Pioneering program in international communication plans to expand
When AU launched its program in international communication, not only was there no Internet; the dot-dot-dash of the telegraph was still the fastest way to communicate with much of the world. Cable television didn’t exist. And the throngs of American tourists, development workers, and international businesspeople who now crisscross the globe were just beginning to form.
There were also no programs in international communication. AU’s was the first specialized degree program in the field.
That was back in 1968. “We pioneered not only the curriculum, but pioneered the field of study,” notes Shalini Venturelli, who became the program’s new director in January. Now the School of International Service (SIS) is home to what is almost certainly the largest concentration of faculty devoted to the subject in the world.
It’s already a large program, and it has plans for expansion. The number of tenure-track faculty and professional adjunct faculty are set to increase under the program’s strategic plan, Venturelli says, as are the number of skills institutes. Already, it serves a huge number of students, from the 50 or so master’s degree candidates admitted annually to even larger numbers of undergraduates taking general education courses and electives.
The Intercultural Management Institute is part of the program; so are the university’s courses in cross-cultural communication.
Students can delve into eight areas of concentration: communication in the context of global issues, policy, development, intercultural relations, conflict and cooperation, information technology, foreign policy and public diplomacy, and research and analysis.
The program’s core faculty are founder Hamid Mowlana, Christine Chin, Carolyn Gallaher, Marwan Kraidy, Nanette Levinson, Clarence Lusane, Randolph Persaud, Gary Weaver, and Venturelli.
“The early decision in our school in the late 1960s that international communication plays a central role in the international system has been vindicated with time,” says Venturelli. “It was very prescient.”
Related Link: Scholar sees communication as keystone of democracy
| |
Vol 1. Issue 3 |
March/April 2006 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
External Links SIS Faculty, Students, Staff in the News SIS Career Center Surf the Career Center's Web site for the latest jobs and internships. |
|
 |
For story ideas or to post your SIS-related event to our calendar Contact
Kwin Mosby at: mosby@american.edu
or |
