Yoshitaka Miike - Resume and Abstract

Name	Yoshitaka Miike
Title	Assistant Professor, Department of Communication Graduate Faculty Member, M.A. Program in China-U.S. Relations University of Hawai‘i at Hilo
Brief Introduction	Dr. Miike obtained one of the first M.A.s in Communication Studies from Dokkyo University (獨協大学) (Japan) and earned his Ph.D. in Intercultural Communication from the University of New Mexico (USA). Inspired by Dr. Molefi Kete Asante’s Afrocentric idea, he has proposed and developed the metatheory of Asiacentricity as an alternative paradigm for the study of Asian cultures and communication. He received a 2004 Distinguished Scholarship Award from the International and Intercultural Communication Division of the National Communication Association for the “Outstanding Article” published in 2003. Dr. Miike co-edited The Global Intercultural Communication Reader (Routledge, 2008) and journal special issues on “Asian Contributions to Communication Theory” (China Media Research, 2007) and “Asian Approaches to Human Communication” (Intercultural Communication Studies, 2003). He is currently a consulting editor of Intercultural Communication Studies and serves as an editorial board member of China Media Research. He was elected as the 3rd Vice President of the Pacific and Asian Communication Association for 2006-2008.
Recent Publications	Miike, Y. (2009). “Harmony without uniformity”: An Asiacentric worldview and its communicative implications. In L. A. Samovar, R. E. Porter, & E. R. McDaniel (Eds.), Intercultural communication: A reader (12th ed., pp. 36-48). Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Miike, Y. (2008). Toward an alternative metatheory of human communication: An Asiacentric vision. In M. K. Asante, Y. Miike, & J. Yin (Eds.), The global intercultural communication reader (pp. 57-72). New York: Routledge. Yin, J., & Miike, Y. (2008). A textual analysis of fortune cookie sayings: How Chinese are they? Howard Journal of Communications, 19(1), 18-43. Miike, Y. (2007). An Asiacentric reflection on Eurocentric bias in communication theory. Communication Monographs, 74(2), 272-278. Miike, Y. (2007). Asian contributions to communication theory: An introduction. China Media Research, 3(4), 1-6. Miike, Y. (2007). Theorizing culture and communication in the Asian context: An assumptive foundation (in Chinese, J. Z. Edmondson, Trans.). In J. Z. Edmondson (Ed.) Selected international papers in intercultural communication (Vol. 1, pp. 137-157). Zhejiang, China: Zhejiang University Press. Miike, Y. (2006). Non-Western theory in Western research? An Asiacentric agenda for Asian communication studies. Review of Communication, 6(1/2), 4-31. Chen, G.-M., & Miike, Y. (2006). The ferment and future of communication studies in Asia: Chinese and Japanese perspectives. China Media Research, 2(1), 1-12. Miike, Y., & Chen, G.-M. (2006). Perspectives on Asian cultures and communication: An updated bibliography. China Media Research, 2(1), 98-106. Miike, Y. (2004). Rethinking humanity, culture, and communication: Asiacentric critiques and contributions. Human Communication: A Journal of Pacific and Asian Communication Association, 7(1), 67-82. Miike, Y. (2003). Beyond Eurocentrism in the intercultural field: Searching for an Asiacentric paradigm. In W. J. Starosta & G.-M. Chen (Eds.), Ferment in the intercultural field: Axiology/value/praxis (pp. 243-276). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Miike, Y. (2003). Japanese enryo-sasshi communication and the psychology of amae: Reconsideration and reconceptualization. Keio Communication Review, 25, 93-115. .

Paper:

An Anatomy of Eurocentrism in Communication Scholarship:

The Role of Asiacentricity in De-Westernizing Theory and Research

Yoshitaka Miike, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor
Department of Communication
University of Hawaii at Hilo

200 West Kawili Street
Hilo , HI 96720-4091 , USA

Phone: (+01) 808-974-7780

Fax: (+01) 808-974-7736

E-mail: ymiike@hawaii.edu

Abstract

The purpose of this essay is to address the problem of Eurocentrism in non-Western communication scholarship and advocate the legitimacy of Asiacentricity in de-Westernizing theory and research. The essay first identifies two dimensions of Eurocentrism: (1) the ideology of universalizing and totalizing Western worldviews and phenomena; and (2) the ideology of devaluing and downplaying non-Western values and experiences. The essay then dispels three misconceptions about centric approaches to non-Western communication philosophies and practices: (1) non-Eurocentric inquiries do not contribute to pancultural theory development; (2) non-Eurocentricity is as ethnocentric as Eurocentrism; and (3) non-Eurocentric views and visions always go against Eurocentric ideas and ideals. The essay finally clarifies the metatheoretical notion of Asiacentricity and discusses the role of Asian cultures as vital resources of theory building in de-Westernizing communication research. It is the argument of the present essay that Asiacentric intellectual pursuits, along with Afrocentric and other non-Eurocentric approaches, will help communication studies in the non-Western region overcome the structure of “academic dependency” and make truly local and global contributions in theorizing about humanity, diversity, and communication.

Abstract prepared for the International Conference on “De-Westernizing Communication Research: What Is the Next Step?,” hosted by the College of Communication at National Chengchi University in Taipei , Taiwan , on December 13-14, 2008.