Robert W. Vaagan

Vaagan had a 20-year career in the Norwegian government and in business before completing his doctoral degree in 1999 in the field of Russian literature: Iskusstvo videt' prekrasnoe: The Literary Aesthetics of Aleksandr Voronsky 1921-28 (463pp). This is an in-depth study of Russian literary journalism during the volatile 1920s in Soviet-Russia.  

In 2000, he joined Oslo Metropolitan University and has subsequently published several monographs, edited anthologies and scientific articles, addressing in particular topics such as intercultural communication, media entrepreneurship and innovation, globalization, media ethics and social media. These publications include two edited special issues of Intercultural Communication Studies (ICS 2008:3 and ICS 2016:1).

Since 2013, he is head of an international research group at Oslo Metropolitan University: Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Media. He has extensive international experience as keynote lecturer and thesis supervisor from Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Croatia, Ethiopia, Germany, Nepal, Netherlands, Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, USA, and Vietnam.

He is a former vice chair of the Norwegian National Committee for Media Studies (2009-13) and chair (2013-17) of the Division for Organization, Communication and Society in the biannual NordMedia conference series. He is also leader of the Norwegian side in several EU-funded projects, notably The European Media Cloud Campus (2015-17) with partners from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, and Turkey. Vaagan joined IAICS in 2006, was a member of the International Advisory Board 2008-13, a member of the board of directors from 2014 and was elected in June 2016 as President Elect 2017-19.

IAICS Presidential Address: Ethics, Globalization and Intercultural Communication

Abstract:  Ethics and intercultural communication are usually discussed in terms of cultural relativity, identity issues and communication and/or value systems (Cleveland 2015; Evanoff 2015; Kale 2015; Young 2015). In response to the call for submissions, which specifically addresses our ethical responsibility as communication scholars, a model developed by the author over the last 15 years is introduced. This model explains why and how different types of ethical dilemmas arise in today´s complex global information and communication system, which is increasingly dominated by the Internet and social media (Vaagan 2010, 2011, 2015). The model, while reflecting a mainly Western vantage point, can have wider significance since it challenges and invites also non-Western perspectives, and thereby can contribute to theorizing and fruitful discussion regarding global intercultural communication and dialogue.