Intercultural Communication Institute

Interculturalists as a rule tend to be very well intentioned. But despite our understanding of the theory, we interculturalists all to easily slip into ways of being and of interacting that ultimately don’t serve our best – or even our good – intentions. The practices of Personal Leadership offer increasingly proven ways for learning to “walk our talk.”

Understand the history, theoretical foundations, and context for the development of Personal Leadership
Become familiar with the two principles and seven practices of Personal Leadership
Articulate personal visions of what it means for them to be effective interculturalists operating at their highest and best
Apply the principles and practices of Personal Leadership to their real-life and real-time experiences
Enjoy a deeply self-reflective process in the context of an inspiring and energizing community
Plan for the application of Personal Leadership in their various professional and personal contexts
Strengthen their network of others equally committed to operating as interculturalists from their highest and best

Barbara Schaetti

Dr. Barbara Schaetti is principal of Transition Dynamics, a faculty member of the ICI/UOP Master of Arts in Intercultural Relations, and a senior associate of The Crestone Institute. In fifteen years as a coach and consultant in the field of expatriate and repatriate family services, Barbara has focused on multicultural/intercultural identity development and on the life-practices that support us in living mindfully and creatively in intercultural interactions. Earlier in her career, she worked in multicultural community mediation and later as a corporate diversity trainer. Barbara is a dual national of the U.S. and Switzerland, and lived in ten countries on five continents during the first half of her life.

This course will review the major concepts, theories, and models that contribute to a general process description of communication across cultures, and it will consider how cultures pattern communication. This work is intended to provide a vocabulary and framework for analysis and discussion throughout the program. Important topics in this course include: The dynamics of face-to-face interaction, conflict styles across cultures, societal influences on ethnocentrism and racism, cultural value orientations, nonverbal dimensions of communication, language interaction, stereotypes, relationship development, and intercultural adaptation.

Milton Bennett

Dr. Milton Bennett served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Micronesia and then completed his Ph.D. in intercultural communication at the University of Minnesota. For 15 years, he was on the faculty of Portland State University, where he helped create the graduate program in intercultural communication. Currently, Milton maintains an active consulting practice, facilitating professional development in intercultural relations for university faculty and administrators, corporate executives and managers, social service personnel, and others in the private and public sectors. He also designs and conducts diversity programs for multicultural campuses and for corporations with multicultural workforces. Milton is a director of the Intercultural Communication Institute and has written extensively on intercultural issues, including developmental approaches to increasing intercultural sensitivity. He is co-author (with Ed Stewart) of the revised edition of American Cultural Patterns: A Cross-Cultural Perspective.

Franki Trujillo-Dalbey

Dr. Franki Trujillo-Dalbey is a full-time faculty member of the Intercultural Communication Institute. In addition to working at ICI, Franki is a consultant, trainer, and cross-cultural mediator, working specifically with nonprofit organizations and municipalities on issues of domestic diversity (she is second-generation Latina), leadership, team building, employment law, and relationship building.

Assuming an intercultural communication perspective on ethnic relations, this course will examine group theory with particular emphasis on dynamics common in domestic multicultural contexts. Topics include an examination of research on ethnic identity development, cross-cultural psychology, prejudice and stereotyping, and interaction patterns specific to particular ethnic groups. It will also consider models for managing diversity at the organizational level. Participants will review models for multicultural group behavior and learn approaches to facilitation that are applicable in both small groups and organizations.

Assess how developmental, interactive, and sociocultural forces combine to influence an individual’s ethnic identity;
Interpret current perspectives on the construction and maintenance of ethnocentrism, stereotypes and prejudice, and uncertainty and anxiety, and how these influence intergroup dynamics;
Analyze and articulate possible sources of intercultural conflict that arise from combinations of ethnic identity issues, stereotyping, and prejudice in intergroup interactions; and
Apply these theories to the creation of useful interactive strategies for facilitating intergroup relations

Havva Houshmand

Dr. Houshmand taught at the National University of Iran for twelve years, where she developed their culture and ideology curriculum. Havva has lived, studied, and taught in many countries, including Iran, Holland, England, and France. Currently she is a full-time faculty member at the Albuquerque TVI Community College, teaching humanities and cultural studies, comparative religion, and race and ethnicity in biomedical ethics. Havva has also taught about Middle Eastern cultures at the University of New Mexico. She is the founder of a cross-cultural consulting partnership, Culture Alive, offering workshops on cross-cultural ministry and counseling with emigrants. She also served on the Wellesley College S.E.E.D. project on inclusive curriculum in Albuquerque public schools.

