Three leading international scholars on intercultural and global communication addressed a packed Chao auditorium at the University of Louisville on November 13, 2008. Dr. Robert Vaagan (Oslo University College), and Dr. Radwanska Williams (Macao Polytechnic Institute) delivered the keynote addresses at the inaugural symposium of the Institute of Intercultural Communication. Dr. Shi Tongyun (Beijing Foreign Studies University) chaired the symposium. Dr. Allan Futrell (University of Louisville) greeted the audience and Dr. Margaret D’Silva (University of Louisville) introduced the international scholars.
Dr. Robert Vaagan is on the faculty of Oslo University College, Norway. Currently he is heading a multinational project entitled “GlobeReach,” which analyzes the agenda setting roles of the TV news broadcasters Euronews, Al Jazeera English, and Channel New Asia.
Dr. Robert Vaagan’s topic: “Global news across cultures: Al Jazeera English, Channel News Asia, and Euronews.” Additionally, he introduced the audience to newspaper articles from the EU and provided a summary of responses from Norway and the EU to the Obama election.
Dr. Joanna Radwanska-Williams is a professor at the Macao Polytechnic Institute, Macao. She has authored two books and over 30 journal articles and book chapters in these fields. Her latest publication is “The native speaker as a metaphorical construct.” She hangs her hat in three contienents: North America, Europe, and Asia. Her topic, “Language Contact and Language Learning in a Multicultural Setting: A Case Study of an Indian Family in Macao.”
Dr. Shi Tongyun is a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University, China. Her teaching and research areas include British society and cultura, and British films. She has published several articles and four books including “A Dictonary of American Idioms.” At the symposium she spoke about China’s response to Obama’s election as president.