Author: Institute for International Communication

 Helene Diyabanza-Peterson

My academic journey: from Stockholm University to St. John’s University

In January 2017, I started the International Communications (ICM) Program at St. John’s University in Queens as an international student from Sweden. Prior to that, my leave request from my ordinary job at the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) Headquarters in Stockholm had been accepted. Immediately when I read the description for ICM, I knew it was for me. While the Communication part was new to me as I had done my undergrad studies in Business Administration and mostly worked in Finance Departments in the Swedish public sector after that, the Global Development part of the program was more familiar since I had worked for SIDA (corresponding to USAID) in the recent years.

My interest in global development comes from my background. Having grown up in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sweden with a Congolese father and a mother who was a Swedish missionary in Congo, my dream was always to work for an international organization with the goal of making the world a better place.

ICM – St. John’s University in Queens

In 2014, I followed my husband to New York as he had assumed a position as a diplomat and Counsellor at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the United Nations. While living in Queens as a housewife, I took the opportunity to pursue my master studies.  A dear friend of mine, Ms. Emilia Udvareva, recommended St. John’s University and helped me prepare all the necessary applications. My first impression was my interview with Dr. Basilio Monteiro. He looked me in the eyes and said, there will be a lot of readings, 5-6 books a week. With two children at home, I thought to myself, he must be joking. It later turned that he did not. It was a lot of reading, everything from Cicero “The Republic and The Laws” to Luciano Floridi’s “The 4^th Revolution”. I was very excited about my first lesson. I remember looking at my peers, they all looked so young and so confident and seemed to be from all over the world. For me, St. John’s University in Queens is diversity personified. My impression was that many of them had studied media and mass communication in their undergrad studies. I felt a little bit lost. However, the lessons soon became my favorite moments of the week. In my first year, I had Dr. Monteiro and Dr. Minna Aslama Horowitz in all my classes, and in my second year I also had Dr. Mark Juszczak and Dr. Candice D. Roberts. I was impressed by their charismatic and engaging way of teaching which made the time to fly by. I feel honored to have attended these classes. The discussions always held a high level, and I soon began to admire my peers for their maturity and relevant inputs, despite their young age.

Argentina – ICSB Academy

After my first semester, in the summer of 2017, Dr. Monteiro asked if I wanted to travel to Argentina. I said yes even before I was sure what it was about. Dr. Monteiro together with the Dean, Dr. Katja Passerini, and the Assistant Dean, Kevin James, would take 7 students from the ICM Program in Queens, and 2 students from the Global Development Program in Rome, to a competition for Small Businesses in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Buenos Aires arranged by the International Council for Small Businesses (ICSB). My best memory from this trip was the connection that I felt with the students from our University. Other dear memories were of course the beautiful city of Buenos Aires, the food, the tango, as well as the ICSB Academy where we learnt how to pitch, make a business canvas, what to think about when starting a small social business, and that was my first real contact with the UN SDGs. I got inspired by the SDGs and have since had a vision for my childhood village of Luozi in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), that by 2030 there will be electricity, water, internet and proper roads. Later, I included this in one of my assignments, which became part of a paper compiled by Dr. Monteiro that we brought with us to another ICSB conference in Italy.

UNFPA Internship

During my studies in the ICM Program, I had the opportunity to do an internship at one of the UN Agencies, UNFPA Program Division. My main task was to support the Communication Team with the Interactive Strategic Plan 2018-2022. To gain as much experience as possible working with communication and with the UN, I extended my internship to 6 months, even though my credits were only counted for 4 months. I can strongly recommend ICM students to do an internship at the UN if given the opportunity, it adds an extra level of understanding to the program in a global setting.

Graduation

Another memorable moment at the ICM Program is, of course, the Graduation. I was offered to go in May 2018, which means experiencing the graduation process in its entirety. It meant so much to be able to walk with my peers, especially those I got to know so closely in Argentina. And to have my family and close friends attending the ceremony. After four challenging, in many ways, years in New York, I was more than proud of this accomplishment.

