In response to the whiteness endemic to the field of interpersonal and family communication (IPFC), this "interpersonal relationships" journal assignment draws from critical race theory to offer students the opportunity to address and re/configure raced epistemes at the intersection of the self, culture, and power within an IPFC context.…

To many students, theory can be confusing and difficult to retain. Therefore, instructors who put emphasis on theory in their courses and lectures must find new ways for students to connect to the sometimes obscure material. Through a hands-on approach to learning theory, students may be challenged to examine their own beliefs and knowledge…

Although directly related to students' everyday lives, the abstract and even intimidating nature of relational theories often bars students from recognizing the immediate relevance to their relationships. The theories of symbolic interactionism, social exchange, relational dialectics, social penetration, and uncertainty reduction offer students…