Valerie White

Valerie White is an affiliate faculty member with the Organization Systems Renewal Program at Antioch University Seattle. She also provides consulting services to corporate and nonprofit organizations in intercultural and multicultural perspectives, as well as in organizations and personal effectiveness through her company, North Star Consulting Group, based in Portland, Oregon. Valerie has taught courses in multicultural perspectives, organizational behavior, and change theory in both graduate and undergraduate programs. Valerie’s M.A. is from Masters University-Seattle in whole systems design with an emphasis in organizational change. She is now completing her Ph.D. program in bicultural identity development at the University of Washington.

In intercultural relations, practitioners face a crucial question: How do I know what is real? This is the central issue in what is called “ontology,” and intercultural researchers must be familiar with alternatives to the positivist research tradition in arriving at answers to the question. This course will explore, through a phenomenological perspective, cultural differences in the search for meanings. Symbolic interactionism and ethnomethodology provide a foundation for exploring nonwestern ways of insight about human experience, via the paradigms of Consciousness, Transcendence, and Connectedness. Nonwritten channels for expression of learning will often be explored.

Michael Osmera

Dr. Michael Osmera is an anthropologist whose educational background includes an undergraduate degree in philosophy, two master’s degrees (one in public affairs, which emphasized studies in economics, public policy analysis, and international relations, and the other in anthropology), and a Ph.D. in anthropology. In the early 1970’s he lived in the Middle East and Asia, including serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Afghanistan where he worked as an English teacher on the United Nations veterinary project serving settled farmers and pastoral nomads. His later anthropological studies have included regular trips to Nepal and South Asia to observe changes brought by tourism. Currently, Michael is an adjunct faculty member in the Anthropology Department at Linfield College.

Muneo Yoshikawa

Dr. Muneo Yoshikawa, a native of Japan, is a scholar specializing in intercultural communication with the Japanese. He is a professor in the University of Hawaii system, project director of the Global Partnership center at the Kanai Community College, lecturer at the Japan-American Institute of Management Science in Hawaii, director of the Holonic Paradigm Research Institute in Tokyo, associate of Blanchard Training and Development, Inc. in San Diego, associate of the House of Training in Copenhagen, visiting professor at the National University of Kyushu and the University of Ryukyus, and visiting researcher at Tokyo University and Kyoto University. He has conducted seminars and presented lectures worldwide for executives and middle management and authored several books, chapters, and articles that deal with the Japanese mindscape.

This course examines theories from the field of social science that have been influential in the development of intercultural communication concepts, with an emphasis on the contributions of constructivism. It provides an overview of major paradigms in scientific thought that are mirrored in social scientific theories, and of where intercultural communication fits into the scheme. We will review classic sources in the field of intercultural communication and examine current writings that pertain to the future of the field. We will specifically explore the body of theory that underlies the planning of programs and conducting of communication research—interpersonal, small group, and intercultural. We will also generally consider ethical questions that arise in intercultural encounters, in teaching and training, and in the conduct of research, especially across cultures.

Barbara Kappler

Dr. Barbara Kappler is an intercultural trainer at the Institute of International Studies and Programs at the University of Minnesota. She tailors culture learning programs for international and U.S. students, staff, faculty, and community members. Barbara has presented several workshops and papers at national and regional NAFSA: Association of International Educators and the Speech Association conferences. She has taught several courses in intercultural communication. Barbara has a Ph.D. in speech communication from the University of Minnesota.

Judith Martin

Dr. Judith Martin is a professor of intercultural communication at Arizona State University in Tempe. She has also taught undergraduate and graduate courses in communication at the University of Minnesota, the Pennsylvania State University, and the University of New Mexico. Judith has published research on intercultural communication competence, sojourner communication overseas, reentry, and ethnic identity in a variety of social scientific journals. She co-authored Students Abroad: Strangers at Home, summarizing research on the impacts of study abroad; Intercultural Communication Contexts; Readings in Cultural Contexts; and Whiteness: The Communication of Social Identity.

In this course, both quantitative and qualitative research tools will be examined for their usefulness in the intercultural context. Exercises and readings will consider surveying, sampling, content analysis, depth interviewing, participant observation, personal document analysis, and unobtrusive methods, with equal attention paid to the disadvantages and advantages of each. Students will experience using a range of methods and designing research plans which address issues of bias and ethics as well as matching research strategies to the research question.