Italy – Study Tour 2018

After graduating from the ICM Program I decided to apply to the MBA Program at the Tobin College of Business in order to sharpen my skills even more before returning to Sweden. The MBA was also like an unfinished business that I had started when I did my undergrad studies in Business Administration at Stockholm University many years ago.  During my first semester at the MBA Program, Dr. Monteiro reached out to me and asked if I was interested in attending an ICSB Conference in Italy. He wanted to participate with a paper that he had compiled from his own essay and three other students, which looked at communication and economic development from different countries (India, Ireland and Congo – DRC/Sweden), and I was one of the students. I said of course yes. Our Italian experience was magical. We were warmly greeted by Dr Monteiro’s colleague and friend, Dr. Roberto Parente, who is a full Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Salerno. He had arranged for us to stay in a beautiful lodge in the middle of the Cilente National Park. It was the four of us from St. John’s University; Dr. Monteiro, Monica Martre from India, Hope DeVito from the USA and I, as an International student from Sweden. Dr. Parente introduced us to his students Anna-Laura Califano from Italy and Mara Hesley from the USA who did her research in Italy with another brilliant Professor Dr. Bise Della Piana. Everything was authentic, the nature, the food, the people, and the beautiful language. We truly had an extraordinary learning experience of the Cilente National Park. We visited the Mayor of the town Morigerati Mr. Cono D’Elia and shared a delicious meal with him. We went to a museum and learned how to roll fresh pasta in a small restaurant with a fantastic warm and friendly atmosphere. We stayed there till long after they had closed, discussing marriage and relationships in the Indian culture and sharing our impressions and observations of the trip so far. One day we also made an excursion to the old caves “Grotte del Bussento” and climbed deep down to reach the source of the water. On our way up we took the cable car with a spectacular view of the nature below us. Two days later, we had to say goodbye to our lovely hosts at the lodge and to the Cilente National Park to continue our journey to the conference in Salerno.

In Salerno we were back in civilization with high speed internet, comfortable hotels, and shops and restaurants in every corner. We had a great time attending the conference, presenting our paper, enjoying some shopping in nice Italian boutiques, and especially continuing to enjoy our discussions and the Italian food. And still, we left a feeling of completeness in the Cilente National Park. The pure and authentic way of living, which made people live a long healthy life made a deep impression on me. When I asked if they had any elderly care, they answered that it was not needed because people there rarely suffered from heart diseases or dementia, which is otherwise so common in the western world. The high quality in food with, for example, pure olive oil, homemade pasta and bread, and organic fruits, vegetables and meat seemed to have led to a very healthy life. The only threat to health could be found mainly among the men who smoke cigarettes. Therefore, women tended to live longer since they did not smoke as much as men. This was of course pre-Covid, but I hope that people in Cilente have been somehow spared from the Coronavirus.

Our learning experience ended in a small village along the Amalfi coast. ICSB had arranged a bus drive up the hill on a very narrow serpentine road to a beautiful banquette with award prizes to the winners of the papers. Dr. Monteiro won the prize for his paper and our trip could not have been more successful. I am so proud and honored to have experienced this learning experience through the ICM Program. I only hope that Dr. Monteiro will soon be able to take his students to new fascinating places in the world, maybe to Uganda.

Embassy of Sweden in Uganda

A year into my MBA studies, I got my dream job as First Secretary / Controller at the Embassy of Sweden in Kampala. I believe, however, that my studies in the International Communication Program had an impact in why I was selected for this job. It certainly turned out to be the right foundation for this position. My internship at the UNFPA and the ICSB trips to Argentina and Italy gave me a great understanding of the UN and the Sustainable Development Goals, which I carry with me when I meet our UN partners in Uganda. When reading proposals from partner organizations such as NGO’s, the World Bank, International NGO’s etc. or in my interaction with Ugandan government institutions, I take with me the lessons on governance and policies that we learned from Dr. Minna Aslama Horowitz. And perhaps most importantly is the foundation that I got from the political philosophy lessons with Dr. Monteiro, which opened my mind and constantly challenging our traditional way of thinking and seeing the globalization and the western world’s way of working in developing countries. Even though I am working with global development, it is important to understand that the traditional grant system is in many cases not sustainable and in order to find sustainable solutions, we need to get corporate on board. I am therefore very proud of Sweden and Sida for changing the focus from traditional grants to also include other forms of financing such as loan and guarantees, acting as a facilitator and catalyst for the private sector, both locally and globally. Sweden’s focus on digitalization and the UN Leaving no one behind is also something that I understand and can fully relate to after my years with the ICM Program.

