Expertise:
Ethnic Identity, Gender and Communication, Intercultural Communication, Religious Communication, East Asian Languages and Culture, Cultural Persuasion, Languages and Ethnicity, Pragmatics, Code Switching, Culture and Romantic RelatingSunny Lie Owens’ expertise lies in how cultural backgrounds and social identities affect someone’s communication and understanding, with a focus on the intersectionality of identities.
A particular area of interest for her has been how religion and Chinese diaspora ethnicity intersect in communicated acts of persuasion. More broadly, her research has delved into religious communication, race, equity, international relations, perceived linguistic competence and the cultural impact of social media.
A 2024 Fulbright Scholar, Lie Owens recently began analyzing the various biases in languages that create and reinforce power in the U.S. and other cultures. As the first Fulbright Scholar for culture and communication in Indonesia, Lie Owens taught intercultural communication and critical theory at Jakarta State University (Universitas Negeri Jakarta), in her hometown of Jakarta, Indonesia.
Lie Owens’ interest in people and how we communicate has led to research projects ranging from social relations and dating to American religious organizations and how social media may amplify and/or construct social and political discourse that includes and/or excludes certain ethnic groups.
Recent Grants and Fellowships:
- U.S. Fulbright Scholar Award to Indonesia, 2024-2025
Selected Publications:
- “How to Date to Find Your Mate: Cultural Discourse Analysis of Matchmakers’ Advice on Effective Dating Practices,” Western Journal of Communication, 00(00) 1-23, 2025
- With T.L. Sandel, “‘Marriage is like Gambling: Interpreting and Narrating Stories of Hakka Chinese Indonesians’ Marriage Migration,” Asian Studies Review 1-20, 2024
- With M. Boyraz and N. Horowitz, “What does it Mean to Be a ‘Polytechnic’ University? Cultural Discourse Analysis of Organizational Identity,” Western Journal of Communication 87(2). 304-325, 2022
- “Asian American Buddhist Identity Talk: Natural Criticism of Buddhism in the U.S.,” Journal of Communication and Religion 43(2) 5-21, 2020
- With T. Sandel, “Unwelcomed Guests: Cultural Discourse Analysis of Comments on Ethnic Chinese in Indonesian Social Media,” Journal of Chinese Overseas 16(1) 31-57, 2020
- With N. Shrikant, “Stretching the boundaries of international and intercultural communication research,” Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 12(20 105-110, 2019
- “L.A. Affairs: I was 40 and tired of dating-app disasters. So I hired a matchmaker,” Los Angeles Times, Sept. 15, 2018
- “How Best to Evangelize to Nonbelievers: Cultural Persuasion in American and Chinese Indonesian evangelical Christian discourse on relational evangelism,” Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 11(1) 42-57, 2017
- With B. Bailey, “The power of names in a Chinese Indonesians family’s negotiations of politics, culture, and identities,” Journal of International and Intercultural Communication 10(1) 80-95, 2017
- “Effective Evangelism: Discourse surrounding best evangelical practices in a Chinese Indonesia Reformed (CIREC) community in Boston, MA.,” The Handbook of Communication in Cross-cultural Perspective (D. Carbaugh, 1st ed, Routledge, 2016)
Interviews:
- “Cultural Identity and Dating: Insights from Communication Expert Dr. Sunny Lie Owens,” You Seem Great Podcast, July 17, 2024
- “Love and Relationships with Dr. Sunny Lie Owens,” Feasting for Feminism, March 2, 2024
Education:
B.A., Communication and East Asian Languages and Cultures, University of Southern California
M.A., Global Communication, University of Southern California and London School of Economics and Political Science
Ph.D., Communication, University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Languages:
English, Bahasa Indonesian