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PART I
OVERVIEW
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The development of family communication courses and related textbooks reflects the
movement toward studying these vital, life-long family relationships. Based on this text,
a family communication course attempts to provide students with an understanding of
how communication functions to develop, maintain, enrich, or limit family
relationships. This text is based on the assumptions that:
1. There are many ways to be a family.
2. Communication serves to constitute as well as reflect relationships.
Currently, family communication courses reflect the trend in family research to try to
understand functional families across a wide range of structures and cultural
backgrounds. This text proposes a specific framework for looking at family
communication using the cohesion and adaptability axes to reflect primary family
functions and issues related to family images, themes, boundaries, and biosocial beliefs
to reflect secondary family functions. Within this framework, students are encouraged
to understand the following position found in Chapter 2:
Within the family system, relationship issues include patterns of intimacy, rituals, roles,
power, decision-making, and conflict as families face developmental and predictable
crises. This edition of the text highlights the issues of family diversity, family well-
being, and rituals as significant factors in forming family patterns.
ESTABLISHING THE CLASSROOM CLIMATE
Teaching a family communication course is both a challenge and a joy. Your lectures,
discussions, and exercises will change students’ understanding of their own family
period in which they were born or family heritage. It also indicates how students feel
about their name (“I was supposed to be Laurencia, but my aunt said they should name
Family Belief Exercise
Students are asked to state one belief they hold about family by completing the sentence
“I believe….” These should be one-sentence responses without discussion or challenges.
Sample comments you might hear include:
You may wish to make note of these for future reference in later classes.
Family Definition
Students are asked to answer the question, “How would you define the term family?”
Ask each student to give a one or two sentence explanation of their definition. This is a
Family Metaphors
Students are asked to describe their family using a metaphor. Have each of them write
on a piece of paper “My family is like a…” Without writing their names on their pages,
they should hand in their responses and you can randomly select a few of them to read
Here are some real classroom samples you can read as examples:
–My family is like a dining set because we are all different, but work together for the
common good.
– [My family is like…] friends who play in an online game, because even though you may
interact with the same people every day, you never really know any of them.
– My family is like the wheels of a car, with my parents the front wheel driving force
connected via axle. Siblings are the two back wheels closely behind my parents. Each of
us could be independent, but need to rely on each other to move.
POTENTIAL COURSE ASSIGNMENTS
Provided below are example assignments that you may be used to help synthesize
material from numerous chapters. Later sections include example assignments and
activities that focus on each chapter.
Family Journal Assignment
Provide students with the following directions: Each week write at least 2-3 pages
(typed) on appropriate ideas in the chapters assigned in the text or other readings. You
may use your own family or a family with which you are familiar. If neither of these is
workable, select a family from literature or the media. Make clear in your journal entry
The Log Book
(Barbara Wood, University of Illinois, Chicago)
Ask students to keep a “log book” throughout the course. The assignment is for them to
record their analyses and observations along structured dimensions and issues (see
below). They may write about their current family or their family-of-origin. The log
book is kept throughout the term, collected periodically to make sure students are
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that no other persons will be reading their log books, and that others will not know the
contents of their particular entries. They seem to treasure their books and grow to enjoy
keeping the log. The number of entries (1-4 pages each) is about 25-30 per term.
Sample log book assignments.
The following are sample log book entry assignments that have been successful
(students were able to freely write about these topics):
a. Using Olson’s scale of “cohesion” in the family, from “disengaged” to
“enmeshed,” analyze where your current family seems to stand (for you)
along this scale, and explain why you analyze your family’s cohesion in this
way.
Family Analysis Blogs
(Haley Kranstuber Horstman, University of Missouri-Columbia)
Below is an assignment that encourages students to reflect upon their own and their
peers’ family relationships in relation to the course content, and through the medium of
a blog. I chose to use a blog because it taps into the online world in which students are
so embedded, and allows for a dialogue outside of the classroom walls. Blackboard (or
WebCT) provides a very accessible blog, or you could create a blog for your class as
well. Here are the student instructions:
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ǦA story from your own (or close others’) experiences, reflecting on the ways in
which those stories link with specified course content.
I occasionally will give you prompts in class to give you ideas. Reflections should be
engaging and substantial.