My takeaways from the ICM Program and advice to current and future students at St. John’s University

With the exception of the concrete impact that the ICM Program had and continues to have on my work at the Swedish Embassy in Kampala today and in my work in an international setting, I especially take with me all the fantastic lectures with my brilliant professors Dr. Basilio Monteiro, Dr. Minna Aslama Horowitz, Dr. Mark Juszczak and Dr. Candice D. Roberts, moments with my peers, the friendly and warm atmosphere at St. John’s University in Queens, the amazing trips that I made with Dr. Monteiro and his students to Argentina and Italy, another insight into how the world works, and the mechanism behind the media, political decisions, and how everything goes in waves. For my current work, I could not have had a better platform than my ICM Program. Another thing that I take with me is the interest in international communication in terms of how we can use media and social platforms to reach out, influence, communicate and share information. I will continue to be more active in working with our internal and external communication at the Embassy and develop my own social media channels to interact more with my friends and professors at St. John’s but also with other friends and colleagues around the world.

During the Fall semester of 2020, in the International Communication Master’s program, the foundational course ICM801, taught by Dr. Minna Aslama-Horowitz, included several discussions on “global wicked problems” that all nations share to a degree – and that can be alleviated partly with communication, be it awareness-raising regarding the challenges, or access to communication technology for participating in solving those problems.

One of the key themes was the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals range from “No Poverty” to “Quality Education”, “Responsible Consumption and Production”, “Partnerships for the Goals”. 

Continue reading “GO GREEN, St. John’s University!!!” →

Cristina Pérez-Cordón, Ph. D

El día que el desacuerdo salvó miles de vidas

La doctora inglesa Alice Steward (1906-2002) fue una de las científicas más influyentes del siglo XX. En los años cincuenta, comenzó a estudiar el aumento en los casos de cáncer dentro de la población infantil. Además de su interés en el tema como profesional de la medicina, tenía también una motivación personal, ya que su ahijada había muerto por leucemia algunos años atrás cuando tan solo tenía cinco años.

Imagen obtenida de https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/blog/alice-stewart-and-link-between-foetal-x-rays-and-childhood-cancer

La doctora Steward estaba particularmente interesada en saber si había una correlación directa entre el cáncer infantil y el uso de rayos X. El tema no era precisamente popular y no encontró muchos apoyos por parte de casi nadie. De hecho, recibió una beca prácticamente insignificante para poder llevar a cabo su investigación. Ella, sin embargo, lejos de abandonar, decidió armarla con un particular método de trabajo: le pidió al estadístico George Kneale que trabajara con ella y que, activamente, intentase buscar el desacuerdo, que pusiera en tela de juicio absolutamente todas sus conclusiones, que intentase por todos los medios desbaratar sus argumentos y demostrar que estaba equivocada. Kneale, además, era la persona ideal para hacer esto, ya que sus personalidades eran totalmente opuestas. Él era introvertido y ella sociable, cariñosa y empática. Él prefería los números y la soledad, ella a las personas y la compañía.

Y así es como estas dos personas tan radicalmente diferentes comenzaron a trabajar usando el método del desacuerdo, un modelo de trabajo colaborativo cuando menos valiente. Ella le pasaba sus datos, sus modelos, sus estadísticas, y él hacía todo lo posible por buscar errores que invalidaran sus conclusiones. ¿Por qué? Porque los dos estaban de acuerdo en que si Kneale era finalmente incapaz de probar que la doctora Steward estaba equivocada, eso le daría a ella la suficiente confianza como para saber que iba por el buen camino en sus investigaciones.

A través de este método fueron capaces de demostrar que, efectivamente, dentro del grupo de niños enfermos de cáncer que formaban parte de su estudio, la mitad de ellos tenía una cosa en común: a sus madres les habían hecho radiografías durante el embarazo. Esta importante conclusión se materializó en un artículo titulado ‘A survey of childhood malignancies’, publicado en 1958 en el prestigioso British Medical Journal.

