Talk Reveals Workplace Differences in Sectarian Society

Deborah Dunn, Westmont professor of communication studies, explores the challenges of working in a sectarian society in Belfast, Northern Ireland, in the Phi Kappa Phi Paul C. Wilt Address, “Good Work in a Sectarian Society: Articulating Experience and Virtue,” Tuesday, Feb. 24, from 7-8:30 p.m. in Hieronymus Lounge in Kerrwood Hall. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Dunn has spent the past eight years researching organizational communication and grass roots peacemaking efforts in Northern Ireland. Using organizations as case studies, she was able to view challenges faced in the workplace, in particular, a Belfast non-profit organization.

A specialist in organizational communication, Dunn received a doctorate and master’s from the University of Southern California and joined the Westmont faculty in 1997. She teaches courses on conflict and reconciliation, persuasion and propaganda and has led Westmont study-abroad programs to Northern Ireland and South Africa to explore conflicts, dialogue and reconciliation firsthand.

Westmont’s 2008 Teacher of the Year, Dunn has published communication research in various journals and books. She has also won awards from the National Communication Association.