Friendship IPC between the Sexes
Can Women and Men be Friends?
COMM 220 | Dr. Impellizzeri
Through his 1989 movie “When Harry Met Sally,” director Rob Reiner raises a poignant question for IPC, a question that captured quite a bit of cultural attention and commentary: “Can men and women be friends?” Christian philosopher Caroline J. Simon takes up this question. She helps us to consider the conceptual complexities and pragmatic challenges involved in the very question. Her philosophical and theological reflections provide coordinates for navigating friendship IPC between the sexes. Focus your paper primarily on the Simon reading, but also incorporate, as prompted below, insights from some of our other readings on friendship IPC and those pertaining to gender communication. You don’t have to respond to every single prompt within each of the 3 subsections, but you should substantively engage some of them for your discussion within a given subsection.
For this reflection paper assignment, you are to write a 1.25-2 page paper (double-spaced, 12 pt. Times New Roman) by responding to the 3 groups of questions and prompts below. Use the 3 headings I provide to format and structure your paper. In other words, your paper should have 3 subsections. ( Do not exceed the 2-page limit. You will lose points for doing so.)
Conceptual Complexities – When we call someone a “friend,” what do we mean? What are some of the key conceptual (or terminological) complexities and ambiguities involved in this question ( Can women and men be friends)? In other words, how does the very term “friend” complicate people’s responses to this question? What concepts or notions can help us qualify and clarify what we mean by “friend” in a male-female relational context? Your response should engage (a) Simon as well as (b) Lewis, Aristotle, or Rawlins.
Communicative Challenges – What are some of the pragmatic/practical challenges for friendship IPC between the sexes? (One way to answer this question is to think about common hurdles, pitfalls, misunderstandings, conflicts, etc.) What insights and recommendations does Simon offer for navigating these challenges? You might want to consider whether Lewis, Aristotle, or Rawlins agree/disagree, or whether they extend or amplify what Simon offers.
Consider some of the dynamics and challenges when both people are unmarried compared to when at least one of them is married. How does Simon help us to think about what makes IPC and IP relationships across the sexes different from those within same sex friendships, generally speaking? Think practically here about speech, action, and nonverbal communication. What might Tannen or Lewis add to your thinking about these dynamics?
Practical IPC Wisdom – What practical advice (for speech, action, nonverbal communication) should we follow in our approach to friendships between the sexes, if our goal is to cultivate Practical IPC Wisdom? What implications can we draw from Simon, and possibly also from Lewis, Aristotle, Rawlins, Tannen or one of the readings on nonverbal comm, for such friendships in the workplace, at church, at school, or some other applied IPC context? Make application to one or two contexts as you offer your practical advice.
Grading Rubric
Content – Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor – Clear, substantive, discusses specific ideas, terms, arguments, etc. Addresses the complexity of issue; identifies wise constructive insights.
Writing Quality – Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor – syntax, sentence construction, grammar, paragraph development, clarity, word choice, spelling, etc.
Sources – Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor – Gives primary attention to Simon and incorporates Lewis, Rawlins, Aristotle, and/or Tannen. Displays an accurate understanding of their ideas.
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