Deepa Oommen, Ph.D.

Education

• Ph.D. Communication Studies, Bowling Green State University, Ohio
• M.A. Communication Studies, Morehead State University, Kentucky
• M.A. Economics, Madras Christian College, University of Madras, India
• B.A. Economics, St. Teresa's College, Mahatma Gandhi University, India

Biography

Deepa Oommen’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of intercultural communication and organizational communication. Her work is based on the premise that the socio-historical, cultural, and political contexts in which we are embedded influence our cognitions and emotions and pre-dispose us to communicate in specific ways. In the intercultural area, in the context of cultural adaptation, she has examined the influence of factors such as mental distress, perception of social support, and social interactions on communicative behaviors such as intercultural communication apprehension and conflict management styles. Further, she has also explored how, based on contextual interpretation of bodies, immigrants relate with and adapt to host communities. In the organizational context, she has studied the influence of identities on relationships and dissent. Her works have been published in the Atlantic Journal of Communication, Communication Education, Communication Studies, International Journal of Conflict Management, Journal of Communication and Religion, Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, Journal of Language and Social Psychology, Mass Communication and Society, and Speaker and Gavel.

Recent Publications

• Oommen, D. (2024). The relationship between management vs nonmanagement status and women employees’ dissent expression in US organizations. International Journal of Conflict Management. Advance Online Publication. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-10-2023-0216
• Oommen, D. (2017). The moderating influence of the strength of social identification with religion on the relationship between similarity and dissimilarity in religious affiliations between superiors and subordinates and the quality of LMX (Leader-Member Exchange) relationships in the Indian context. Journal of Communication and Religion, 40(4), 37-52.
• Oommen D. (2017). A test of the relationships between host and home national involvements and the preferences for intercultural conflict management styles. Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, 46(4), 314-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/17475759.2017.1329159
• Oommen, D. (2016). Difference, disconnection, social support, and connection: Communication with the host environment and cultural adaptation. In Z. Hua & A. Komisarof (Eds.), Crossing boundaries and weaving intercultural work, life and scholarship in globalizing universities (pp.78-88). London: Routledge.