Who is one of “us”? Social markers of acceptance and creating more inclusive societies for migrants

The speaker will begin by describing the research about social markers of acceptance done by his global research team.  Social markers of acceptance are the criteria used by host country nationals when deciding whether to socially accept migrants as members of their communities.  He will explain not only what these criteria are in various countries, but also how these criteria change based upon context (such as perceived migrant contributions and threat) and migrants’ national origin, as well as the impact of such boundary construction processes upon migrants’ mental health. The talk will begin focused on his personal research in Japan, then expand to include findings in Finland, Canada, Singapore, and Australia. After a 1-hour presentation of such findings, the speaker will then act as a facilitator of an interactive discussion with the participants about the role of communication and media in forming images about immigrants among the general public and how such media can contribute, based upon the research findings presented in the first part of the program, to making host societies more accepting of migrants.

Bio of the keynote speaker

Adam Komisarof, PhD, is Professor in Keio University’s Faculty of Letters in Tokyo. His research interests are in intercultural communication, acculturation psychology, and intercultural education. He has spent two sabbaticals at the University of Oxford, first as a Visiting Academic at the Nissan Institute of Japanese Studies (2012-13), and currently at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (CO MPAS). Professor Komisarof has published 3 books, the newest being Crossing Boundaries and Weaving Intercultural Work, Life, and Scholarship in Globalizing Universities (Routledge, with Zhu Hua), as well as numerous journal articles and book chapters. As an intercultural trainer, he has performed scores of workshops over the past 25 years for large companies and governmental organizations in the United States, Japan, Southeast Asia, and Europe. Adam is a Fellow and President of the International Academy for Intercultural Research (www.intercultural-academy.netOpens external), an academic organization dedicated to advancing research in intercultural studies and intergroup understanding in the world.