Bridges of Understanding: Connecting Cultures Through Communication & Information
March 24-28, 2025
Intercultural Week is a collection of events that bridge cultural gaps, promote inclusivity, and enrich participants’ understanding of the world’s diverse cultural landscape. The series of activities are designed to encourage respectful curiosity and active participation by CCI students, faculty, staff, alumni, and other stakeholders.
Through the intentional celebration, appreciation, and promotion of our diverse CCI community, we work to develop and maintain a college culture where access and engagement are vital for creating a sense of belonging and togetherness for all CCI members. The events include cultural exhibits, workshops and seminars, food festivals, artistic performances, discussion panels, language activities, and other cultural exchanges.
Monday, March 24
Opening Ceremony
Building an Inclusive Community: Library Core Values as a Foundation
8:30-11 am in Frieson Black Cultural Center Rooms 102/3/4
Keynote Speaker: Associate Professor Shannon M. Oltmann is an associate professor and program coordinator in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky. She obtained her PhD from Indiana University. Her research interests include intellectual freedom, information precarity, and qualitative research methods. She wrote the book Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries and edited The Fight Against Book Bans: Perspectives from the Field. Oltmann’s work has been funded by the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She studies the implementation of and resistance to censorship in libraries and other spaces. Another stream of work investigates information precarity, a lack of information and resources brought about by systemic marginalization. Oltmann has won several awards, including the Kentucky Intellectual Freedom Award, the Faculty Service Award, the Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Public Research, and the McJulien Scholar Award.
Session Description: Libraries of all types are important civic institutions, but recently many of their routine practices have come under increasing scrutiny. How do they decide which books to place on the shelves? How do they effectively engage all in their community? This talk will highlight the importance of librarian core values and demonstrate how these values guide library practices—and how they can serve as a foundation for building a more inclusive and equitable community. Relying on our core values as a community of learners can provide insight into strengthening the bonds that unite us.
Registration Required: Yes
Private Session with Dr. Oltmann
Noon-1 pm in Frieson Black Cultural Center Room 216
Facilitator: Shannon M. Oltmann is an associate professor and program coordinator in the School of Information Science at the University of Kentucky. She obtained her PhD from Indiana University. Her research interests include intellectual freedom, information precarity, and qualitative research methods. She wrote the book Practicing Intellectual Freedom in Libraries and edited The Fight Against Book Bans: Perspectives from the Field. Oltmann’s work has been funded by the American Library Association and the Institute of Museum and Library Services. She studies the implementation of and resistance to censorship in libraries and other spaces. Another stream of work investigates information precarity, a lack of information and resources brought about by systemic marginalization. Oltmann has won several awards, including the Kentucky Intellectual Freedom Award, the Faculty Service Award, the Jesse H. Shera Award for Distinguished Public Research, and the McJulien Scholar Award.
Session Title: Private Session with Dr. Oltmann
Session Description: Oltmann will host an exclusive session for doctoral students in CCI.
Registration Required: Yes
From Awareness to Action: Strengthening Your Intercultural Competency
1:30-2:30 pm, International House Room 211
Facilitator: International House Staff
Session Description: Join us for a dynamic session focused on developing the skills needed to navigate and engage with diverse cultures. Through interactive activities and discussions, you’ll learn to enhance your intercultural awareness, foster inclusivity, and communicate effectively across cultural boundaries. Perfect for anyone looking to improve their global mindset and build stronger connections in today’s diverse world.
Registration Required: No
Queer Conversations in CCI: Bridging Professionalism and Personhood
2:30-3:30 pm in Zoom: https://tiny.utk.edu/qc_cci
Facilitator: Calantha Tillotson (UT Libraries), Ryan Beatty, Avery Bane, Lilly Van Alsburg
Session Description: Please join us on Monday, March 24, at 3 pm for a virtual panel of current CCI students and alumni discussing their lived experiences as LGBTQ+ individuals entering their respective professions in the fields of communication and information. The panel will be followed by small group discussions for attendees to give voice to their own experiences as members of the LGBTQ+ community and/or allies in academia.
Registration Required: Yes
Around the World Potluck: Foodie Finder Feature
6-8 pm in Communication and Information Building Room 402G
Facilitator: Access and Engagement Committee
Session Description: Join us on a global culinary journey where we explore the vibrant flavors and unique dishes from every corner of the world. Perfect for food lovers, adventurers, and anyone looking to expand their palate!
