One is an internal structure of argument, proof, strategy selection and so forth as adjusted to the immediate audience and task at hand. The other is a social context of relationships and symbolic ideals about personhood, power, and communication within which persuasive appeals are negotiated. There will be an emphasis on extending persuasion research and theory through systematic consideration of relevant social and cultural constraints. This seminar is a survey of theory and research on communication in personal relationships. Romantic and friendship relationships are emphasized.
Students submit weekly agenda papers around which class sessions are organized.
This course will center around the theory and practice of ethnography of speaking, tacking between broad patterns of culture and microscopic details of practice. Issues of writing ethnography will be scrutinized, and some assignments will involve hands-on exposure to slices of ethnographic methods. This course is intended as a survey of the family communication research area. Both quantitative research and qualitative research will be examined. This seminar is an advanced course on relational communication.