A Sample of SIIC: July 16, 2011

H. The Art of Developing Narratives for Intercultural Teaching Lily Arasaratnam and Peter Fordos Though the world is rapidly changing through technological advancements, one of the oldest and most potent ways of communicating still remains the same – namely, storytelling. This workshop is designed to expose the participants to creative ways of drawing intercultural insights from narratives found in motion pictures, documentaries, and stories, as teaching strategies. The workshop will demonstrate how you can use narratives in your intercultural teaching or training by showcasing various examples (for instance, a movie clip, documentary, short story), discussing the intercultural theoretical frameworks that are relevant to the issues raised in each particular story, and demonstrating ways in which the narrative can be used to stimulate discussion and understanding of these intercultural insights. You will also have the opportunity to try your hand at creating scripts to illustrate particular intercultural concepts. The workshop is designed to marry the ancient art of storytelling with modern-day modes of communication. You will walk away with practical applications and effective ways of enhancing your intercultural teaching and training.      Dr. Lily Arasaratnam is the director of the Master of Arts in Christian Studies at Alphacrucis College and a research fellow at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.  Her area of expertise is intercultural communication competence with a background in both psychology and mathematics. Her diversified interests include research on intercultural friendship, intercultural leadership, and the special needs of international students in the university environment. Lily’s recent book, Perception and Communication in Intercultural Spaces, explores how values and beliefs influence communication.         Peter Fordos, an intercultural consultant and trainer, was born in Slovakia (former Czechoslovakia) and presently resides in Los Angeles. He delivers intercultural training for American companies and culture-specific training on Central and Eastern European cultures, including Russia, Poland, Romania, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. Peter’s work has focused on global leadership development, intercultural communication, and global teams. Prior to becoming an intercultural trainer, Peter worked internationally in both the travel and the environmental industries. He speaks fluent Hungarian, Slovak, Czech, and English as well as basic Russian and Polish, and has lived, worked, and traveled in over 50 countries in the past 15 years.