In addition to contributing main entries, each blog post, you should read your
classmates’ entries and respond to at least one of them. Although your responses do not
need to be as long as the main entries, they should be just as thought provoking and
engaging. They should demonstrate that you are thinking deeply and critically about the
Family Writings
Many families develop a body of writings about their lives that serve as a repository of
meanings, values, narratives and developmental patterns. Such documents may exist as
annual Christmas letters, e-mail newsletters, letters to a member in the military, or
written pieces placed in scrapbooks. The following selection is from the annual
Christmas letter of two vibrant sisters, Wanda Mitchell (age 88) and Kathleen Mitchell
(age 84). Students may examine this piece and then analyze similar pieces written by
their family and friends.
Dear Friends,
We have curtailed our travel activities during 1999, but people here think we’re
still too active for our age. A young woman in our computer class said to Wanda, “When
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we’ve had flu shots, and bone density, TB, cholesterol and blood pressure testing. We
continued with exercise classes in the lounge and swimming pool here.
We took time out to enjoy reading some excellent best sellers this year, including
Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays with Morrie, Tom Brokaw’s The Greatest Generation, Peter
Jenning’s The Century, and President George Bush’s All the Best.
Our ego-enhancing activities were:
1) A trip to Charleston, WV, for the 25th anniversary of the United Methodist
Foundation. Wanda was asked to give a 5 minute talk following the governor
2) A trip to St. Mary’s, WV, to attend a “roast” honoring the retiring assistant
superintendent of Pleasants County schools with whom Kathleen had worked.
Those attending were asked to bring a story to share, so Kathleen hunted a
joke she could alter to fit the occasion. Because she doesn’t appear on the
We both remain reasonably healthy and, finally, on Pearl Harbor Day, sent our book
proposal off to an unsolicited publisher. Now we wait. At ages 84 (Dec. 27) and 88, we
feel we have climbed the mountain. It’s now time to stop and enjoy the view.
MERRY CHRISTMAS, Wanda & Kathleen
Book Reviews
Provide students with the following directions: The book review assignment is given to
the class and based on a list selected from the bibliography. To a great degree, the
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selected information to your family or another family you have observed. Discuss the
extent to which this material is congruent with your experiences. Indicate points where
you question or disagree with the author. If you wish to read books not on the list, check
with me first.
Family Narrative Assignment
Provide students with the following directions: Family stories have the power to go
beyond entertaining and reminiscing to serve key ongoing functions in the family’s
development. In some families, stories serve to teach about values, reinforce identity,
This will be told in class, either to the full group of a small group.
ǦDescription of predictable parts of the telling of this story. This will include, but
is not limited to:
1. W ho tells, or is allowed to tell, the story
2. The context for telling the story, e.g. time, or place
In your analysis, link your narrative event to assigned readings on narrative and
meaning. Approximately 2-3 pages should be devoted to analysis.
Family Literature Suggestions
(Susan Wilson, DePauw University)
Examining Children’s and Young Adult Literature with a Family Communication Lens
Literature has typically incorporated moral lessons into stories that appeal to children and young adult
readers following the classical tenet to both “delight and instruct.” Increasingly, more real world, and
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readers aged 9-12) presents an atypical family of a father, an eleven-year-old daughter, and four of the
father’s friends who comprise their “family.” When the father becomes seriously ill, the “family” system
Recent Family Fiction
Diffenbaugh, Vanessa. The Language of Flowers. New York: Ballantine Books, 2012. Print.
This debut novel follows 18-year-old Victoria Jones at the point of her emancipation from the
foster care system. Weaving together her present day activities as a floral assistant with her past
experiences with various families as she tries to carve out a more stable future.
Hanagarne, Josh. The World’s Strongest Librarian. New York: Gotham Books, 2013. Print.
Oral History Interview Project
(Haley Kranstuber Horstman, University of Missouri-Columbia)
Purpose.Family stories affect and reflect the functioning and identity of families and
their members. These stories may be negatively- or positively-valenced, and provide the
foundation of family members’ life stories. Further, family communication researchers
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to tell their stories to their family members. This project gives you the chance to give
three people the “gift” of their family story, or oral history. With the knowledge gleaned
from your interview, you will also apply family communication concepts to analyze the
communication within your interviewee’s family.
