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IUSB Forum
Welcomes Speakers to Campus
By Samantha Joyce and Tami Martinez
16
Intercultural communication and
media pranks were the focus of the
2011-12 IUSB Forums. In October,
Gottfried Oosterwal, director of the
Center for Intercultural Relations in
Berrien Springs, Mich., presented
“You Just Don’t Understand:
Communicating with People from
Diverse Cultures.” In March, Kembrew
McLeod, associate professor of
communication studies at the
University of Iowa, presented
“The New Market Affair: On Media,
Pranks, and Pedagogy.”
Oosterwal charted the increasing
multiculturalism in today’s society. He
discussed its effects on professional
relationships, outlining the increased
possibilities for misunderstanding and
miscommunication. Through rich,
real-world examples and historical
case studies, Oosterwal stressed
the importance of having cultural
communication competence in
the fields of education, medicine,
business, and politics. A master
storyteller, he related several of
his own experiences with intercultural
communication.
Oosterwal stressed that communication
is more effective when people
attempt to understand one another’s
differences and make accommodation
for those differences in their own
communication. According to
Oosterwal, knowing one’s own cultural
code and recognizing the different
cultural codes of others is important
and necessary in our globalizing world.
Oosterwal is originally from the
Netherlands. He has lived in the
United States for many years
and travels worldwide speaking
on intercultural communication.
He is a consultant to hospitals,
medical schools, medical and
nursing organizations, international
business groups, and governmental
organizations.
In his lecture on media pranks,
McLeod presented an in-depth
discussion on the pedagogical and
political potential of pranks and
discussed his own involvement with
media hoaxes. Some of his pranks
included selling his soul in a glass jar
on EBay, and trademarking the phrase
“Freedom of Expression” and then
threatening AT&T with a cease-anddesist
letter for copyright infringement
for using it in a campaign slogan.
In addition to teaching, McLeod is
a documentary film maker, author,
cultural critic, and self-professed
prankster. McLeod co-produced the
documentary Copyright Criminals,
which aired on PBS’s Emmy Awardwinning
documentary series,
Independent Lens. McLeod’s book,
Freedom of Expression®: Resistance
and Repression in the Age of
Intellectual Property, received the
American Library Association’s Oboler
book award for “best scholarship in the
area of intellectual freedom” in 2006.
Samantha Joyce, assistant professor
of mass communication, and
Tami Martinez, lecturer in
communication arts, organized
the 2012-13 IUSB Forums.