La primera reacción a dicho artículo fue de escepticismo y de rechazo. En primer lugar, la máquina de rayos X, relativamente nueva aún, se presentaba como una diosa salvadora. Se utilizaba regularmente para ver la posición del feto en madres embarazadas, además de otros usos médicos como por ejemplo el tratamiento del acné. En segundo lugar, se estaba poniendo en tela de juicio la infalibilidad de los doctores y su buen hacer. Y en tercer lugar, todo esto lo estaba haciendo nada menos que una mujer. Esto provocó que la popularidad de Alice Steward cayera en picado: jamás volvería a recibir una beca y, poco a poco, fue dejada de lado por el resto de compañeros de profesión.

Lamentablemente, se siguieron haciendo radiografías a mujeres embarazadas: la industria médica estadounidense y británica no estaba dispuesta a aceptar ningún tipo de desacuerdo. De hecho, tardaron 25 años más en abandonar esta práctica.

La dificultad de aceptar el desacuerdo y los sesgos cognitivos

Todos los seres humanos, en mayor o menor grado, tenemos ciertos sesgos cognitivos. Un sesgo cognitivo es, explicado de forma muy simple, un prejuicio inconsciente que nos lleva a interpretar el mundo (lo que vemos, lo que escuchamos, lo que sentimos,…) de forma subjetiva y selectiva. Los sesgos cognitivos nos pueden llevar a juicios inexactos, a interpretaciones ilógicas o irracionales.

Uno de los experimentos más conocidos en este sentido es el “efecto Bouba-Kiki”. Fue detectado en 1929 por el psicólogo estonio Wolfgang Köhler (1887-1967). En un experimento en Tenerife (España), el académico mostró esta imagen a un grupo de gente:

Imagen obtenida de https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesgo_cognitivo

A continuación, les preguntó cuál de estas figuras se llamaba “takete” y cuál “baluba”. La inmensa mayoría vinculó la forma puntiaguda con el nombre “takete”, y la forma redondeada con el nombre “baluba”. En el año 2001, el neurocientífico indio-estadounidense V. Ramachandran (1951) repitió el experimento usando los nombres “kiki” y “bouba”, obteniendo el mismo resultado: kiki para la forma puntiaguda y bouba para la forma redondeada. Llamar “bouba” a la forma redondeada podría sugerir que este sesgo nace de la forma que toma nuestra boca cuando pronunciamos la palabra, que es más redondeada, mientras que empleamos una pronunciación más tensa y angular  para el sonido “kiki”. Eso supuso una base experimental para comprender que el cerebro humano extrae propiedades en abstracto de formas y sonidos más allá de los vínculos aparentemente racionales.

Hay muchos tipos de sesgos cognitivos. Uno de los más conocidos y que mejor ayuda a entender el concepto es el “sesgo de confirmación”, que consiste en la tendencia a averiguar o dar más importancia a la información que confirma nuestras creencias. Esto es lo que sucede cuando, de manera automática, solo leemos los periódicos y vemos los canales de televisión que concuerdan con nuestras ideas.

Otro de los más conocidos es el “sesgo de falso consenso”, que consiste en la tendencia a creer que las propias opiniones, creencias, valores y hábitos están más extendidos entre las otras personas de lo que realmente lo están. En otras palabras, la tendencia a pensar que el resto de la gente comparte nuestras ideas, cuando en realidad, no necesariamente es así.

Otro ejemplo de sesgo cognitivo muy extendido es el “sesgo de deseabilidad social”, que consiste en decir lo socialmente aceptado en vez de expresar lo que verdaderamente opinamos. Generalmente nace de la necesidad de sentir la aprobación social, de querer caer bien a la gente, aunque a veces puede haber otros motivos (económicos, políticos, etc).

Si volvemos a la cuestión de las radiografías en las mujeres embarazadas, vemos que estos tres sesgos jugaron un papel clave a la hora de impedir esta práctica. Por un lado, la industria médica dio menos importancia a las averiguaciones de la doctora Steward porque no confirmaba sus creencias; por otro lado, dieron por hecho que el resto del colectivo médico compartía su postura; y, finalmente, no quisieron decir que ese nuevo invento que tanto adoraba la sociedad tenía efectos tan dañinos en los fetos, ya que no era lo que la gente quería oír.