Become familiar with a wide range of qualitative and quantitative research strategies and develop the ability to (1) assess their usefulness for specific intercultural contexts, and (2) evaluate their ethical implications in the field.
Apply this knowledge and assessment ability to a small research project that demonstrates the ability to:
- state useful research questions
- select and gain access to appropriate sample population(s)
- develop experiments, interview strategies, or other techniques to obtain valid data that address the questions
- analyze and report results, and reflect on the value of this process for intercultural work in general.

Bruce La Brack

Dr. Bruce La Brack, a cultural anthropologist and South Asian specialist, is professor of anthropology and international studies in the School of International Studies at the University of the Pacific, Stockton, California. Since 1976, he has designed and developed UOP’s innovative integrated orientation and reentry program, and is currently coordinator of cross-cultural training for the School of International Studies. Bruce is also chair of the MA in Intercultural Relations at UOP. Bruce has published extensively on cultural adjustment issues, has conducted research on Japanese reentry patterns at the Intercultural Research Institute of the Kansai University of Foreign Studies (Osaka), and has held Fulbright Research Fellowships at International Christian University (Tokyo) and Tamil Nadu University (South India). He is a founder and principal of the California-based International Training Group, a firm specializing in designing and offering comprehensive programs for companies and executives challenged by international transitions.

Kent Warren

Dr. Kent Warren is director of the MA in Intercultural Relations at ICI and serves as the faculty advisor. He joined ICI after many years as director of the Program for Individualized Learning at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, where he developed some of the early programs in alternative higher education. Kent received his master’s in communicative disorders from the University of Southern California and his doctorate in intercultural and medical communication from the University of Minnesota. His research interests have included medical interviewing, intercultural communication workshops, the history of individualized education, and adult learning and educational success. Kent is actively involved with the Alliance, and association for alternative degree programs for adults. Working through the Alliance and the American Council on Education, he co-authored the Principles of Good Practice for Alternative and External Degree Programs for Adults, published in 1990.

In the process of individual identity development, culture plays a primary role. This course will systematically examine the intrapersonal impact of cultural adaptation by reviewing theories of change, ethnic identity development, acculturation, and cultural marginality. Special topics include: loss and change, models of transition, adaptation, and acculturation, and culture shock and re-entry as developmental processes.

Develop awareness of current theories regarding (1) how loss informs all change, (2) how cultural identity develops, and (3) how the experience called “culture shock” might be explained sufficiently to analyze the cultural transitions of oneself and others;
Develop the ability to integrate these theories with information about the stresses and risk factors which surround cultural transition, in order to develop practical strategies to foster constructive adjustment; and
Practice using these theories to expand awareness of both the positive and negative potential of cross-cultural adaptations, applying and critiquing them in light of specific cases.

LaRay Barna

LaRay Barna is associate professor emerita of Speech Communication at Portland State University. She originated intercultural communication courses at PSU in 1967 and helped initiate national interest in this field. She has served on boards and committees and given numerous presentations for NAFSA: Association of International Educators; the Speech Communication Association; and the International Society for Intercultural Education, Training, and Research (SIETAR International). LaRay’s publications include articles in many collections of intercultural readings and a major review of cross-cultural stress for the 1st edition of the Handbook of Intercultural Training.

Janet Bennett

Dr. Janet Bennett received her Ph.D. in intercultural communication from the University of Minnesota after returning from Micronesia where she was a Peace Corps Volunteer. Janet was chair of the Liberal Arts Division at Marylhurst College for 12 years, and she continues to be professionally active in the non-traditional education field, including teaching courses at Portland State University in training methods and organizational development. Janet is executive director of the Intercultural Communication Institution and maintains an active consulting practice providing intercultural communication and diversity training for colleges and universities, healthcare organizations, social service agencies, utilities, corporations, and other executives, managers, and personnel in both the public and private sectors. Janet has written several chapters and journal articles, including “Cultural Marginality: Identity Issues in Intercultural Training.”

Managing the transition process for people and human systems in an intercultural context requires expertise in planned change, innovation theory, and systems diagnosis and intervention. This course will review the nature of change in communities and cultures with special attention to social action research and organization development. It will also involve students in both critiquing and designing programs for planned change.

Develop a perspective on ethical intercultural change-agentry;
Assess the major factors likely to influence attempts at planned change, including those outside the change agent’s control;
Identify and adapt for intercultural work, perspectives on change from many fields, including psychology, communication, the humanities, and management; and
Demonstrate the ability to identify and analyze what makes an intentional-change project successful.

Steven Dowd

Steven Dowd brings to MAIR a long and varied career in education and both the public and the private sectors. He is a seasoned educator and executive with 30 years experience in graduate and undergraduate degree programs, public and private organizations, and small and large businesses. He taught at Marylhurst University for ten years in a program with many similarities to MAIR. Until recently, he was Director of Credit USA for NorskeCanada in Seattle. He is now doing consulting in the Portland area. Steven has an M.A. in organizational communication from the University of California-Davis and did doctoral work at the University of Iowa in small group communication.

