Post-event Blurb

The New SIG Inaugurated!

BAAL-IC-2010-Opening-Tony Young

The two day seminar, superbly hosted by Donna Humphrey and everyone at Nottingham Trent University on May 27^th and 28^th was a purposefully small and focused event which brought together educators and researchers to explore key questions in applied IC theory. 

Excellent keynotes were contributed by Professor Karen Risager of Roskilde Universitet, Denmark, Dr Alan Firth of Newcastle University, UK and by Professor John Corbett of University of Glasgow, UK.   We also had a range of other contributors who shared their research, either as works in progress or as the finished item.  Many thanks to all our contributors for giving of themselves and their work so freely and generously.

Discussion (free, frank and sometimes funny) centred around key concerns of the SIG, and of everyone who lives in the place where intercultural communication and Applied linguistics meet:

•  How can we study groups without a priori categorisation?
• To what extent is multimodality/mixed methodology desirable/possible/necessary in IC research?
• ‘Hofstedean’ analysis is so seductive for many of our students, why is this the case, and what are its implications for teaching and research?
• To what extent is it possible to apply three identifiable but competing paradigms: the social science, interpretive and critical approach to research and practice?
• Is essentialism essential in IC research?
• What are the implications of non-western perspectives on human communication for theory and practice?

For our conclusions and controversies – please see the papers and PowerPoint slides via the link below.

Full Programme

Tony Young
BAALICSIG Coordinator