Spring Colloquium Schedule

Once again, the CMS community has an exciting schedule of presentations as part of the spring colloquium series. These talks showcase some of the most timely, relevant, and meaningful research across the field of Communication Studies. The colloquium series aims to bring a diverse set of leading scholars to the Forty Acres and create opportunities for generative discussions that inform and complement the ongoing work of our department.

All members of the CMS community are invited to attend these events and we’ll update this article with additional information as the semester progresses.

Upcoming Presentations:

March 25: “Invisible work, invisible workers, and the work of care” Dr. Kirstie McAllum, Université de Montréal CMA 3.116, 1:00-2:15pm

Abstract
Most research on invisible work treats invisibility as a threat to workers’ personal dignity and an obstacle to obtaining appropriate rewards and recognition, especially when labor is un(der)paid, occurs back-stage, and tasks are devalued or stigmatized. Such work usually conceptualizes invisibility as an attribute associated with specific types of jobs (e.g., caregiving for older adults who are losing their autonomy, cleaning, or domestic work), spaces (e.g., home), or categories of workers (e.g., women, immigrants). In this talk, I propose that viewing invisibility as a performance rather than an attribute allows us to analyze how and when workers make their work in/visible to different audiences. Using examples from three projects on the work of care, I assess the consequences of these choices for care organizing, collective resilience, external support, and occupational prestige.

Bio
Kirstie McAllum (PhD in organizational communication, University of Waikato, New Zealand) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication at the Université de Montréal, Canada and a regular research member of the Centre for Research and Expertise in Social Gerontology in Montreal. Her research focuses on the meanings of non-standard work, the communicative patterns of collaboration and conflict, and care organizing in multiple health and social care contexts.

April 13: “Studying AsiaPacifiQueer Communication: Autoethnographic Critique of Japanese Queer Reimagining(s) of Hawai’I” Dr. Shinsuke Eguchi, University of New Mexico CMA 5.136, 1:00 – 2:15pm

Abstract
Given the significance of Japaneseness that fantasizes Hawai’i, I turn my attention to the self that implicates the social, cultural, political, and historical in this essay. Specifically, I perform an autoethnography that interrogates my Japanese queer reimagining(s) of Hawai’i as I juxtapose my question and critique of the self to Japanese lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender-queer (LGBTQ) YouTube vlogger-created contents of Hawai’i. Doing so, I problematize my implications of participating in the settler colonialism. By highlighting communication, I build on Martin, Jackson, McLelland, and Yue (2008)’s notion of AsiaPacifiQueer that examines intra/inter-regional flows of minoritized sexualities and genders in and across Asia and Pacific.

Bio
Shinsuke Eguchi (Ph.D., Howard University) is Associate Professor in the Department of Communication and Journalism at the University of New Mexico. Their research interests focus on global and transcultural studies, queer of color critique, intersectionality and racialized gender politics, Asian/American studies, and performance studies. Their recent solo-authored and co-authored work will appear or has appeared for publication in Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, Review of Communication, Western Journal of Communication, Women’s Studies in Communication, and Journal of Homosexuality. Their solo-authored monograph Asians loving Asians: Sticky Rice Homoeroticism and Queer Politics was released in January 2022. They are a recipient of the 2019 Randy Majors Award - recognizing an individual who has made outstanding contributions to LGBT scholarship in Communication - bestowed by National Communication Association’s Caucus on GLBT Concerns. And they are currently serving as the First Vice President of the Western States Communication Association (WSCA).

Past Presentations:

February 24: “Undocumented High School and College Students’ Resilience: Exploring the Complex Connections between Structural Barriers, Mental Health, and Interpersonal Communication” Dr. Jennifer Kam, University of California at Santa Barbara

Bio
Dr. Kam (Professor, Department of Communication, UCSB) uses quantitative and qualitative methods to examine the ways in which stressors—stemming from racial/ethnic marginalization, immigration, and acculturation – relate to immigrant youth’s academic, mental, and physical well-being. Much of Dr. Kam’s work utilizes a stress-resilience-thriving framework to identify individual (e.g., psychological and individual actions), interpersonal (e.g., communication with family, teachers, counselors, friends), and institutional (e.g., schools and universities) level factors that can buffer against the stressors and/or directly promote academic, mental, and physical well-being. She hopes her research findings can inform the design of culturally-grounded programs, services, and other resources intended to enhance the health and well-being of immigrant youth from underserved backgrounds.