Difference matters : communicating social identity

This captivating book analyzes six salient categories of social identity (gender, race, social class, disability, sexuality, and age) and why difference within and between those categories matter. Brenda J. Allen provides overviews of sociohistorical developments and their impact on how people perceive and treat one another. She explains how communication constitutes social identity and explores relationships among social identity, discourse, and power dynamics. Difference matters to everyone. Establishing meaningful dialogue begins with curiosity about differing perspectives, empathy for others, and cultural humility. Allen addresses the uncertainty and anxiety too often connected with difference, advises mindfulness to reveal the hidden associations connected with stereotypes, and urges proactivity to challenge and change mainstream meanings of difference. She also provides tools and techniques to help readers apply lessons learned. -- Adapted from back cover.

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