Relational Dialectics

HCI research has explored mobile technologies to support social activity and to support greater feelings of connected- ness. Much of this has focused on different mobile devices, individual preferences and modes of use. Yet social activity and connectedness are about ongoing enactments of relation- ships across technologies. We propose the relational lens as a way to include a notion of relational tension in addition to individual preferences in the design and analysis of mobile communication technologies. We discuss three strategies people use to manage tensions in their relationships: selec- tion, segmentation and integration. Our data show that use of social technologies can at times destabilize social relations and occasion relational tensions, forcing users to renegotiate how they enact these relationships.

This book bridges a gap between discussions about truth, human understanding, and epistemology in philosophical circles, and debates about objectivity, bias, and truth in journalism. It examines four major philosophical theories in easy to understand terms while maintaining a critical insight which is fundamental to the contemporary study of journalism. The book aims to move forward the discussion of truth in the news media by dissecting commonly used concepts such as bias, objectivity, balance, fairness, in a philosophically-grounded way, drawing on in depth interviews with journalists to explore how journalists talk about truth.

For the Routledge Research in Journalism Series.

In this narrative essay, I draw from Bakhtin (1990) and Baxter (2004, 2011) to forward writing aesthetic moments in autoethnographic inquiry. Through storying experiences with my father, I offer writing aesthetic moments as an approach to writing about mundane—yet deeply meaningful—experiences that may be overlooked in epiphany-driven autoethnography.

Vygotsky’s project needs to be grasped as a yet unnamed type of an approach which, in continuing the revolutionary spirit of Marxism, moved beyond the old divide between theory and practice and instead, embodied their unity in a peculiar blend with distinct philosophical, theoretical and ethical/ideological underpinnings. The goal of creating
new psychology for a society that itself needed to be created on principles of social justice and equality guided this approach and turned it into a critical-practical project of social transformation and change. The main argument advanced in this paper is that at the core of Vygotsky’s method is the novel transformative onto-epistemology, coupled with the socio-political ethos of equality and justice, which challenge ideology of adaptation and control. I discuss this set of issues in light of a transformative activist stance that puts premium on researchers’ commitments and value orientations.

Employee workplace dissatisfaction is the subject of innumerable interdisciplinary studies. Current research suggests that employee dissatisfaction is directly related to communication within the organization. According to current theoretical frames, workplace dissatisfaction is expressed by four distinct behaviors: exit, voice, loyalty, or neglect (ELVN). These models, though useful, do not attend to relational dialectics found in interpersonal relationships. Employees are often caught in relational tensions with managers. In this review, I will examine the current literature on ELVN and relational tensions between superiors and subordinates.

Dear Colleagues from the Academia.edu,

I would like to share for comments and discussion the text I wrote for my presentation on the II Annual Conference of the European Network of Japanese Philosophy. It's still a very rough draft, but already has outlined the most important ideas, and the ones I would like to explore the most. Since I plan on submitting the text for publication in ENOJP's journal, I would very much welcome any thoughts, commentaries or recommendations regarding everything, from content to form to arguments and conceptual difficulties. Again, it's a very rough draft, and it still lacks most references and meaningful quotes, but I thought it would be interesting to present it to discussion in the state it is so the focus truly lies in the main philosophical questions I wanted to raise with it.

I look very much forward to your commentaries and hope to be talking to you soon!

All the best,

Lucas

Poetry about mothering, child-rearing, child-getting, the meanings and experiences of mom-mother-mothering, speaks to larger issues of mothering as contested spaces of social change. We analyzed the anthology, Not for Mothers Only: Contemporary Poems on Child Getting and Child–Rearing (Wagner & Wolff, 2007), from a relational dialectics framework to focus attention on the interplay between dominant and marginalized discourses circulating about mothering in the collected poems.  By framing communication as a dialectic between the relational and political, we make the connection between mothering, poetry and politics explicit.  In this essay, we place the poems in the context of mothering discourses and argue that they both speak to and broaden notions of confessional poetics by refuting public private binaries and thus, transform totalizing mothering discourses.  The use of relational dialectics as a framework demonstrates how relational communication theory can contribute to critical work.

