Voicing Relationships : A Dialogic Perspective

by Leslie A. Baxter

• ISBN13: 9781412927840
• ISBN10: 1412927846
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2010-01-19
• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc

Summary

One of the field's most respected scholars advances a dialogic perspective on communication in personal and familial relationships, presenting the next iteration of relational dialectics theory (RDT). "This is an excellent book and moves one of the major theories in the social sciences forward in very innovative ways. Indeed, this book extends beyond RDT by addressing limitations in the family, interpersonal, and personal relationships literature. I believe this book will prompt many discussions among theorists and researchers in those areas and has the potential to provide exciting new directions in the study of relationships.' -Glen H. Stamp, Ball State University "Leslie A. Baxter is offering up something here that is desperately needed and fills a big hole for those who adopt RDT as their theoretical framework. . . . I found the conceptual content of the book to be clear, compelling, and provoking. . . . The chapter on contrapuntal analysis is the only one of its kind.' -Melissa Wood Alemán, James Madison UniversityVoicing Relationships presents a dialogic perspective on relating, inspired by the dialogism work of the Russian theorist of literature and culture, Mikhail Bakhtin. Written by Leslie A. Baxter, one of the theory's originators, this groundbreaking book presents the next iteration of the theory, along with a methodological primer for contrapuntal analysis that includes guiding readers through a sample analysis.Developing a rich palette of dialogic concepts useful in the study of interpersonal communication, the book's central argument is that meaning making emerges from the clash of competing systems of meaning, or discourses. Relationship communication is embedded in culture, history, difference, and conceptions of the ideal. In addition, the book gives us a method by which to study communication dialogically-contrapuntal analysis.Key Features Centers communication at the heart of relationships with an interdisciplinary focus on communication from fields such as psychology, social work, and sociology Offers an up-to-date distillation of two decades of relevant research to organize major findings and issues Moves scholars and students beyond simplistic uses of relational dialectics or using the dialectical pairs in overly-simplistic "cookie cutter" ways Provides scholars and students with guidance in using RDT to guide their own researchIntended AudienceVoicing Relationships is ideal for use in a wide range of courses, such as Interpersonal Communication; Family Studies; Couples, Marriage, and Family; and Counseling.

Table of Contents

Preface

Introduction

Evaluation of RDT as a Theory

Reworkings: Alternative Framings of Interpersonal Communication

Overview of the Chapters

Mikhail Bakhtin, Dialogism, and RDT

Bakhtin's Life and Selected Key Works

Bakhtin's Dialogism 1919-1924

Bakhtin's Dialogism Post-1924

Locating Bakhtin's Theory of Dialogism in Communication Research

Locating RDT in Bakhtin's Dialogism

Discursive Struggles of Culture

The Utterance Chain

Distal Already-Spokens of Culture

The Discursive Struggle of Integration

The Discursive Struggle of Expression

Conclusion

Discursive Struggles of Relational History, Otherness, and Normative Evaluation

The Proximal Already-Spoken: Discursive Struggles of Relational History

The Proximal Not-Yet-Spoken: Discursive Struggles of Otherness

The Distal Not-Yet-Spoken: Discursive Struggles of Normative Evaluation

Conclusion

Centripetal-Centrifugal Struggle

Foregrounding Power in Centripetal-Centrifugal Struggle

The Interplay of Discourses

Communication Genres of Discursive Struggle

Conclusion

Doing Contrapuntal Analysis

Selecting Texts in Contrapuntal Analysis

Identifying Competing Discourses

Identifying the Interplay of Competing Discourses

A Sample Contrapuntal Analysis: A "Dear Birth Mother" Letter

Conclusion

References

Index

About the Author

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