Cómo vencer la dificultad del desacuerdo

Hay una tendencia generalizada a identificar el desacuerdo como algo negativo cuando, en realidad, debería ser nuestro mejor aliado. Parte del problema reside en que siempre nos han enseñado que debemos ser más asertivos, que tenemos que saber defender nuestras ideas y, si puede ser, evitar el conflicto. Sin embargo, esta postura plantea dos problemas de base. Por un lado, no permite a la persona desarrollar las herramientas necesarias para gestionar el desacuerdo y, por otro, desencadena un efecto condenatorio hacia el desacuerdo (“no me gusta que no opines como yo”).

El primer paso para subsanarlo comienza por comprender que el desacuerdo es algo sano, natural e inevitable. Es, de hecho, algo positivo si se sabe manejar correctamente. Precisamente, gracias al desacuerdo, la sociedad ha podido evolucionar, avanzar y mejorar en muchos aspectos. El segundo paso consiste en escuchar a la otra persona sin dar por hecho que no tiene razón, o que la tenemos nosotros. Si ambas partes son capaces de hacer esto, se estarán librando del llamado “sesgo de certeza” o la tendencia a mostrar un exceso de confianza en tus ideas, a creer que siempre tienes la razón. El tercer y último gran paso consiste en ser capaces de integrar el desacuerdo en la comunicación para construir el llamado “conflicto positivo”, y verlo como una oportunidad de diálogo más que como una amenaza. De este modo, el objetivo de la comunicación entre las personas en desacuerdo ya no será convencer al otro, sino buscar acuerdo, que es algo muy distinto.

Conclusión

La clave está en comprender que las personas no necesitan tener las mismas ideas, solo necesitan tener el mismo respeto (siempre y cuando, claro está, dichas ideas no atenten contra los derechos humanos). Todos tenemos sesgos, y todos tenemos puntos ciegos que nos hacen interpretar la realidad de manera diferente. Nuestras vivencias y nuestras circunstancias personales son el cristal de la ventana a través de la cual miramos. Esa ventana que nos resulta cómoda, que nos reafirma y nos reconforta. El día que nos atrevamos a mirar por esa otra ventana que otra persona diferente a nosotros nos muestra, ese día habremos iniciado el camino a la integración sana del desacuerdo como un elemento más de la comunicación, y comprenderemos que el desacuerdo no debilita tu postura sino que fortalece tu conocimiento así como la inteligencia colectiva.

Fuentes:

IG @Pictoline, publicación del 16 de junio y del 2 de julio

https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/blog/alice-stewart-and-link-between-foetal-x-rays-and-childhood-cancer

https://history.rcplondon.ac.uk/inspiring-physicians/alice-mary-stewart

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sesgo_cognitivo

www.elciudadano.com

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ICM students presenting at ACUNS conference, Coventry University, UK, June 25-27, 2020 – Virtual Conference

James Wheatley, Sara Rabelo-Tacher, Quiana Criales, Natalie Affenita, Hope A. DeVito, Basilio G. Monteiro

Covid-19 have exposed the deep flaws of the structures of all aspects of global society, and now, like all pandemics before, it offers us opportunities to imagine a new world that is more equitable and content. The younger generation impacted by this pandemic will not allow the world to go as usual. Globalization has been a convenient camouflage to lull us into feeling that prosperity is upon us… In fact, it was and is “helicopter-globalization” – which benefited only those with good tele-connectivity and tele-port, regardless of geographical location.

The inevitable challenges of climate change and its disruptive consequences are upon us. Any deliberations about economy, geopolitical relationships without taking into account climate change will be an exercise in futility.

Our students’ presentations are framed in the context of mini-multilateralism, with focus on regional supply chain, while keeping loose connections with larger globalization as demanded. The trust in economy has collapsed. Trust, is a human virtue, and cannot be managed by sophisticated protocols, checks and balances, cannot be technologized. Trust is nurtured in frequent close human proximities, which nurtures familiarity (unrelated to business gatherings).

Parag Khanna in his book Connectography: Maping the Future of Global Civilization states that Connectivity is destiny – and the most connected powers, and people, will win. Climate change is going to change some of that connectography. When he wrote his book, he did not anticipate the COVOD-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, there is a foresight in this thinking and worth paying attention to. He believes there are two main megatrends shaping the world we live in today: urbanization and connectivity, and the precarious of both this pandemic has exacerbated. And, together, they dictate human behavior every bit as much as – maybe even more than – any other force or factor we’ve seen previously.

