Ferment in the Intercultural Field

Ferment in the Intercultural Field: Axiology/Value/Praxis, Volume 26 of The International and Intercultural Communication Annual examines how the field of intercultural communication has encouraged new techniques in the area of research. Editors William J. Starosta and Guo-Ming Chen, along with a diverse group of distinguished contributors, recall the 1983 topical issue of The Journal of Communication that reported a critical turn and a shift of paradigms in communication research.

Offering a postmodern critique of some of the more common approaches to research, this volume treats the researcher as an instrument and welcomes multiple voices in research, invites critique and self-reflection, rethinks rhetoric, categorizes research assumptions, and considers the researched a partner in a research conversation. Ferment in the Intercultural Field critiques western perspectives and looks for applications that will improve intercultural frictions and misunderstandings. The volume also includes analyses that speak to "ferment" in terms of axiology, values, and praxis.

Recommended for scholars and researchers in the area of intercultural communication, Ferment in the Intercultural Field is also a vital resource for upper-level undergraduate and graduate communication students.

William J. Starosta, Ph.D., teaches coursework in intercultural communication, qualitative research, and rhetoric at Howard University. He has held elective office in two professional societies and is founding editor of the Howard Journal of Communications. He presently conducts research in inter-ethnic conflict, intercultural rhetoric, and intercultural communication theory.

Guo-Ming Chen, Ph.D., is Professor of Communication Studies at the University of Rhode Island. He was the recipient of the 1987 Outstanding Dissertation Award presented by the SCA International and Intercultural Communication Division. His primary research interests are in intercultural/organizational communication, including the areas of global communication, communication competence, conflict management, and cultural values and language.