Registration Required: No
Tuesday, March 25
Cutting the curb: Why digital accessibility serves everyone
10-11 am in Communication and Information Building Room 460
Facilitator: Hillary S. Meeks Tune (’22)
Bio: Hillary S. Meeks Tune, communications manager for the College of Communication and Information, writes and edits communications content for the college’s various platforms and she also builds the college’s websites with designs based on user experience (UX) research as well as UX design best practices. She moved into this position in 2022 after working as a communications specialist for the School of Information Sciences, which she started in 2019 as her first position at UT. She graduated with her Master of Science in Information Sciences in summer 2022, focusing on UX design. Prior to her career as a content creator, she worked as a print and digital journalist for 10 years in Texas and California.
Session Description: Learn about what digital accessibility is and why we all benefit from it when it is incorporated into our processes and brains. From never using UT orange text digitally to understanding why PDFs should be a last resort, this session will help you incorporate accessibility best practices into your digital work. Gain a new perspective on why accessibility should be one of the first things you think about instead of one of the last.
Registration Required: No
Visualizing Cultural Data
2:30-3:30 pm in Communication and Information Building Room 402G
Facilitator: Jiangen He
Bio: Jiangen He is an assistant professor at the School of Information Sciences, the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Before pursuing his career in academia, he worked as a development engineer at Tencent Inc. for two years. His teaching interests include information visualization, data analytics, and databases. His research interests span across science of science, human-AI interaction, and information visualization. His research focuses on the intersection of artificial intelligence, people, and science. He investigates how machine and human biases influence decision-making and information behavior and explores strategies to mitigate these biases. Additionally, he examines the impact of AI on knowledge creation in science and applies AI and visualization techniques to enhance the accessibility of scientific knowledge. He is also interested in diversity and ethical issues in scientific collaboration and mobility. His research in science of science is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Session Description: This workshop will showcase visualizations of cultural data. Participants can learn how to represent demographic, social, and economic data visually and understand the significance of these representations in fostering intercultural understanding.
Registration Required: No
CANCELLED – ASL Workshop
This session is cancelled
Facilitator: Lara Whitfield-Garfinkel (Knoxville Center for the Deaf)
Bio: Traveling around the world in style with the fam bi-yearly. Whitfield-Garfinkel is a mother of three, and a coffee/cheese connoisseur, goes to Kona Island for their coffee and to Zaanse Schans, Holland, for their cheese. She found her own 23andMe DNA in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Looking for best pizza it’s not New York, go to Rome, Italy, and to witness the most breathtaking bubblegum sunset, book a flight to Montego Bay, Jamaica. Huge believer of supporting Deaf-owned businesses first and foremost, perfect example—Knoxville Center of the Deaf. Her mission with Knoxville Center of the Deaf is to make the difference in transparency with Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late-hearing, and DeafBlind to bring the community into one and to assure that clients will get the services that they deserve.
Session Description: Join us for an engaging ASL (American Sign Language) workshop designed for beginners and those looking to enhance their skills. Learn the basics of ASL, including essential vocabulary, phrases, and grammar, in a fun and interactive environment. Whether you’re starting from scratch or refining your skills, this workshop is a great opportunity to connect with others and explore the rich culture of the Deaf community.
Registration Required: No
Howard Baker’s America: Screening & Discussion
6-8 PM in Communication and Information Building Room 321
Facilitator: Nick Geider (Land Grant Films)
Session Description: This is a screening and discussion of Baker’s America, a film produced by CCI’s Land Grant Films.
Registration Required: Yes
Wednesday, March 26
Homelands: Connecting to Mounds through Native Art
9-10:30 am in McClung Museum
Facilitator: The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture
Org Bio: The McClung Museum of Natural History and Culture is located on Circle Park Drive and is a proud part of UT Knoxville’s campus community. Free and open to the public, the museum houses diverse collections, conducts world-class research, provides public programming, and showcases award-winning exhibitions.
The mission of the McClung is to share stories and facilitate the exchange of ideas to awaken curiosity in service of the university and communities connected to Tennessee.
Session Description: To communicate across cultures, we must first consider how we listen. Join the McClung Museum for a special tour of Homelands, an exhibition deeply rooted in listening and collaboration with four Native Nations. From the beginning, Native voices were central to shaping Homelands.