Sartre’s political thought could be characterized by three elements: (1) his life as a political project and performance, (2) freedom as a challenge of the relationship of ethics to political life, and (3) the historical weight of history and an imposing social world on the task of creating institutions that do not inhibit the development of human potential and relationships. In all, these boil down to the question of political life as an effort to bring the human being to the fore in the human world.

Artistien sosiaalisissa elämissä on havaittavissa paradoksaalinen ilmiö. Julkisuuden ja musiikkialalla toimimisen myötä artistien interpersonaalisten kohtaamisten määrä yleensä kasvaa, kun samanaikaisesti autenttisten, läheisten vuorovaikutussuhteiden muodostaminen ja ylläpitäminen vaikeutuvat. Aikaisemmasta kirjallisuudesta on pääteltävissä, että muun muassa musiikkialan kulttuuri, julkisuus sekä julkisuusstatuksesta johtuva eriyttävä suhtautuminen julkisuuden henkilöihin voivat olla yhteydessä haasteisiin läheisissä suhteissa. Lisäksi minäkäsityksen hämärtyminen sekä omaa identiteettiä koskevan määräysvallan siirtyminen yleisölle voivat vaikeuttaa suhteiden muodostamista. Aiheen tutkiminen on perusteltua artistien hyvinvoinnin näkökulmasta, sillä läheiset vuorovaikutussuhteet ovat tärkeitä terveyden ja elämän merkityksellisyyden kannalta. Lisäksi artistien hyvinvointi on aiheena relevantti. Huoli artistien hyvinvointia uhkaavista tekijöistä on ollut viime vuosina esillä medioissa sekä musiikkialan ammattilaistapahtumissa.

Tutkielman tavoitteena on ymmärtää artistin roolin, eli artistiksi identifioitumisen sekä musiikkialalla ja julkisuudessa toimimisen, yhteyttä artistien romanttisiin vuorovaikutussuhteisiin, jotta suhteiden osapuolten olisi mahdollisesti helpompi käsitellä suhteissa esiintyviä jännitteitä. Tutkielmassa tarkastellaan romanttisia vuorovaikutussuhteita, sillä kumppani on tutkitusti artistin tärkein tuen lähde. Lisäksi tutkielmassa pohditaan, mitä artistien suhteet kertovat suomalaisesta nyky-yhteiskunnasta. Vuorovaikutussuhteiden ymmärretään rakentuvan vuorovaikutuksessa, minkä vuoksi aihetta lähestytään vuorovaikutustieteiden näkökulmasta. Tutkimuskohteeksi on rajattu Suomen musiikkialalla toimivien artistien romanttiset suhteet. Aihetta tarkastellaan relationaalisen dialektiikan teorian avulla, jotta artistien romanttisissa suhteissa esiintyviä relationaalisia jännitteitä sekä dialektisia voimia voitaisiin tutkia. Jännitteitä ja dialektisia voimia analysoimalla voidaan tehdä tulkintoja suhteiden vuorovaikutuksesta. Tutkielma toteutettiin kvalitatiivisena ja teoriasidonnaisena tutkimuksena. Aineisto kerättiin teemahaastatteluilla, joihin osallistui yksitoista 21–40-vuotiasta kotimaisella musiikkialalla toimivaa tai toiminutta artistia. Aineistoa analysoitiin temaattisen analyysin mukaisesti.

