Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons^™

"Being A Part And Being Apart": A Dialectical Perspective On Group Communication, Scott D. Johnson, Lynette M. Long

Rhetoric and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

In recent years, interpersonal communication scholars have begun studying and theorizing about personal relationships through the lens of dialectical theory. This metatheoretical perspective highlights the mutually defining and processual nature of dialectical tensions that exist within, and form the context of, interpersonal relations. The application of dialectical theory to the study of interpersonal communication has engendered innovative scholarship that has recast theoretical assumptions, proposed alternative means for understanding and assessing relationships, and encouraged methodological eclecticism. To date, however, little systematic effort has been made to apply a dialectical perspective to the study of group communication. The purpose of this essay …