Interracial Communication: Theory Into Practice

Specifically addressing how interpersonal communication as process is potentially impeded because of how we are socialized to think about racial differences, this exciting and much-anticipated second edition of Interracial Communication: Theory Into Practice guides readers in applying the valuable contributions of recent communication theory to improving everyday communication among the races. Authors Mark P. Orbe and Tina M. Harris offer a comprehensive, practical foundation for dialogue on interracial communication, as well as a resource that stimulates thinking and encourages readers to become active participants in the solution process.

New to the Second Edition

• Incorporates new topics: This edition includes discussions of whiteness and diversity management within the workplace and a brand new chapter on interracial conflict.
• Provides updated statistics, research studies, and examples: Changes reflect the state of study in a post-9/11 society, including discussions of how the media frame race in relation to Middle Easterners and Latinos and pending issues relative to illegal immigration.
• Offers student reflections: Chapter concepts are brought to life through self-reflections about race as experienced by students enrolled in an interracial communication course.
• Presents additional reflections by the authors: Each author offers new experiences to help readers understand how race is salient in their everyday lives, including friendships; romantic relationships; organizational, public, and group settings; and the mass media.
• Gives attention to all predominant U.S. races: The book addresses African Americans, Asian Americans, European Americans, Latino/a Americans, and Native Americans—in addition to discussing multiracial Americans.

Intended Audience

This is an ideal core text for courses such as Interracial Communication, Intercultural Communication, International or Global Communication, and Race, Gender, and Media in departments of speech communication, mass communication, and ethnic studies.

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.