After years of collaborative work with representatives from Cherokee Nation, Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and Muscogee (Creek) Nation, Homelands provides a platform for Native artists and co-curators to speak directly to the museum’s audience, sharing their perspectives on the cultural and spiritual significance of mounds.
By visiting the exhibition, you will explore how individualism and community can be uniquely expressed through art, particularly when self-representation takes center stage. To allow for reflection, the tour will be followed by a hands-on activity. The tour will involve walking and standing. We have portable stools and sensory kits available for interested guests.
Social Informatics: A Gateway to Diversity
11-11:30 am, on Zoom: https://tennessee.zoom.us/j/81363292635
Facilitator: School of Information Sciences Professor Devendra Potnis
Session Description: Explore the interplay between people, technology, organizations, and information, using examples from around the world. This session will demonstrate how a graduate course can equip students with the skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the global society.
Registration Required: No
Talking Back on our Terms: Narrative Sovereignty in the Arts, Archives, and American Journalism
noon-1 pm Zoom and Communication and Information Building Room 460
Facilitator: Melissa Greene-Blye (’20)
Bio: Melissa Greene-Blye (’20), PhD, Miami Tribe of Oklahomaworked as an anchor and reporter for 20 years in the news business covering local news in television markets big and small. Her research examines journalistic representations and negotiations of American Indian identity past and present. Melissa believes strongly in connecting her scholarship to community and using her knowledge and experience to raise up the next generation of Native storytellers. She does this by serving as faculty supervisor for Good Morning Indian Country, an award-winning, Native student-led weekly news and information program, and in her role as creator and co-director of the KU Native Storytelling Workshop.
Special Guest: Katy Malone (McClung Museum)
Session Description: This discussion will highlight the importance and necessity of narrative sovereignty, a cornerstone concept which recognizes the right of Native persons and communities to tell their stories, in their way, and in their voice. For too long, our stories have been told by others, leading to stories that are about us, but don’t include us, yielding representations rife in misunderstanding, misrepresentation, and lacking accountability, accuracy, and authenticity.
The phrase, “nothing about us without us is for us,” the creation of which is credited to the South African disability rights advocacy movement, is central to this conversation. In creating space for narrative sovereignty, we must ask and examine answers to the questions of who has the right to do the work of telling these stories.Issues of Indigenous identity are complex and multi-layered, and engagement with the ways in which Native identity has been defined and appropriated in scholarship and in media must also be examined, but in a way that defers to the sovereign right of Native communities to define who belongs based on their unique histories and criteria.
Raising awareness of this moment—described by some as a “Native Renaissance”—is an important way for Indigenous artists, content creators, and storytellers to talk back to what has been while simultaneously forging a path forward to take back what has, for too long, been co-opted by others.
Registration Required: No
UT and the 2024 Paralympic Games: Covering disability, sports and society for the USA Today
3-4 pm in Communication and Information Building Room 460
Facilitators: Erin Whiteside, Gabriel Jackson, Anna McClure, Jaxx Fox, Isaiah West
Session Description: In 2024, a group of 12 CCI students and faculty covered the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris for the USA Today Network. This session will highlight those experiences with a special focus on lessons learned from covering the intersection of sports and disability.
Registration Required: No
Global Exchange: The Ultimate Trivia Challenge
6-8 pm in Communication and Information Building Room 402G
Facilitators: Communication and Information Leadership Collective and CCI’s First-Generation Student Alliance
Session Description: Test your knowledge and explore the world through fun and challenging questions at Cultural Trivia Night! From ancient history and iconic landmarks to world traditions and pop culture, this session celebrates the rich diversity of global heritage. Whether you’re a trivia master or a curious learner, join us for an engaging evening of friendly competition and cultural discovery!
Registration Required: No
Thursday, March 27
Global Innovators: A Cultural Tech Exchange
1-2 pm in the iLab, Communication and Information Building Room 227
Facilitator: Access and Engagement Committee
Session Description: Join us where culture and technology collide! This dynamic fair showcases cutting-edge innovations from around the world, highlighting how technology is shaping cultures, enhancing communication, and driving global progress. Explore interactive exhibits, live demos, and thought-provoking discussions on the future of tech in a connected world. Perfect for tech enthusiasts, innovators, and curious minds!