Suhteen ja artistin roolin yhteensovittaminen sekä siihen liittyvien jännitteiden hallitseminen on artistien mukaan edellytys romanttiselle vuorovaikutussuhteelle. Tähän liittyy kuitenkin haasteita, sillä artistit kokevat, että suhde ja artistina toimiminen sulkevat toisensa usein pois. Romanttisen vuorovaikutussuhteen ylläpitäminen vaatii sitä, että suhteen osapuolet käsittelevät vuorovaikutuksessaan suhteen ja artistin roolin yhteensovittamiseen, julkisuuteen, sosiaaliseen valtaan, jakautuneeseen identiteettiin sekä epäluottamukseen liittyviä jännitteitä. Julkisuuteen ja jakautuneeseen identiteettiin kytkeytyvien jännitteiden hallitseminen koetaan erityisen vaikeaksi, sillä artistit kokevat olevansa tällöin ennemmin jännitteiden kohteita, kuin niiden hallitsijoita. Jännitteiden hallitseminen on yhteydessä myös artistien kokemuksiin sosiaalisen tuen toteutumisesta ja ymmärretyksi tulemisesta suhteissa. Tulosten avulla artistien kokonaisvaltaista hyvinvointia voidaan tukea vuorovaikutussuhteiden näkökulmasta. Ymmärrys artistien sosiaalisista elämistä tarjoaa lisäksi mahdollisuuden julkisuutta ja artisteja koskevien käsitysten uudelleenmäärittelemiselle. Tutkielma osoittaa tarpeen julkisuuden tutkimiselle läheisissä vuorovaikutussuhteissa.

For many teenagers, learning to play guitar might only involve themselves and one or more of their peers interacting outside school. Music education research, however, does not reveal the spectrum of ways in which adolescent musicians interact to learn peer-to-peer. The purpose of this study was to examine this process: how adolescents verbally and nonverbally communicated to learn music together and without adult teachers.

Two research questions in this study addressed how systems of meanings emerged in adolescent musicians’ processes of talk. The first was: How do participants learning jointly and independently communicate with a peer outside school? The second question was: How do participants assess independent learning along with their peer and joint learning outside school?

The participants were six adolescent guitarists from El Paso, Texas. The final candidates included five males with Hispanic backgrounds and one Mexican-American adolescent male. Data were collected in three observations of the guitarists learning in pairs. Data were also collected in interviews, artifacts, and field notes. Discourse analysis involved review of recorded observations, field notes, and transcripts. Data were coded and parsed into categories. Multiple systems of meanings emerged in themes. Quoted material helped to explain the discourse themes. Three sets of findings included main dialectic discourse themes: together–individual, unreserved–reserved, and established–undetermined. Four identity discourses—self-learner, coach, musical artist, and friend—emerged from participants’ dialogues. Three themes indicated how participants individually assessed learning, and two themes showed how joint evaluations emerged peer-to-peer.

This study and its results highlight a spectrum of ways adolescent musicians use everyday talk to learn music outside school. Findings in this study might empower music teachers to facilitate their students’ own peer dialogues. Future research can build on the foundation of findings here, which raise questions for exploring how communication outside school might compare with communication in school, how peer-to-peer music learning might be facilitated, as well as implications about why certain types of communication influence music learning.

The Holocaust disrupted the foundations of identity for Jewish survivors: religious and social communities evaporated, families dwindled. This study explores the process of identity reconstruction within oral testimonies gathered through personal interviews with Jewish Holocaust survivors who immigrated to the United States. Thematically, their narratives confront three major forces that place conflicting demands on survivors: disclosure or nondisclosure of Holocaust experiences, autonomy and connection with religion and family, and the clash between stability and change in the transition to America. Each site of conflict exposes gaps in how identity becomes manifest through personal beliefs, observable behaviors, relationships with others, and communal affiliations. Attention to how narratives configure identity suggests ways that personal narratives illustrate the process of actively recrafting fractured selves.

