Communicating the complex: Creating change in public understanding of cultural and societal issues
In connection with the release of the online course, EXCPE 6000 Strategic Framing, the Faculty of Extension is honoured to welcome Professor Bradd Shore from Emory University to present on methods for more effective public communication of cultural and societal issues.
Professor Shore's upcoming presentations are aimed at communication professionals and decision makers in private, public, or non-for-profit sectors, those involved in public policy fields such as healthcare, education, or social services, or anyone interested in how to be more effective in using communications to influence public opinion and policy.
RSVP - Reserve your tickets for these presentations today
Thursday, November 19, 2015
Thinking through culture: The power of cultural models of understanding and communication
Professor Bradd Shore
12-1 p.m.
Main campus, 1-182 ECHA
Professor Shore will discuss the diverse formats and functions of cultural models and illustrate their profound effect on how people understand social issues and, in turn, how people communicate. The presentation will focus on the importance of the metaphor and the practical application of cultural models to improve how we publicly communicate social issues.
Presentation Abstract
We know that the world is populated by many different "cultures." But what exactly is culture? Coming up with a satisfactory theory of culture has proven challenging in Anthropology. Using the idea of cultural models, cognitively oriented anthropologists have provided a way to understand culture as both a social fact, in the world and a cognitive fact, in the mind. This talk will outline the diverse formats and functions of cultural models and illustrate their profound effect on how people understand social issues and, in turn, how we effectively communicate. Among the many kinds of cultural models that humans rely on, the talk will focus on the importance of metaphor in how people understand and communicate ideas. The talk will discuss practical applications of cultural models in improving the way we communicate about social issues with the public.
Thursday, November 19, 2015
How cultural models shape communication and meaning: Using patterns of thinking to improve communications practice
Professor Bradd Shore
Networking reception: 5:30-6 p.m.
Presentation: 6-7 p.m.
Enterprise Square, 10230 Jasper Ave
Room L-046
Professor Shore will draw upon anthropological research to suggest that language builds cultural assumptions into the structure of how humans talk. The presentation will highlight how invisible metaphors that are embedded in speech unconsciously shape our everyday communication and thinking. With this understanding, Professor Shore will then discuss practical applications on how we can effectively improve the way we publicly communicate social issues.
Presentation Abstract
For those of us who wear glasses, we can choose to focus on our lenses or on what is visible through the lenses. But we can't do both at the same time. Usually, we would rather look at the world and ignore the lenses. We seem to experience the world in a direct way. Rarely does it occur to us that our everyday experiences are filtered through a wide array of cultural lenses. In Anthropology these cultural filters are known as "cultural models." This talk will draw on anthropological research into "cultural models" to suggest how language builds cultural assumptions into the very structure of human talk. It will highlight the way in which "invisible" metaphors embedded in our speech unconsciously shape our everyday communication and thinking. It will then discuss practical applications of these ideas and how the idea of cultural models can improve the way we communicate about social issues with the public.
Speaker Biography
Bradd Shore is Goodrich C. White Professor of Anthropology at Emory University and Chair of Emory's Anthropology Department where he has taught since 1982. He is the author of four books and many articles in cognitive and psychological anthropology. Among his books areCulture in Mind: Culture, Cognition and the Problem of Meaning (Oxford University Press) and How Culture Means (The Heinz Werner Lectures, Clark University Press). For a decade Prof. Shore was the director of Emory's Center on Myth and Ritual in American Culture (A Sloan Center on Working Families). He is past president of The Society for Psychological Anthropology. Shore is a winner of the Emory Williams Teaching Award for distinguished teaching at Emory and was the inaugural holder of the Emory College Distinguished Teaching Chair in the Social Sciences.
Both Professor Shore and his work are deeply connected to the FrameWorks Institute. As a pioneer of cultural models theory, Professor Shore's research is the cornerstone of FrameWorks' Strategic Frame Analysis approach to communications. As core features of understanding and meaning making FrameWorks studies the cultural models that people bring to bear in thinking about social and scientific issues and explores the implications of these structures of meaning for those seeking to more effectively communicate information and ideas. FrameWorks' prescriptive reframing work focuses on developing and testing strategies that work at the level of cultural models-pulling certain ways of looking at the world forward while backgrounding understandings that prevent people from accessing and engaging with information or new ideas in productive ways. Professor Shore has mentored multiple FrameWorks researchers and frequently serves as senior advisor in FrameWorks research conferrals and theory building sessions. Professor Shore's work lies at the heart of Strategic Frame Analysis and is integral in designing communications that take culture seriously.