Participant Registration: Yes
Perspectives in Motion: A Cross-Cultural Debate Exhibition
2-3 pm Communication and Information Building Room 402G
Facilitator: Abbey Barnes and the Tennessee Speech and Debate Society
About TSDS: The Tennessee Speech and Debate society is UT’s only competitive speech and debate team. We compete in International Public Debate Association (IPDA) style public debate and individual event (IE) style speaking and are open to all students regardless of major, debate experience, or speaking skill. TSDS travels to tournaments over approximately 10 weekends to compete with other schools across the nation, free of charge to members.
The University of Tennessee Speech and Debate Society believes that excellent communication skills and the ability to have civil discourse are essential for empowering engaged citizens, skilled professionals, and honorable leaders in a global society. We connect, support, and inspire a diverse group of University of Tennessee students committed to excellence through competitive speech and debate activities.
Session Description: Join us for an engaging exhibition debate featuring members of the Tennessee Speech and Debate Society as they tackle pressing intercultural issues. In this session, skilled debaters will demonstrate the art of formal argumentation while exploring diverse cultural perspectives and challenging conventional viewpoints. Through structured discourse and thoughtful analysis, participants will witness how complex cultural topics can be examined through multiple lenses.
This session offers a unique opportunity to observe how structured dialogue can bridge different worldviews. The debate will be followed by a brief Q&A session, allowing audience members to engage with the debaters and explore the topics further.
Registration Required: No
Social Dilemma: Screening & Discussion
6-8 pm in Communication and Information Building Room 402G
Facilitator: Access and Engagement Committee
Session Description: Join us for a screening of The Social Dilemma, followed by an insightful discussion on the impact of social media on our lives. This thought-provoking documentary delves into the dangers of technology and its influence on society, mental health, and democracy. Come share your thoughts, ask questions, and explore ways to navigate the digital world responsibly.
Registration Required: No
Friday, March 28
Private Session with Mrs. Phillips
11 am-noon in Communication and Information Building Room 345
Facilitator: Jerica Phillips
Bio: Jerica Phillips recently accepted a role as the vice president of global communications at the Alzheimer’s Association, continuing her passion for community advocacy. She previously served at ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital leading media relations and reputation management.
Her career journey includes her tenure as the chief of communications and broadcast services for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where she was a strategist and storyteller for Tennessee’s largest school district. Additionally, Jerica spent more than a decade as an anchor and reporter for Memphis’ NBC affiliate, WMC.
A native of Memphis, she holds a degree in Communications from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Digital Marketing Strategy certification from Harvard Business School. Outside of her professional life, Jerica enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, southern cuisine, and dancing.
Session Description: Phillips will host an exclusive session for undergraduate and master’s students in CCI.
Registration Required: Yes
Closing Ceremony
Diverse Voices: Enhancing Intercultural Communication
1-3 pm in the International House Great Room
Keynote Speaker: Jerica Phillips (’08)
Bio: Jerica Phillips recently accepted a role as the vice president of global communications at the Alzheimer’s Association, continuing her passion for community advocacy. She previously served at ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital leading media relations and reputation management.
Her career journey includes her tenure as the chief of communications and broadcast services for Memphis-Shelby County Schools, where she was a strategist and storyteller for Tennessee’s largest school district. Additionally, Jerica spent more than a decade as an anchor and reporter for Memphis’ NBC affiliate, WMC.
A native of Memphis, she holds a degree in Communications from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and a Digital Marketing Strategy certification from Harvard Business School. Outside of her professional life, Jerica enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, southern cuisine, and dancing.
Session Description:
- Understanding Cultural Diversity: Emphasizing the importance of recognizing and valuing the rich diversity of cultures in our globalized world.
- Effective Communication Skills: Highlighting strategies for improving communication across cultural boundaries, including active listening, empathy, and adaptability.
- Overcoming Stereotypes and Biases: Discussing ways to identify and challenge personal biases and stereotypes that can hinder intercultural understanding.
- Building Inclusive Environments: Exploring methods to create inclusive and respectful spaces that encourage open dialogue and mutual respect.
- Practical Applications: Offering practical tips and real-world examples of successful intercultural communication in various settings, such as academic, professional, and social environments.
- Continuous Learning: Encouraging a commitment to lifelong learning and personal growth to enhance intercultural competence and communication skills.
Registration Required: Yes
Special Performance by: Strange Fruit Dance Company