Attraction and Repulsion (A & R) are the essences of the matter according to the opinion of Boscovich, Hegel, and Engels. A & R are the forces between material particles, according to Boscovich. In Hegel’s comprehensions, A & R denote assembly and disassembly, aggregation and separation. According to Engels, A & R are the most fundamental modes of motion of material bodies and particles. The ostensible disagreement between Boscovich, Hegel, and Engels was originated because they considered the different phases of the same process - the differentiation of matter. In fact, their comprehensions are complementary and in agreement, since the differentiation of matter includes the motion, aggregation, and forces between the particles. It was shown by the author that differentiation of matter is followed also by the differentiation of the motion – the new modes of motion originate as well as the old ways of motion are awakened.

Many approaches to brief therapy emphasize selecting only those clients who are psychologically minded and motivated to change; the criteria for inclusion and exclusion eliminate up to 80 percent of all clients. In today's climate of managed mental health care, however, clinicians can not afford the luxury of providing brief therapy only to a small selection of clients. Most brief therapy approaches are pragmatic in that they focus on only one aspect or problem of the client's presenting situation. The clinical work of most brief therapy approaches use interventions that directly seek client change (first-order change). However, it has been noted in the literature that therapists should use both direct and indirect (second-order change) interventions which request clients to experience both change and stability. It is from this dialectic between direct and indirect interventions that significant client change can occur. This article presents an approach to brief therapy that is an integration of the pragmatics of the Mental Research Institute (MRI) approach, Bradford Keeney's extension of the MRI approach, and developmental dialectics. Use of the dialectical-pragmatic approach should not only result in resolving specific presenting problems but also client growth and development. Various approaches to brief therapy have been developed based on the major theories of counseling and psychotherapy:. These various approaches advocate that the clinician use active and direct methods with clients in order to get them to make changes as quickly as possible both in and outside the sessions. All the various approaches to brief therapy have several common features:

I offer a narrative approach to interrogate the Exit-Voice-Loyalty-Neglect (EVLN), the psychological contract, and how organizational scholars conflate various issues in their research. What is like to live the process of quitting? And what can autoethnographic perspectives tell us about quitting, organizational trust, and the psychological contract between organizations and employees? This is a layered account of my workplace reality as an information technology professional (ITP) for a private university in the Midwest, a position I held for five years.To protect the innocent and the guilty (including me), all the names have been changed.

In this layered account, the author explores the disintegration of the relationship with his fiancé. Through the concept of relational dialectics, the author explores the multiplicity of tensions in the relationship and the patterns of communication and interaction through which they are displayed. These tensions include the dialectics of closeness–separateness, certainty– uncertainty, and openness–closedness. Similarly, the relationship is viewed through the concept of the chaos narrative and stands as a noncanonical exemplar for romantic relationships. Finally, as authors of our own life stories, the author questions the moral responsibilities we have toward each other, both in the living of our life stories and in the telling of them. The events in this narrative corresponded with the hurricane season of 2004, which serves as a backdrop to the story.

The authors used relational dialectics theory (RDT 2.0) to frame a collaborative autoethnography based on a year of their e-mail exchanges to show how romantic dyads use discourse to conceptualize themselves and their relationships. They used collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as a method to connect feminist inquiry with a critique of traditional interpersonal communication research. The use of found poetry=poetic transcription illustrates the antagonistic discourses of (a) intellect versus embodiment, (b) real-life work versus other worlds, (c) balance versus giving everything, and (d) past relationships versus the present. The RDT analysis demonstrated a conflict between feminist ethics, individual identities, and romantic narratives that contributed to a conflicted relational culture. This autoethnography suggests the utility of this type of text for RDT and the examination of discursive struggles of identity and intimacy crafted jointly in relational discourse.

Hitherto, dialectics has been weakly integrated with the regulationist/institutional perspective. This paper proposes a series of hypotheses which, it is hoped, can help to bridge this divide. In achieving this, an important tool will be the issue of energy. Although systems thinking are no stranger to the regulationist perspective, the approach has been defined quite narrowly, resulting in somewhat semantic debates about, for example, structural functionalism and evolution, structure and agency. By focusing on what is inherently the foundation of the study of physical systems theory, namely energy, this paper proposes a dialectical materialist foundation for the study of productive socio-economic systems and their regulation. The paper reviews several of the more promising approaches to the social regulation of energy, which help to fill in the ‘missing link’ in the ongoing regulationist research project on dialectics and systems. Focusing on a positive study of the operation of capitalism, we first consider the energy issue internal to socio-economic systems, considering the relationship between conservatism and change. We then address the issue of energy and entropy in the dialectical relations between social and physical systems, before concluding with some normative implications.

