This class is designed to educate students about ethnicity-race and its influence on interpersonal relationships from a communication perspective. This course is interdisciplinary in nature and aims to encourage dialogue, discussion, and critical thought regarding communication, relationships, and identity as they relate to an understanding of ethnicity-race in the United States - both how our personal relationships can perpetuate racial inequality and how they can reduce racial inequality.
More specific goals are to: (1) understand the role of history in the racial and cultural identities in the United States; (2) explore the inextricable and multidimensional relationship between race, culture, and communication; (3) understand, process, and critique theories that enhance understandings of racialized experiences; (4) apply various theories about race to experiential learning opportunities; and (5) reflect on and critique the relationship between scholarship and real-world events regarding race and ethnicity. Students will apply their learning through written assignments and examinations.

Week 1	The Black Family
Week 2	Historical Background 
Week 3	Film and Race 
Week 4	Maternal and Paternal Roles 
Week 5	Slave Narratives; Family Support
Week 6	Dating and Physical Intimacy
Week 7	Male-Female Relationships
Week 8	Marriage and Divorce
Week 9	Black and White Relationships 
Week 10	African American (Female) Standards of Beauty
Week 11	Family Violence – Staples (p. 259); Williams (p. 265)
Week 12	Popular Culture and Constructions of Racial Realities 
Week 13	African American Communication Phenomena
Week 14	African American Communication Phenomena
Week 15	African American Communication Phenomena
Week 16 The Extended Family

“Academic honesty is – defined broadly and simply – the 
performance of all academic work without cheating, lying, 
stealing, or receiving assistance from any other person or 
using any source of information not appropriately authorized or 
attributed” (From the Preamble to “A Culture of Honesty”). The 
University, the Department of Communication Studies, and I 
personally take academic honesty very seriously. Every student 
at the University of Georgia should be familiar with the 
booklet, “A Culture of Honesty: Policies and Procedures on 
Academic Dishonesty.” If you are not, please obtain one of 
these booklets and read it carefully. This document has a 
thorough presentation of four types of academic dishonesty, 
including plagiarism, unauthorized assistance, lying/tampering, 
and theft, as well as the procedures that are in place to 
adjudicate alleged incidents of academic dishonesty. The 
policies and procedures described in “A Culture of Honesty” 
will be strictly followed. All academic work must meet the 
standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Students are 
responsible for informing themselves about those standards 
before performing any academic work. More detailed information 
about academic honesty can be found at 
http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/honesty/acadhon.htm.