Image
Cultivating Intercultural Communication Competence: Learning What It Is Like to Live by Someone Else’s Light Empathetically
4 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, 2025
Lucy Ellis Lounge, Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics Building
Given the turmoil of the present age, one could argue that intercultural competence is desperately needed. Of all the sentiments that have the potential to alter what we do interculturally— and especially in higher education—none is more important than empathy, a concept that lies at the very core of our common humanity. This presentation will focus on the grammar of empathy and will examine key factors influencing intercultural competence in an increasingly global society. Carolyn Calloway-Thomas will discuss the importance of human empathy, introduce the concept of a pedagogy of empathy, and discuss key conceptual principles and practical approaches that increase intercultural communication competence, designed to help individuals craft an empathic sensibility in a world in crisis.
Image
Meet the speaker
Carolyn Calloway-Thomas is a professor in the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University Bloomington. She serves as an Intercultural Communication Competence Advisory Expert on the World Council on Intercultural and Global Competence and is past president of the World Communication Association. In 2023, she was named one of the "Top 25 Outstanding Women Listeners in the World" by the Global Listening Centre.
This program is partially supported by the C. C. Seetoo Family Fund to promote cross-cultural communication.
Previous keynote talks
The Intercultural Competence Imperative
The Intercultural Competence Imperative
Tuesday, April 12, 2022, 4 p.m.
Online/Zoom
Given the increasing divisions within society, intercultural competence is essential to understand and bridge these divides. It is also indispensable in all career fields, including, but not limited to, health professions, business, science, technology, social work, and education. In this talk, Dr. Darla Deardorff explores intercultural competence: the perspectives, strategies, and key questions to consider, as well as the synergies between intercultural competence and justice, diversity, and inclusion goals.
Image
About the speaker
Dr. Darla Deardorff is the executive director of the Association of International Education Administrators, as well as a research scholar at Duke University. She is also affiliated faculty at Nelson Mandela University in South Africa and Shanghai International Studies University in China. Founder of ICC Global, she has conducted intercultural training for UNESCO, OECD, universities, businesses, and non-profit organizations for nearly 20 years, and is frequently invited to give talks around the world. A recipient of numerous awards, she has published eight books and 60+ articles and book chapters on international education, intercultural competence, global leadership, and outcomes assessment.
This program was presented by the School of Literatures, Cultures & Linguistics with support from the Presidential Initiative: Expanding the Impact of the Arts and Humanities.