We live in a suffocatingly strange and depressing condition, in fear, and
surrounded by death. Mainstream politics seem to be left with limited
possibilities of reaction unless our collective imaginary opens itself to the
invention of an alternative present. I have chosen to use an old term, the name of socialism, and wonder if it is possible to redact this concept in a way that could actually prove useful. Others might opt for another term naming what may eventually come to be.

Drawing on the hegelian tradition and the spinozian perspective, I believe we can start by elucidating theoretically the networks of negative forces that take advantage and hold of the collective imaginary, producing new dystopias, inventing “territories” of escape for the privileged and developing new states of emergency. We can then reflect on the conflict between the social forces in which the action of the death drive tends
and is put to use for the purposes of domination, and those in which it is sublimated into resistance and revolt; between those inscribed in catastrophic negativity, and those in which it works for personal and social development. How do these two tendencies converge and diverge? Can we elaborate on dialectical links between them in order to allow the “restlessness of the negative” to play its positive historical part?
The key concepts that can organize this type of theoretical and political debate and could release the internal dialectics of the negative’s versions, are certain bipolarities such as utopia/dystopia.

The focus of this presentation will be on two ideas: first, negativity and how Althusser deals with this concept in his study of Machiavelli. Second, the dimension of the present in an ideal capable of mobilizing individuals and the masses in a positive direction.

Hitherto, dialectics has been weakly integrated with the regulationist/institutional perspective. This paper proposes a series of hypotheses which, it is hoped, can help to bridge this divide. In achieving this, an important tool will be the issue of energy. Although systems thinking are no stranger to the regulationist perspective, the approach has been defined quite narrowly, resulting in somewhat semantic debates about, for example, structural functionalism and evolution, structure and agency. By focusing on what is inherently the foundation of the study of physical systems theory, namely energy, this paper proposes a dialectical materialist foundation for the study of productive socio-economic systems and their regulation. The paper reviews several of the more promising approaches to the social regulation of energy, which help to fill in the ‘missing link’ in the ongoing regulationist research project on dialectics and systems. Focusing on a positive study of the operation of ca...

Framed by relational dialectics theory (Baxter), this investigation considered the meaning(s) of motherhood in female–female co-motherhood. Analysis identified two competing discourses: (1) discourse of essential motherhood (DEM) and (2) discourse of queer motherhood (DQM). Speakers' invocation of the DEM reinscribes the mainstream US cultural discourse that children can have only one authentic (i.e., biological) mother, whereas invocation of the DQM denaturalizes the DEM's presumptions of authentic motherhood as biological, interrupts monomaternalism, destabilizes the patriarch, and troubles the equation of biological with moral motherhood. Whereas interpenetrations of the DEM and DQM were typically sites of adversarial discursive struggle, in a few instances, the DEM and DQM rose above their antagonistic relationship, combining to create new meanings of motherhood.

The impact of computer-mediated communication (CMC) on relational behavior is a topic of increasing interest to communication scholars (McQuillen, 2003; Tidwell & Walther, 2002). One of the most interesting issues that CMC raises concerns the impact of CMC on relational maintenance and development. Using dialectical theory, social exchange theory, social information processing theory, and the hyperpersonal perspective as theoretical frameworks, this study used quantitative and qualitative analyses to identity potential effects of CMC on relationships. Study 1 (n=317) examined the effects of CMC on relational closeness, satisfaction, and social support. Study 2 (n=196) explored the reasons individuals provide for privileging computer-mediated forms of communication, and the perceived effects of using CMC in relational communication. Results indicated that quality of CMC predicted increased perceptions of social support and relationship satisfaction. Results further suggested that CMC...

