Robert W. Vaagan, PhD, is Professor in Media Studies and Journalism, Faculty of Social
Sciences, with Oslo Metropolitan University.
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.