all of that in mind, we thought bringing these scholars to the campus would help give students the language to talk about these things.”
During the colloquium, students and other members of the audience will have a chance to ask the panel about any relevant social issue they choose, from DACA to the Me Too movement or any other area on the campus or national radar right now.
“We strategically picked people with different areas of expertise,” Feister said.
Vice Chancellor for Diversity & Inclusion and Professor of Communication Brenda J. Allen, Ph.D., is from the University of Colorado, Denver. Her specialty is differences in organizational contexts. In other words, how communication varies in social or business settings among people from diverse cultural backgrounds: age, gender, sexuality, and race/ethnicity. An “organization” can be a corporation, family, or even a country — anywhere groups of people communicate for a common goal.
Research Professor Emeritus Linda L. Putnam, Ph.D., from UC Santa Barbara, specializes in negotiation and conflict management as well as the differences in communication between the sexes.
Patrice M. Buzzanell, Ph.D., is the Chair and Professor of Communication at the University of South Florida and former Professor at the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University. Her specialty is communication with a feminist viewpoint. She also researches every day interactions and social structures and how these dynamics affect the workplace — especially in the science, technology, engineering, math (STEM) work environments.
Finally, Eric M. Eisenberg, Ph.D. is the Dean of the University of South Florida College of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Communication. His work focuses on positive change in organizations.
There will be five conversational prompts from Jenkins and Feister that are designed to launch a panel discussion, but topics will be largely up to the audience.
Jenkins and Feister said the prompts will include links the experts see between communication in groups (organizational communication) and today’s political climate as well as questions about the Me Too, DACA and Women’s March social movements.
“This is truly a historic moment,” Jenkins said. “To have these four internationally recognized communication scholars on stage together at CSUCI is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for both our students and for our local community.”