For readers looking for an up-to-date, accessible, informed account of Amílcar Cabral's life, thought, and work, Peter Karibe Mendy's book is a unique and useful contribution. Through ten chronological chapters, Mendy's narrative is clear and engaging, and the book's concise writing draws from a great range of existing literature on Cabral, including most of the major new studies over the past fifteen to twenty years ...

An increasing amount of work is performed today in geographically dispersed team settings that transcend the boundaries of time, space, culture, and territory. Therefore, the need for a greater understanding of the complexities involved in leading and managing these communities of practice could not be greater. Any group of individuals meeting together for a common, well-defined purpose over a certain period of time, can
be loosely defined as a “community of practice” (CoP); however, when the work isprimarily carried out in cyberspace using computer mediated communication (CMC) and its attendant tools and accessories, we generally refer to such communities as “virtual communities of practice” (VCoPs). While the extant literature on networking
technologies reveals a lot of research already conducted on the technographic profile, virtual experiences of community members, and the impact of technology on communication, it is relatively mute when it comes to an understanding of the emotional experiences of leading and managing VCoPs. It is generally believed that the same set of principles and techniques that are deployed by successful leaders in face-to-face settings will in effect, be equally productive in cyberspace as well. An attempt will
be made in this paper to illuminate various aspects of leading in cyberspace with special emphasis on the intersection of “virtuality” and “emotion.” Some questions that are addressed in the overview have to do with the kinds of anxieties that are invoked in a leader when working virtually, how the leader copes with such anxieties without
losing focus on the task at hand, and what kind of renegotiation and accommodation must occur, in order to account for the absence of non-verbal communication, spatial indicators, and other paralinguistic cues that are typically taken for granted in face-toface settings. Using their own feelings and emotions as a guide, what might leaders do in a virtual setting that can enhance the frequency and quality of communication, the
development of “swift trust” between members, and the creation of a values-driven enterprise where the leader’s external authority and control are no longer the primary determinants of members’ motivation and sense of purpose? The paper explores in depth, “contextual leadership,” and examines VCoPs through two different lenses.

There is another form of bullying that is making quite a tremor in our society. Though many may see it as a normal banter, bullying among siblings is a serious form of bullying, this study aimed to focused on siblings’ relational dialectics or how they interact between themselves and the society under the presence of bullying. The case study was conducted on five pairs of sibling through purposive sampling, selected by the following criteria: sibling by blood and who self-confessed to bully their sibling and being bullied by their sibling. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interview. Additionally, key informant interview was conducted with a Registered Psychologist to provide expert opinions regarding the study. Personal data are kept confidential and results are reflected opinions from the participants only, not for wider population. In the study, bullying among siblings implies an unsure, complicated and awkward relationship between the siblings. The relational dialectics of the siblings are affected by bullying negatively. Also, the study suggested that bullying among siblings had its mirrored action, bullied inside the house becomes a bully outside and bullied outside becomes a bully inside their house. As the study suggests bullying has lot of negative implications between the siblings, and one that made them engaged on bullying is the environment they are exposed to. It is therefore recommended to have cooperative and bullying-free environment both at home and at school that will help the child/children adapt good behaviour as well as counselling to help understand their unique situations.

Keywords: Bullying, Bullying among Siblings, Relational Dialectics, Sibling Relationship, Physical abuse, Verbal Abuse

Hitherto, dialectics has been weakly integrated with the regulationist/institutional perspective. This paper proposes a series of hypotheses which, it is hoped, can help to bridge this divide. In achieving this, an important tool will be the issue of energy. Although systems thinking are no stranger to the regulationist perspective, the approach has been defined quite narrowly, resulting in somewhat semantic debates about, for example, structural functionalism and evolution, structure and agency. By focusing on what is inherently the foundation of the study of physical systems theory, namely energy, this paper proposes a dialectical materialist foundation for the study of productive socio-economic systems and their regulation. The paper reviews several of the more promising approaches to the social regulation of energy, which help to fill in the ‘missing link’ in the ongoing regulationist research project on dialectics and systems. Focusing on a positive study of the operation of ca...

