Sylvia Cowan
Professional Title: Professor of Intercultural Relations
Areas of Academic Focus and Expertise:
Intercultural Relations
Area of Work and Concentration at Lesley: Intercultural Relations
Representative List of Recent Courses Taught:
• Identity, Culture, and the Politics of Difference
• Intercultural Management
• Intercultural Training
• Intercultural Consulting
Education: M.A., University of Hawaii; Ed.D., Boston University
Representative List of Recent Publications / Exhibitions:
Upcoming: “Cambodians go home? Forced returns and re-displacement thirty years after war.” (Invited chapter) In Xiang, Biao, Ed., Return and the changing order of mobility in Asia, anticipated 2011.
Cowan, Sylvia R. (March 2009). “Forced Return: The deportation of former Cambodian refugees from the USA.” International Institute of Asian Studies Newsletter, Leiden and Amsterdam, the Netherlands. (Invited essay).
Dr. Cowan has in-depth experience in education and the private sector. She directed training and consulting for two major international/intercultural consulting companies. Her talents developing strong teams with people of widely varied backgrounds and integrating theory and practice are evident in her work across cultures, especially in intercultural management, training, consulting, and organizational development. Her interests have led her to explore issues of culture and identity, conflict, and immigration. She is passionate about fostering understanding across borders and among people with different experiences, approaches, and ways of thinking.