Grant Kien

Grant Kien, Media Studies & Communication Scholar/Consultant

I'€™m a Communication scholar with roots in the Toronto school (specifically Innis, McLuhan & Carey), & influenced by Actor-Network Theorists (Callon, Latour, Law). My scholarly work emphasizes societal impacts of new digital media from a critical cultural perspective (reproduction of labor, identity, digital consumer culture), examining performativity from dyadic face-to-face interactions up through globalized mass-mediation. My research has led me to underscore the individual as the locus of ethical decision-making and the enactor of ethical behavior, regardless of the scale of the social arena. Hence, my secondary area of interest is in a pragmatic concern with Leadership and Interpersonal Communication skills development, informed by an interpretive-interactionist approach to re-envisioning the performance of self in everyday social situations. To sum up: We can’t behave better until we can envision what we’re striving to act like. Otherwise, in the absence of an alternative ‘script’ guiding more utopian behavior, we get caught in a loop of repeating the same mistakes by default (like Gidden’s structuration theory, until we learn something different, we reenact the norms we’ve acquired in previous social situations). Building on the Denzinian school of Sociology, I seek to help people envision and practice themselves differently as social actors, towards more desirable social outcomes. I’m always on the lookout for interesting scholarly research and writing projects that have the potential to take my work in new directions and reveal new insights. In the consulting world, I’m always open for opportunities to deliver specific skills-building workshops (conflict management, persuasive speaking, personal brand development, optimizing teamwork, strategic negotiation), help leaders discover and grab hold of their full potential as inspiring visionaries, and work with organizations desiring to improve or optimize their professional climate and productivity.

VP Communication at San Francisco Bay Illini Club

2008 - 2008

Visiting Professor in Advertising at University of Illinois, Urbana

August 2006 - 2007

Specializing in New Digital Media and Qualitative Methods

Secretary/Treasurer at International Association of Qualitative Inquiry

May 2005 - 2007

Associate Director at International Congress of Qualitative Inquiry

September 2004 - 2007

Technology Consultant at HERE International

2000 - 2002

Purchasing at HMV

1991 - 1995

Assistant Professor of Communication at CSU East Bay

2007

Specializing in New Digital Media Studies and Qualitative Methods

Principal at Grant Leadership & Communication Consulting

October 2007

Coaching and training in: Leadership development Management skills Professional communication skills Team & Organization building & enhancement Efficient meetings Creativity techniques Conflict management Decision-making techniques Negotiation strategy and techniques Organizational Culture 8 kinds of interviewing (including performance review & giving constructive feedback) Media strategy & skills

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

2002 – 2006

PhD

York University

2000 – 2002

MA

Concentration: Communication and Culture

York University

1995 – 1999

BA cum laude with honours

Concentration: Sociology; Social & Political Thought