Interracial Communication: Theory into Practice

Mark P. Orbe (PhD, Ohio University) is professor of communication and diversity in the School of Communication at Western Michigan University, where he also holds a joint appointment in the gender and women’s studies program. He conducts research in interpersonal-intercultural communication, co-cultural communication, intergroup relations, mass media representations of underrepresented group members, and negotiation/intersection of multiple cultural identities. Over his career, has published ten books and hundreds of journal articles and book chapters. He is also founder and president of Dumela Communications, a full-service consulting company that specializes in providing services for clients committed to enhancing their communication cultural competencies.

Tina M. Harris (PhD, University of Kentucky) is professor of communication studies at the University of Georgia. She has been recognized with the Josiah T. Meigs Teaching Professorship and received the Georgia Board of Regents’ 2006 Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Award for her scholarship on race and pedagogy in the college classroom. She is co-author of three books: Interracial Communication: Theory Into Practice (2008, SAGE), Mediating Cultures: Parenting in Intercultural Contexts (2012, Lexington Books), and Religion and Communication: An Anthology of Extensions in Theory, Research, and Method (2012, Peter Lang). She teaches undergraduate courses in the areas of interracial, interpersonal, and African American relational communication, as well as graduate courses in interracial communication and media, communication, and race. Her research interests are mass media representations of race, pedagogy and race, religious communication, and interracial communication, which are published in numerous communication journals.