Nagesh Rao

Dr. Nagesh Rao is an associate professor in the School of Interpersonal Communication, Ohio University, where his scholarly work focuses on how cultural values influence health beliefs and practices. Nagesh is presently working on a five-year state-of-the-art study analyzing the role of culture in doctor-patient interactions, collecting data in Brazil, India, and the United States. He has also worked on several family planning and HIV-prevention research projects in the United States, Thailand, Tanzania, and India. Nagesh has won research and teaching awards at three universities for his scholarly work.

This course provides an opportunity for learners to explore theories of leadership and adult learning from a developmental and intercultural perspective. First, leadership theories amenable to use across cultures are examined, including Jean Lipman-Blumen’s connective leadership model and Belenky, Bond & Weinstock’s work on community and developmental leadership. Global leadership and multiple intelligences frameworks are explored from a critical intercultural perspective. Second, the course explores theories and practices of adult and transformative learning, again within a critical framework informed by intercultural concerns. Students practice translation and interpretation of selected models for multicultural and intercultural contexts.

Develop an understanding of the leadership and learning models currently available to practicing interculturalist sufficient to allow (1) critiquing them from an intercultural perspective, and (2) applying them to an intercultural case.
Expand awareness of one’s own leadership and learning style, and develop the ability to apply such style frameworks usefully across cultures, particularly in adult contexts.
Be familiar enough with the intercultural implications of course theorists to (1) identify theoretical ideas and models appropriate to specific situations (2 analyze a client group using these theories and models, and (3) apply the results of analysis to the design of effective intercultural interventions.

Elizabeth Kirkhart

Dr. Elizabeth Kirkhart is a practicing clinical psychologist, professor, and principal in Moving Boundaries, Inc., publishers of the Singer-Loomis Type Deployment Inventory. She developed and directed the Continuing Management Education program at Georgetown University, the Management Development Unit of Legal Services Corporations, and the internal organization development unit for the Western Pacific Region of the Federal Aviation Administration. Elizabeth has done organization research and consulting, management training, and training-of-trainers programs in the U.S., Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, and Sudan.

The impact of culture in the organization occurs at multiple levels: Employees as well as clients may come from a variety of domestic or international cultures to participate in an organizational culture, which in itself requires adaptation. The interplay of cultural patterns affects management and leadership styles, decision-making, negotiation, conflict mediation, and team-building. This course provides an overview of modern organizational theory with a view to extracting principles and methods, which are relevant to this multicultural context.

Identify major theories and modern practices of Organization Development;
Consider critically contemporary Organization development practices in light of systems theory and intercultural perspectives;
Assess how cultural communication concepts (like perception, diversity, leadership, negotiation, and attitude) inform and affect domestic and international organizations today;
Synthesize a personal perspective on the relationship between culture and organizations at several levels; and
Demonstrate ability to use intercultural competence to design practical, ethical action within an organizational context.

Larry Kirkhart

Dr. Larry Kirkhart is a partner in Kirkhart and Kirkhart, a firm involved in both domestic and international consulting. Larry has taught at several colleges and universities, and was on the faculty of the University of Southern California for 17 years. He has taught graduate courses in applied behavioral sciences, including organization and management development, planned change, and action research. In addition to his academic work, Larry has extensive experience as an international consultant in such places as Pakistan, Bhutan, Malaysia, Mexico, and Indonesia. Larry is also a frequent presenter at national conferences, teaches, publishes, and is currently involved in a research project involving a personality inventory based on Jungian type theory.

George Renwick

Dr. George Renwick is president of Renwick and Associates, a consulting firm with 60 professional associates around the world. He was visiting professor at the American Graduate School of International management (Thunderbird) where for 12 years he taught the intensive course on intercultural communication for international managers. George has been responsible for training programs in cultural awareness, pre-departure, in-country orientation, transfer of technology, reentry, training of trainers, multicultural team building, supervision, negotiation, and international executive development. He has recently conducted training for companies in the electronics, petroleum, and financial services industries, both in the U.S. and in 12 other countries, including Saudi Arabia, Chile, and China. He has written or edited studies on the cultural dimensions of business relations between Americans and Australians, Malaysians, Chileans, Thais, and Chinese. As director of the State-of-the-Art Study for SIETAR, he analyzed 30,000 intercultural training programs conducted in 72 countries.