Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In this volume, Dr. Rawlins traces and investigates the varieties, tensions, and functions of friendship for males and females throughout the life course. Using both conceptual and illustrative chapters, the book portrays the degrees of involvement, choice, risk, ambivalence, and ambiguity within friendships, and explores the emotional texture of interactions among friends. A concluding section examines the prospects for friendship in the course of our post-modern blurring of public and private domains and discursive sites.
Synopsis
In this volume, William K. Rawlins traces and investigates the varieties, tensions, and functions of friendship for males and females throughout the life course: how they are managed communicatively, and how they infl uence and refl ect their participants' continually evolving senses of self, relationships, and community. He argues that friendship inherently involves certain dialectical tensions within the larger culture, between friends, and within and across the stages of the life cycle. He also examines notions and meanings of friendship: ethical, civic, romantic, utilitarian, and mundane.
Description
Includes bibliographical references (p. 281-301) and index.