John R. Baldwin

Professor of Communication, Illinois State University

Director, Communication Studies Unit, School of Communication, ISU

Chair, International and Intercultural Division, National Communication Association

Updated 10/02/08

This page is designed to serve my students at Illinois State University and to provide information to those who wish to know more about what I teach or do here at ISU. My main focus as a teacher is intercultural communication, although I have taught courses in nonverbal communication, public speaking (the "basic course"), introduction to knowledge ("Foundations of Inquiry"), and qualitative research.

Currently, I am teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in intercultural and intergroup communication, communication theory, and qualitative communication research methods. I am also director of the Communication Studies Unit, which relates to the undergraduate major focusing on the producing and consuming of face-to-face messages.

Research Interests:

Intercultural/Intergroup Communication and Tolerance: My research interests usually involve culture or groupness in some way. For example, my masters' thesis was on interethnic marriages (Anglo-Latino). In my dissertation, I investigated how Caucasian Americans perceive the terms "race" and what behaviors they perceive to be "racist." In various research projects, I am looking at the link between communication behaviors and stereotypes, at cross-cultural understandings of sexual harassment, at communicative strategies in interethnic romances, and at different ethnic perspectives at what constitutes "racism."

Multidisciplinary Understandings of Culture: In different essays and a recent book on the definition of culture (Lawrence Erlbaum Publishers), I strive to see how different disciplinary views, as well as different methods and even different assumptions about the world can inform our understandings of the nature of culture and of intolerance, such as racism and sexism.

Latin American Studies: I am also interested in communication in Latin America (Brazil specifically) and the social construction of gender and “race” in Latin America. With knowledge of both Spanish and Portuguese, I have made presentations on Latin American communication and relationship patterns. I have published essays on the social construction of gender in Brazil and Latin America and done several presentations on the construction of “race,” particularly in Brazil. I am currently doing some consulting in Brazilian culture and language (teaching Portuguese to local business professionals). My next major research agenda will be to look at the social construction of “race” in Música Popular Brasileira (popular Brazilian music), and then to focus in on how it is negotiated in the work of specific artists, like Milton Nascimento, Gilberto Gil, the Paralamas de Successo, and Legião Urbana.

My philosophy

I believe that to understand most things in our society, we need to move beyond the walls of our own disciplines, to work together, to weave understanding from the threads of different methodologies and perspectives. And my faith in a Creator-God who cares about all people equally drives my desire to promote tolerance through my research and teaching.

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Note: Due to the limited space the University allows me on this server, I have been forced to take many of my pages offline. If you find a dead link, please contact me directly and, if it is available, I will supply you the webpage.