The other day, I read a news report about how Siberian policymakers are “lukewarm” about the impacts of global warming — or, more accurately, Russian policymakers are lukewarm, whereas local Siberian scientists are sounding the alarm — and it reminded me of the interesting rhetorical response to the same issue in Alaska, a U.S. state that is similarly dependent on fossil fuel extraction, and similarly hungry for infrastructure development.
Continue reading “Climate change response in Alaska: “Do, but don’t talk”?”Author: Rahul
Research Talks at the 2014 International Communication Association: Hello, Seattle! :)
Seattle is a gorgeous, gorgeous city, with some amazing people, buildings, and food, and I’m thrilled to be in the middle of things right now for the annual conference of the International Communication Association! This is a bittersweet occasion; on the one hand, this is my first appearance here at ICA as a faculty member, representing Wayne State University, yet on the other hand, the conference marks the end of my two-year term as Student Board Member, a profoundly insightful position. During my two years, I have enjoyed working with the ICA leadership to set up some fantastic new opportunities and structures to enable graduate student members of the ICA in their professional development, and I’m sure that my successors will do an even more awesome job, extending these initiatives. So, as I bid adieu to this post, I’m settling for a wonderful few days in Seattle, exploring and experiencing the city, and engaging in some wonderful research with my Communication colleagues.
Continue reading “Research Talks at the 2014 International Communication Association: Hello, Seattle! :)”What makes work worth respecting? A poetic ode
I’m due to present at a preconference next week at the International Communication Association’s 2014 annual conference that I’m really looking forward to, and not just for the usual reasons. The preconference is titled, “(Re)Defining and (Re)Negotiating the Meaning of Work, Success, Happiness, and Good Life,” and yes, there’s going to be an amazing list of scholars attending, so I’ll be listening to some great research. But, on top of that, the organizers have set up a poetry slam to tap into our creative side! Attendees were asked to pen a few lines around the question, What makes work worth respecting to you? If you dare, read on…
Continue reading “What makes work worth respecting? A poetic ode”Communicating that Research is Inherently Practical and Applied
Exhorting academics to talk candidly and plainly about their research with broader publics is not exactly new. What IS new, though, in this recent op-ed piece published in the Chronicle of Higher Education, is linking it explicitly to the research-generation goal of a university, which most policymakers and publics seem to be in the dark about, or conflate with imparting particular “skills” for the job market, or “applied” research that answers a localized question in a particular setting (e.g., how can we get legislators in Wyoming to buy into man-made climate change?).
But the goal of research, and academics in general, is deeper than that, the article points out.
Continue reading “Communicating that Research is Inherently Practical and Applied”Graduate Student Publishing: Collaborative Research
Given the increasing importance for both the academic job market and bagging research grants for collaborative research, it’s important to talk about team scholarship processes in some depth. Specifically: when, why, how, and with whom should you collaborate with on a research project?
Continue reading “Graduate Student Publishing: Collaborative Research”How can we “translate” Sustainability effectively?
At the close of my recent talk on “Organizing/Communicating Sustainably” at Central Michigan University, someone in the audience asked me, predictably enough, what hope there was for meaningful systemic change, given the preponderance of cultural, structural, and moral obstacles both in the U.S. and worldwide.
My response hinged around the very communicative concept of translation.
Continue reading “How can we “translate” Sustainability effectively?”
Rahul Mitra 