Connectivity really comes down to the enablement of supply chains, both physical and digital, which are now the conduits of our economies. What we have seen is that – in a very uncoordinated, unsynchronized yet simultaneous decision-making process – billions of people are gravitating toward infrastructure and the supply chains they enable. (https://home.kpmg/xx/en/home/insights/2018/06/connectography.html).

Here, in our panel we are advocating for regional supply chain, which will have inevitable impact on mitigating economic inequality as corporations need not go around the world foraging for inhumanly cheap labor; regional supply chain with improved regional transportation  modalities will mitigate carbon emissions, and will de-urbanize our glass-cities which increasingly are becoming, given its high density population, incubators for all kinds of epidemics.

We advocate for re-thinking the tourism industry, which is driven by neo-liberal economic impulses and has created sustainability disasters in most part of the planet earth.

The post-pandemic world will grapple with some fundamental questions: Who are we, and how do we relate to each other? Luciano Floridi, one of the leading figures in contemporary philosophy, argues that the explosive developments in Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is changing the answer to these fundamental human questions. As the boundaries between life online and offline break down, and we become seamlessly connected to each other and surrounded by smart, responsive objects, we are all becoming integrated into an “infosphere”. Personas we adopt in social media, for example, feed into our ‘real’ lives so that we begin to live, as Floridi puts in, “onlife”. This metaphysical shift represents nothing less than a “fourth revolution.”

The pandemic and post pandemic living as brought us to the realization that “onlife” defines more and more of our daily activity – the way we shop, work, learn, care for our health, entertain ourselves, conduct our relationships; the way we interact with the worlds of law, finance, and politics; even the way we conduct war. In every department of life, ICTs have become environmental forces which are creating and transforming our realities.

Economist E. F. Schumacher in 1970s, who was an important voice then at the United Nations, advocated an economic model of Small is Beautiful as if People Mattered. May be in this pandemic it is time to dust off his little but perceptive book. He advocated for the end of the excessive consumption, inspired movements such as “buy locally,” Fair Trade, and strongly opposed casino capitalism.

The presentations of the students in this panel are located in this framework. They are the “generation now” thinking radically and eager to grab the opportunity painfully unfolded by COVID-19 and seeking to shape a better world for themselves and the generations to come.

James Wheatley

in his presentation on hyperloop and the future of travel made a compelling case for regional supply chain, without compromising global alliances, as a way to address climate change, income inequality, de-urbanization and particularly to nurture the trust essential in any economic activity. He highlighted the evolving new modes of transportation, particularly the Hyperloop experiment in the Netherlands, to underscore the feasibility of regional supply chain.

Sara Rabelo-Tacher

examined COVID-19 trajectory and argued that in times of global crises, nations must prioritize communication and collaboration in order to overcome the issues together. She paid significant attention to the issues of national pride and the position of countries in the hierarchy of geopolitics, which compels the nations to control the information about the pandemics and thus fudge the essential information in detriment to global community.

Quiana Criales

examined the complex dangers of technology in the post-COVID-19 era. She examined the dangers of a complex system of ICT, threats to national economic system, national security, civility, and call for simplicity. She argued that the multilateral dependency can be fatal in pandemic times as she pointed out that given the accelerated climate change, the frequency of pandemics will be in short cycles. Her analysis of technology capitalism highlighted how the monopolies are significant threats to national security. She underscored that public services and essential resources, specifically within technology sector have become privatized commodities.

Natalie Affenita

in her presentation on Travelers and NOT Tourism she argued that post-COVID-19 world must be different for the sake of the health of the planet earth and it is inhabitants. The global pause imposed by COVID on human movement rejuvenated the environment at the pleasant surprise and satisfaction of all. She clearly distinguished between a traveler, who seeks to know and learn the people and places, versus a tourist, who seeks enjoyment by doing and seeing things packaged by the tourist agents for a given price, without regard for local culture and history. She anticipates the younger generation will develop a wholesome attitude to travel and safeguard the rapidly deteriorating environment.

Hope DeVito

as a vibrant member of “generation now” examined the prospects of Globalization post COVID-19, which led to some poignant questions for further study: what will the global stage look like after this? Will the countries with long standing power find themselves on the backburner while the middle or smaller power countries bounce back faster from the pandemic? How will globalization change? Will it become more digital with knowledge-based economy? Will the easy flow of travel, resources, etc. be the same? How will the rise of new generation affect power and the economy will be seen?

