The Department of Communication hosted M. Cornejo, Ph.D., Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University and Ignacio Fernandez Cruz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Communication in the School of Communication at Northwestern University to share their knowledge and stories during the 5th annual Michigan State University Excellence in Communication Scholarship Speaker Series on March 14.
This year's series continues the annual tradition that exhibits the work and analysis of leading communication scholars from various universities and institutions.
Cornejo's research examines the structural barriers that result in the health and societal inequities among legally objectified migrants (e.g., undocumented immigrants, immigrants in immigration detention) and how they draw on communication identity management and advocacy strategies to challenge those inequities. Published in leading journals, Cornejo's research aims to understand how the strategies employed by legally objectified migrants—to obtain humanization in the United States (USA)—impact their health and overall well-being.
Cruz leads the Org Futures Research Lab at Northwestern University to study how communication and emerging technologies including AI, impact the nature of work. His border research investigates how digital technologies and platforms transform work arrangements and reshape personnel practices.
ComArtSci had the opportunity to speak with the communication scholars before appearing on the main stage.
Voices in Immigration Detention: The Communication Experiences of Formerly Detained Latino Migrant Men
"As I was preparing for the talk, I was trying to find a way to establish at least a common understanding," Cornejo said. "My work looks at migrants, particularly legally objectified migrants who are in various forms repressed because of their immigration statuses." Cornejo noted that some of these conversations are difficult to navigate due to the current political climate in the United States and abroad. "Taking a human rights approach is central to my work because all of us need to care about these issues as a community. That should be part of academic scholarship and our social nations. We need to understand that."
Cornejo, a multi-method scholar, described how the research process can be used to facilitate the breaking of barriers for migrants who suffer from inhumane living conditions inside United States detention centers.
"I have used longitudinal survey methods, qualitative and ethnographic research. My scholarship is trying to build a strong foundation for communication theory as well as future scholarship in other disciplines," Cornejo said. "My current research qualitatively examines the experiences of detained migrants and the communication process that exist within immigration detention centers. Subsequently, these findings will be used to develop longitudinal surveys grounded in the experiences of detained migrants. For the study I highlighted in my talk, we conducted interviews with approximately 23 Latino men and around 10 women. It was successful, although I do want to highlight some barriers, which is why all of us need to be aware of this scholarship."
"The challenges include accessing migrants while in immigration detention to learn about their experiences. Given various institutional limitations, we were unable to access migrants in immigration detention. Instead, to learn about migrants' incarceration experiences, we had to wait for migrants' release to gather information about their experiences in immigration detention centers. This highlights a gap in understanding how our immigration officials and detention staff are treating asylum seekers and refugees during their immigration detention, as well as issues with transparency among immigration procedures, which impact the lives of migrants in immigration detention. Finally, I will note that although the USA uses terms such as "immigration detention centers," these are akin to criminal prisons, and we should be calling these places—used to hold asylum seekers, refugees and marginalized migrant communities—immigration incarceration camps, given the parallels the carceral system. Unlike our criminal incarceration process, however, migrants in immigration detention are exempt from legal dues process; this further highlights the importance of understanding migrants' treatment within immigration incarceration camps."
"When we think about the migration experiences, we often think of migrants coming from Latin America. However, the migration experience is broader than that," Cornejo said. "This speaker series is a great example of migration. We're coming here from different places to give a talk. I believe it's essential for all of us to recognize that migration is a fundamental human right. My overall aim is to cultivate that awareness among our academic and social circles while also expanding communication scholarship and, hopefully, making changes at a broader societal level."
Evolving Expertise Toward an Understanding of Technomediated Expertise and the Future of Work
"MSU has a storied tradition in the field of organizational communication," Cruz said. "I study organizations and how communication impacts organizations, how communication makes up how we organize and do our work. I think it's quite exciting to be here to engage with people who have shaped the field." Cruz was particularly looking forward to exchanging different perspectives throughout the event. "I think when we do research, we often do our work in our bubbles and often it's quite refreshing and valuable to learn from others studying similar issues."
From Cruz's perspective, technology is an actor in a social environment, shifting the way we perform tasks. Cruz brings awareness to that as an important process that shouldn't be overlooked. "We have known for decades that technology shapes the way we do work—in modern times think about the typewriter to the personal computer to mobile technology," Cruz added. "When we build technology, we just don't build it objectively. For example, I find that in many cases when someone applies for a job today, their resume gets evaluated by an algorithm to determine how likely they are to succeed in that role. Different qualities are important, but those factors don't just pop out of thin air. People around a table have to decide what factors are important. People have to decide what makes a "good candidate." If we're talking about employment, think about when someone applies for a job, you're impacting their livelihood. Technology wields power."
Cruz's lecture sparked a discussion about potential tensions between companies and employees.
"We have this understanding that in the workplace; there is a social construct contract between tensions. Employees want flexibility, and companies want to create efficient workflows. Employees want to maximize their salaries while companies want to save money," Cruz explained. "When we think about the use of AI, we want to retain and make decisions that are meaningful, impactful and good. But at the same time, we don't have the time, the ability or the cognitive energy to go through all this data to make these decisions. Exploring that tension and having folks in the room who are listening and who understand what parts make up that tension is essential. Try to try to think, 'Where am I fitting in this tension? What do I have control over? Does this align with my values?' The first step here is to understand it as an ecosystem. It's not that you are using a tool, it's a tool that a certain company, a certain stakeholder, developed with certain motives and values. These tools have an impact on us. I believe thinking about it in that way pushes meaningful change. Too often, we get stuck thinking about these things in the abstract, but we need to connect the ideas to what's actually happening so we can make a difference.
Communication researchers face challenges that may lead to misinterpretations. These two published scholars hope their work will bridge the gap and create awareness and opportunities for affected communities in their fields.
By: Miles Sloan