Family Communication

Catalog description

In this course students come to understand how families are constituted through symbolic processes and interaction; explore the verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors that are developed and preferred in different kinds of families; learn various theories for understanding family interactions at the individual, dyadic, group, and systems levels; analyze family communication patterns using established theories and methods; connect family dynamics to social trends and processes including the roles of the mass media and popular culture; and explore ways culture, class, gender, and sexuality affect and are affected by family structures, roles, and communication patterns.