Este artículo explora la posibilidad de servirse de los conceptos y la metodología empleada en la Teoría de la Dialéctica Relacional (TDR) para entender cómo es la interacción de los discursos y cómo se construye el significado de diálogo discursivamente en el cuento La trastienda de los ojos de la autora española Carmen Martín Gaite. A partir de un análisis de contrapunto, un tipo específico de análisis de discurso (Baxter, 2011), hemos identificado una serie de discursos socioculturales e interpersonales en torno al diálogo que compiten entre sí produciendo tensiones dialécticas antagónicas que resultan en el mantenimiento y fortalecimiento de los discursos dominantes en el centro de la cadena de enunciados y la marginación de los discursos alternativos en relación al diálogo. La teoría y metodología de la dialéctica relacional es un enfoque novedoso en el estudio de la obra de Martín Gaite ya que introduce el análisis de discurso y entrelaza conceptos teóricos provenientes tanto del campo de la comunicación interpersonal como de la literatura.

An increasing amount of work is performed today in geographically dispersed team settings that transcend the boundaries of time, space, culture, and territory. Therefore, the need for a greater understanding of the complexities involved in leading and managing these communities of practice could not be greater. Any group of individuals meeting together for a common, well-defined purpose over a certain period of time, can be loosely defined as a “community of practice” (CoP); however, when the work isprimarily carried out in cyberspace using computer mediated communication (CMC) and its attendant tools and accessories, we generally refer to such communities as “virtual communities of practice” (VCoPs). While the extant literature on networking technologies reveals a lot of research already conducted on the technographic profile, virtual experiences of community members, and the impact of technology on communication, it is relatively mute when it comes to an understanding of the emoti...

Higher education institutions face two concurrent demands: preparing students for the job-market, while also developing informed and engaged citizens (Frey & Palmer, 2014; Gould, 2003). How universities reconcile these demands varies. The Innovation Engineering program (IE) at the University of Maine strives to both, “change the world by enabling innovation” (concern for social issues) and educate entrepreneurs (students) whose innovations reach markets quicker and at a decreased risk (capitalist orientation) (Hall, 2013; Kelly, 2014). The program uses a systems approach to innovation by teaching tools and methods for creating, communicating, and commercializing meaningfully unique ideas. Processes and contexts are important parts of a systems approach, yet within this program there is not a clear articulation of the various processes and cultural ideologies and contexts that enable or discourage particular orientations to communication, innovation and social change. This dissertation is a critical qualitative case study of one Social Entrepreneurship program (SE) – the IE program at the University of Maine. This critical case study aims to better understand such processes and contexts through a focus on the meanings and practices of communication and social change as they are taught and experienced in IE. In this study, I use articulation analysis (Hall, 1985; 1989) to expose the dominant cultural and ideological discourses embedded within IE’s program documents. Additionally, I use relational dialectic theory (Baxter, 2011; Baxter & Montgomery, 1996) to describe the discursive struggles and cultural ideologies embedded within the co-participants experiences. Finally, I employ critical communication pedagogy (Fassett & Warren, 2007) to evaluate the descriptions of the discursive struggles and cultural ideologies and discourses that emerged. I find that two dominant discursive struggles emerged: integration-separation and dissemination-dialogue. I also find that although IE fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, the program privileges neoliberal values where the autonomous individual is prioritized. Based on the results of this dissertation, I propose a critical social entrepreneurship education model for the IE and other SE programs to consider embracing in order to reconcile the two demands of higher education. To download dissertation, go to this URL or see link near title: https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/etd/2830