UCSB Chancellor's Breakfast to Focus on Age, Aging, and Communication

Many scholars, including Howard Giles, professor of communication at UC Santa Barbara, suggest that intergenerational communication as a topic of study has not received the attention it deserves. Although aging can be a state of mind or how old we feel, Giles asserts, equally important are the ways in which we communicate with others and they communicate with us.

Guests at a Chancellor's Community Breakfast, hosted by UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang and the UCSB Affiliates, will hear Giles speak on "Talking Age and Aging Talk: Communicative Recipes for Successful Aging" at 7:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 8.

The breakfast will be held at the Santa Barbara Club, 1105 Chapala St. Parking is available. The cost is $20, and includes a full breakfast buffet. Reservations are requested by calling (805) 893-2877. Checks should be made payable to the UC Regents, and mailed to the Office of Public Events, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106.

Giles's current research interests focus on intergenerational communication and lifespan aging, from a cross-cultural perspective, as well as law enforcement-civilian interactions and community policing issues. His research –– which includes studies conducted in areas of the world as diverse as Italy, Bulgaria, Ghana, South Africa, Iran, India, North Vietnam, and Mongolia –– has explored how young and older adults perceive each other when interacting, and the role culture plays in their communications.

In his talk, Giles will also address factors that can lead to successful aging and empowerment.

Giles has been named a Distinguished Scholar by the National Communication Association (NCA). In addition, he received the 2011 Outstanding Journal Article Award for "Psycholinguistic and Social Psychological Components of Communication by Older Adults," which appeared in an issue of the journal Language and Communication. The award, presented by the NCA's Communication and Aging Division, recognizes an article's overall contribution to that area of study. Giles's co-authors included communication scholars Ellen Bouchard Ryan, Giampiero Bertolucci, and Karen Henwood.

In 2005-06, the UCSB faculty bestowed its highest honor on Giles, presenting him with the Faculty Research Lectureship award for his significant scholarship.

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