Stage 1: Planning the Interview. In accordance with Dan McAdams’ life course
interview technique, you and a partner will develop an interview protocol prior to your
Stage 2: The Interview and Transcription. The service learning component of the
assignment involves provide individuals with the gift of their oral histories. Select three
people from the Lincoln community or your/your partner’s own family who would
Stage 3: The Analysis Paper. Using the knowledge you have gathered from the oral
history interviews, write an 8-10 page paper describing and analyzing the
communicative functioning of your participants’ experiences. Read through your data in
Requirement 1: Course Concepts. Please focus on three broad course concepts to
analyze in your paper. Select the concepts most important to your participants and their
families. Below are some concepts and questions you might consider when deciding
upon the foci of your paper (Note: I usually provide specific questions to consider as
students are partaking in their analysis):
ͲCommunication Patterns and Meanings
Requirement 2: Family Theory. Please illustrate and incorporate at least one of the
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Requirement 3: Contextual Dimensions of Family Communication. In accordance with a
systems approach to families, please analyze the contextual dimensions of family
communication within these families. What ecological variables did you notice in your
interviews (e.g., SES, race, school systems, and politics)? What contextual elements are
important to the functioning of these families?
Term Paper/Project: Assignment and Topics
The following assignment requires students to relate communication to a specific area
of family life. The paper may be based on straight library research or a combination of
library and fieldwork. (Some students will have easy access to families and others will
not.) Sample types of topics might include:
ǦAnalysis of communication patterns within selected families in literature
ǦObservation of specific family interactions and an analysis of the patterns (e.g.
dinner time, birthday celebrations, vacations)
ǦFamily communication and new technologies (e.g. telecommuting)
ǦThe design of a high school unit/course in family communication
ǦMid-life issues and communication within families
ǦMethods and programs for enriching family communication
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ǦHow technology impacts family interaction
ǦSelf-disclosure patterns in families of different cultures
The following suggestions will aid in sharpening the focus and strengthening the
argument of your paper:
I. At some point in the introduction include a paragraph which contains:
A. An underlined, focused thesis statement. This sentence should state the claim
or argument you are making in the paper and reduce the vagueness of a
general topic.
1.General: “This paper will address Communication in the alcoholic
family.” Focused: Communication in the alcoholic family reflects
B. A sentence which explicitly tells the reader the main points to be addressed.
II. Include subheadings
A. Even though the paper may be only 12 pages, a reader is aided by internal
Analysis of a Fictional Family
(Analysis: Barbara Lieb)
1. Analyze one of the following depicting an actual or fictional family:
a. A full length fictional novel:such as Full Circle,Kaleidoscope, or others;
The Deep End of the Ocean,The Joy Luck Club,A Man in Full,Angela’s
b. A full length biography:Ones written by Irving Stone, for example, on
historical figures; novels on the Roosevelt family such as Eleanor and
Franklin; biographies of Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, studies of
famous women such as The Kennedy Women;Katherine Graham;The Color
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O’Neill’s (e.g., The Iceman Cometh); Neil Simon’s (e.g., Barefoot in the
Park or Brighton Beach memoirs); and others such as Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf,Long Day’s Journey Into Night,Death of a Salesman,Raisin
in the Sun, The Little Foxes, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,August Osage County,
Fences, The Glass Menagerie.
d. A movie or television series: Either in the theatre or on video (the latter is
preferable for extensive analysis), these would include some of the works
2. Your analysis should include at least the following:
a. An analysis of the family as a system, using at least three concepts from your
text.
b. An analysis of the degree of adaptability and cohesion in the family system.
c. An analysis of the meanings and rules in the family, using concepts from
3. Your analysis also should include any two of the following concepts to apply:
a. Intimacy and self-disclosure
4. Use examples from the work to illustrate your concepts.
EVALUATION CONSIDERATIONS
Because of the potentially personal nature of certain student responses (oral and written)
the evaluation issues must be carefully handled. Evaluation of the course assignments
may be done in a rather traditional manner with points or letter grades assigned to
assignments such as those listed above. One unique evaluation issue must be raised if
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must be dealt with within the paper and the specificity of coverage. For example, an
assignment such as “Prepare a systems analysis of your own family or another family”
may result in a series of stories which may not treat in-depth the concepts and issues
included in the course. Rather, you may wish to be more specific, such as, “Develop a