The compass of friendship : narratives, identities, and dialogues / William K. Rawlins.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Rawlins, William K., 1952-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Interpersonal communication.

Friendship.

Interpersonal relations.

Physical Description:

xii, 235 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Los Angeles, Calif. : Sage Publications, [2009]

Summary:

Exploring how friends use dialogue and storytelling to construct identities, deal with differences, make choices, and build inclusive communities, The Compass of Friendship examines communication dialectically across private, personal friendships as well as public, political friendships. Author William K. Rawlins uses compelling examples and cases from literature, dialogue and storytelling between actual friends, student discussions of cross-sex friendships, and interviews with interracial friends. Throughout the book, he invites readers to consider such questions as: What are the possibilities for enduring, close friendships between men and women? How far can friendship's practices extend into public life to facilitate social justice? What are the predicaments and promises of friendships that bridge racial boundaries? How useful and realistic are the ideals and activities of friendship for serving the well-lived lives of individuals, groups, and larger collectives?

Key Features: Incorporates undergraduate students' debates about cross-sex friendships. Discussions draw on popular culture and lived experiences to re-examine gendered identities, sexual orientations, and narratives of romance and the well-lived life. Investigates the possibilities of cross-race friendships between blacks and whites in light of personal, sociocultural, and historical issues. Using a short story, an autobiography, and interviews with a male and a female pair of friends, the book probes the capacities of friendship to address our similarities and differences in enriching ways. Develops an original theoretical synthesis of work concerning dialogue and narrative. A chapter featuring an afternoon conversation between two longtime friends illustrates storytelling and dialogue as vitally interwoven communicative activities that shape friends' identities. Explores friendship's ethical and political potentials. Classic and contemporary views clarify friendship's ethical guidance in our lives, as Rawlins demonstrates how learning about others in a spirit of equal respect can involve us in edifying political participation. The book celebrates hopeful private and public communication by friends.

The Compass of Friendship is appropriate for use in courses such as Advanced Interpersonal Communication, Friendship Communication, Communication in Interpersonal Relationships, Relational Communication, Social and Personal Relationships, Dialogue and Communication, Social Identities, and Communication Ethics.

Contents:

Chapter 1 Introduction: Living Friendship 1

Chapter 2 Making Choices as Communicators: Similarity, Difference, Individuation, and Participation 15

Perceiving Similarities and Differences

Negotiating Contexts, Making Choices, and Creating Meanings

Constructing Similarities and Differences of Self and Others

Achieving and (Mis)Perceiving Identities Through the Dialectic of Individuation and Participation

Categories and Identity Construction

Modes of the Dialectic of Individuation and Participation

Individuation

Participation

Chapter 3 Communicating Friendship: A Dialogue of Narratives and a Narrative of Dialogues 45

Storytelling Between Friends

Practicing Dialogue Between Friends

Narratives, Dialogues, and Friendships

Interweaving Narrative and Dialogue in Discourses of Friendship

Chapter 4 Making Meanings With Friends: Two Women's Storytelling and Dialogue 71

Beginning the Conversation and the Story of Karen and Chris's Friendship

Narrating Diverging Life Paths

Sharing Stories of Divorces and Traveling Together

Side Two of the Tape-Conversing About Pets and Policies

Performing a Dialogue of Narratives About Conjunctive Freedoms

Interweaving Narratives and Dialogue in the Talk of Two Friends

Chapter 5 Talking With College Students About Frontiers and Frustrations of Cross-Sex Friendships 109

Debating Cross-Sex Friendship

Differences Between Females and Males That Enhance Cross-Sex Friendships

Differences Between Females and Males That Undermine Cross-Sex Friendships

Mutually Defined Boundaries and Common Interests Facilitating Cross-Sex Friendships

Desire and Inevitable Sexual Tensions Overcoming Spoken Definitions of Cross-Sex Friendships

Other Relationships and Social Conditions That Facilitate Cross-Sex Friendships

Other Relationships and Social Conditions That Subvert Cross-Sex Friendships

Addressing Students' Positions on Cross-Sex Friendship

Sexism, Gendered Performances, Sexual Identities, and Cross-Sex Friendships

The Comparative Significance of Friendship and Romantic Love

Chapter 6 Pursuing Cross-Race Friendships in Personal, Sociocultural, and Historical Contexts 137

Constrained Cross-Race Friendship

Blacks and Whites Engaging in Friendships: Asymmetrical Challenges and Edifying Practices

Recognizing Meaningfully Whole Persons and Contingent Identities

Accomplishing Cross-Race Friendship

Nathan's Story

Felmonia and Tina

Brad and Tyrone

Making Choices, Learning Lessons, and Serving Social Becoming Through Cross-Race Friendships

Chapter 7 Embracing Ethical and Political Potentials of Friendship 175

Ethical Practices of Friendships

Political Practices of Friendships

Friendships and Social Change

Limitations of Political Friendships

Chapter 8 The Compass of Friendship 201.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 215-225) and index.

ISBN:

9781412952965

1412952964

9781412952972

1412952972

OCLC:

226984590