Basilio G. Monteiro

Laura Tommaso (PhD) is Assistant Professor of English at the University of Molise (Italy). Her areas of research encompass media discourse, multimodality, cross-cultural rhetoric, and language by and about older persons. Continue reading “Introducing our new scholar: Dr. Laura Tommaso” →

by Mark Juszczak

I had a suspicion, at the moment, that this might be bigger than I thought. And I also knew I was not alone. So I approached them and asked if them if they were waiting for R42. Not the A train, as in the A train line. But the arrival of the R-42 Subway Car type. Indeed they were. Continue reading “R-42: Not Just a last ride, but the end of a communication era” →

“Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?” Bruno Latour & The Need for a New Critical Science of ‘Science & Technology’ Symposium

Authors and organizers: Dr. Basilio Monteiro (Director, IICM)
Dr. Natalie Byfield (The Department of Sociology & Anthropology of St. John’s University)

“Who Will Watch the Watchers: Bruno Latour & The Need for a New Critical Science of ‘Science & Technology’,” a jointly organized symposium by the Institute for International Communication and the Department of Sociology & Anthropology housed respectively in the Collins College of Professional Studies and St. John’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, brought together researchers who have different epistemological approaches to the study of contemporary technologies and people’s relationships to those technologies.

Continue reading “#WhoWillWatchtheWatchers? IICM Symposium” →

By Cristina Pérez-Cordón, Ph. D

El idioma navajo es la base del único código militar que fue totalmente imposible descifrar en su época. Es extremadamente complejo, se dice que es imposible de dominar si no lo aprendes desde pequeño. Tiene cuatro tonos, no tiene adjetivos, cuenta con más de cuarenta sonidos vocálicos y consonánticos (frente a los veintidós del español) y una forma totalmente diferente de construir las frases y conjugar los verbos. Estos últimos no solo tienen en cuenta el sujeto, sino también el objeto. Así, el verbo varía en función de las características del objeto en cuestión, que se clasifican hasta en 11 tipos, por ejemplo, “sólido redondo”, “alargado flexible”, “alargado rígido”, “viscoso”, “plano flexible”, “animado”, etc. Esto supone, por ejemplo, que el verbo para sostener un palo es diferente al verbo para sostener una hoja; pero el verbo para sostener barro es el mismo que para sostener una rana (porque ambos son viscosos). Actualmente es la tribu más numerosa de los EE.UU después de los Cherokee.

Continue reading “Algo se muere en el alma cuando una lengua se va” →

by Dr. Basilio Monteiro

As the age of disinformation is overwhelming the average citizen across the globe, one is left to ponder: what is truth? where truth is to be found? The enigmatic Kierkegaard presents himself as the touchstone for inquiry, reflection, deliberation and to make sense of the prevailing instantaneously ubiquitous presence of “disinformation.” Attempts at deliberate disinformation are as old as human history; they have become sophisticated and pernicious with the passing of time.
Scholars from various countries gathered for two days last November at St. John’s University to make sense of the present calamity of disinformation by looking through Kierkegaard’s philosophical musings.

Continue reading “The Age of Disinformation and Kierkegaard at St. John’s University” →

Why did you think it was important to feed the Vincentian mission of the University into a summit that’s about innovation, what was the added value of that? Continue reading “Reflecting on the Vincentian Innovation Summit at St. John’s University: An Interview with Steering Committee Members” →

On Wednesday, April 25, 2018, Ranking Digital Rights launched its new, and third, 2018 Corporate Accountability Index. Long name, sounds like a complicated topic, I know. Why bother reading?

Because this Index addresses an issue that affects you. Continue reading “Ranking Digital Rights as Media Reform: Strategies and Tactics” →

Written by Julia Theilen, graduate student of International Communication at St. John’s University. 

At the closing ceremony of COY13 (the thirteenth Conference of Youth) held prior to the UN climate change conference COP23 (the twenty-third Conference of Parties) in Bonn, Germany, a young woman representing the Pacific Climate Warriors, moved the audience with her metaphorical speech: Continue reading “Impressions of COY13 and the UN Climate Change Conference COP23 in Bonn, Germany” →