This course will be open to all graduate students in Period II registration, beginning on Monday, November 19, with no add codes needed.
COM 597 D: Special Topics – Family Communication, Kristina Scharp, TTh 10:30-12:20, 5 credits
All families are discourse dependent. This means that every family requires communication to create a shared family identity. Yet, some families are more discourse dependent than others. When families lack blood or legal ties and/or deviate from cultural expectations, they require more communication to construct what it means to be a family both for themselves and to people outside of the family. In this course, we will not only explore the central theories and major processes that serve as the foundation for family communication, but also interrogate the ideologies that render certain families as more discourse dependent than others. Consequently, we will focus on the three “R’s” of (post-nuclear) family theorizing: remaking, resistance, and resilience. In doing so, we attend to the ways post-nuclear families are marginalized and stigmatized – both in public policy and in hearts and minds.
Below are some topics we will cover in this course:
Central Theories
· Communication Privacy Management Theory
· Family Communication Patterns
· Intersectionality
· Relational Dialectics Theory
Major Processes
· Conflict and Divorce
· Estrangement and Marginalization
· Supportive Communication
· Uncertainty Management
Discourse Dependent Families
· Adoption and Foster Care
· Arranged Marriage and the Diaspora
· Infertility, Miscarriage, and Childfree Couples
· Language Brokering
For questions, please feel free to contact Dr. Scharp at kscharp@uw.edu.
