Book Review: Culture, Social Class, and Race in Public Relations—Perspectives and Applications, edited by Damion Waymer

Damion Waymer (Ed.) Culture, Social Class, and Race in Public Relations-Perspectives and Applications. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2012. 253 pp.If there was ever a perfect time for a book to be published about race and culture for educators, scholars, and students, this would certainly be it. Damion Waymer, an assis- tant professor from Virginia Tech's Department of Communication, assembles an exceptional group of colleagues and students for a look at culture, class, and race. Waymer not only serves as an editor but also contributes three articles. The book is divided into three sections: "Theoretical Discussion of Culture, Social Class, and Race in Public Relations"; "Questions of Pedagogy and Practice: Exploring Topics of Culture, Social Class, and Race in Public Relations Education"; and "Culture, Social Class, and Race in Public Relations: Applications and Implications." Overall, the book offers outstanding analysis, extensive research, and various cases that delve into the issues of race and culture, as well as perceptions and lessons learned. The book explores the role of diversity and culture in a changing world, and also how to prepare the students we teach to serve this world.In his introduction, Waymer both dissects the core words of the book's title and their impact: culture, social class, and race. "Culture 'is' and 'permeates' all levels of public relations and activity" (p. 2). Culture, therefore, can be a simple workplace or a public that belong to a specific culture group. Social class, Waymer continues, isexplored . . . because of the determining role that social class status has on persons' life chances. If organizations via public relations activities have the potential to address large social issues and achieve other social goods, then it appears reasonable to expect that these organizations address at least a portion of the needs of lower-class citizens-who tend to be some of the most vulnerable publics in any society. (p. 5)In sum, "if society is going to become a better place to live and work, issues such as social class disparities must be addressed by these organizations in a meaningful and impactful way (Boyd & Waymer, 2011)" (p. 7).On Race, the author states,Regardless of how one approaches race and ethnicity in this book, all of these works seek to illuminate inequality in public relations based on these cultural differences (broadly defined) . . . I consider those works as exploring "cultural challenges in public relations" while still recognizing that some of these works are addressing issues of ethnicity more explicitly than they are matters of race. (p. 8)Many sections of the book include, as mentioned, extensive research and strong analysis. In Section 1, Josh Boyd, associate professor of the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University, explores Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Class. States Boyd, "One potential answer to the growth of CSR activities is that the corporation-as-person happens to inhabit the middle class" (p. 46). Boyd takes a close look at the middle class and their mind-set, their influence on society, and the "American dream" (p. 49). It is a very interesting chapter and truly examines the popu- larity of corporate social responsibility.Perhaps one of the strongest chapters was "Human Trafficking in the PR Classroom-Teaching Diversity, Activism, and Empathy" (p. 99) by Sarah H. VanSlette, an assistant professor in the Department of Speech Communication at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. VanSlette shares that she has found that the best way to change the current reputation of PR is "by making social responsibility and social justice core concepts of {my} PR class" (p. …