Full-time faculty

	Dr. Mark Orbe Professor
	Office: 316 Sprau Tower Office Phone: 269 387-3132
	Email: mark.orbe@wmich.edu
	Education: Ph.D., Ohio University.
	Areas of expertise: interpersonal communication, communication and diversity, intercultural communication.

Research Interests

Co-cultural communication, intergroup relations, African American communication, mass media representations of underrepresented group members, negotiation/intersection of multiple cultural identities.

Courses That I Teach

COM 690: Critical Research in Communication

This course is designed to provide students with the necessary theoretical, methodological, and practical tools to conduct critical research in the field of communication. Specifically, the course content will focus on those methodologies associated with radical humanist and interpretative paradigms and include hands-on opportunities to conduct mini-research projects in some of the following: cultural phenomenology, critical ethnography, feminist/critical race theory, auto-ethnography, Afrocentricity, and semiotic analysis.

COM 305: Interracial Communication

This course is designed to explore the inextricable relationship between race, culture, and communication. Specific attention will geared toward the construction of one's own racial/ethnic identity, as well as those of other groups. Part I of the course will cover various foundations of interracial communication including topics such as language, identity, history, cultural influences, and theories. Part II will draw from this foundation and discuss interracial communication in a number of contexts (i.e., relationships, family, organizations, mass media).

COM 670 Seminar in Interpersonal Communication.

E. Female/Male Interaction (syllabus)

COM 670 Seminar in Interpersonal Communication.

F. Intercultural Communication (syllabus)

COM 601 Introduction to Graduate Study in Communication.

Introduces COM graduate students to the research literature, methodology and theoretical domains of the communication discipline. Students will learn the standards of scholarly writing and be introduced to the criteria for choosing and evaluating research methodologies(syllabus).

COM 170 Interpersonal Communication

An introductory course in communication theory and practice in which students utilize their powers of speech to increase their effectiveness in interpersonal relations through understanding of self and others. This course may be offered in an accelerated format (sample syllabus).

COM 305 Special Topics In Communication

Interracial Communication

COM 474 Intercultural Communication

An examination of the factors contributing to effective communication in an intercultural context. The course focuses on such topics as ethnocentrism, cultural perceptions, values and beliefs, language and meaning, and nonverbal factors. Communication systems of selected cultures are described and analyzed ( syllabus).

COM 479 Female/Male Interaction

Examines the variable Of gender as it influences communication between women and men. Topics include female-male stereotypes, interpersonal attraction, differences in female-male verbal and nonverbal codes, relational dialogues and patterns, and female-male interaction on the job ( syllabus).

Recent Publications and Papers

Leslie, K. B., & Orbe, M. (in press). 'Medical crisis or miracle': A phenomenological inquiry of transplant recipient communication. Health Communication.

McDonald, T. A., Orbe, M., & Ford-Ahmed, T. (Eds.) (in press). Building diverse communities through communication research. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Orbe, M., & Warren, K. T. (in press). Different standpoints, different realities: Race, gender, and perceptions of intercultural conflict. Qualitative Research Reports in Communication, 1(3). [Published within Communication Quarterly]

Cornwell, N. C., & Orbe, M. (in press). "Keepin' it real" and/or "Sellin' out to the man": African American responses to Aaron McGruder's Boondocks. In R. R. Means Coleman (Ed.), Say it loud!: African American audiences, media, and identity.  New York: Routledge.

Warren, K. T., Orbe, M., & Greer-Williams, N. (in press). Perceiving conflict: Similarities and differences between and among Latino/as, African Americans, and European Americans. In D. Rios & A. N. Mohamed (Eds.), Brown & Black communication: Latino and African American conflict and convergence in mass media . Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.

Orbe, M., & Hopson, M. C. (in press). Black men on MTV's The Real World. In L. Artz (Ed.), Communication in the modern world. New York: Pearson.

Orbe, M.,  Drummond, D. K., & Camara, S. K. (in press). Phenomenology and black feminist thought:  Exploring African American women's everyday encounters as points of contention.  In M. Houston & O. Davis (Eds.), A new angle of vision: African American feminist and womanist studies in communication. Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Orbe, M. (in press).  Phenomenology as a co-cultural methodology:  Spaces where once-muted voices can be heard.  In T. A. McDonald, M. Orbe, & T. Ford-Ahmed (Eds.), Building diverse communities through communication research  (pp. 73-89). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.

Orbe, M., & Harris, T. M. (2001). Interracial communication: Theory into practice. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Orbe, M., Warren, K. T., & Cornwell, N. C. (2001). Negotiating societal stereotypes: Analyzing "Real World" discourse by and about African American men. International and Intercultural Communication Annual, 23, 107-134.

Orbe, M. (2000). Centralizing diverse racial/ethnic voices in scholarly research: The value of phenomenological inquiry. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 24, 603-621.

Bell, K., Orbe, M., Drummond, D. K., & Camara, S. K. (2000). Accepting the challenge of centralizing without essentializing: Black feminist thought and African American women's communicative experiences. Women's Studies in Communication, 23(1), 41-62.

Orbe, M., & King, G. (2000). Nursing and the tension between policy and reality: Exploring nurses' communication about organizational wrongdoing. Health Communication, 12(1), 41-61.

Fox, S., Giles, H., Orbe, M., & Bourhis, R. Y. (2000).  Interability communication:  Theoretical perspectives.  In D. O. Braithwaite & T. L. Thompson (Eds.), Handbook of communication and people with disabilities:  Research and application  (pp. 193-222).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Cornwell, N. C., & Orbe, M. (2000, November). "Keepin' it real" and/or "Sellin' out to the man'": African American responses to Aaron McGrunder's Boondocks. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Orbe, M. (2000, November). Interracial communication images in the mass media: A review of literature and call for future research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Watts, E., & Orbe, M. (2000, November). The spectacular consumption of "true" African American culture: "Whassup" with the Budweiser guys?. Paper presented at the National Communication Association, Seattle, WA.

Cornwell, N. C., & Orbe, M. (2000, June). Dialogic listening: Shifting thinking about hate speech outside the box. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Acapulco, Mexico.

Orbe, M., & Greer, C. M. (2000, April). Recognizing the diversity of lived experience: The utility of co-cultural theory in communication and disabilities research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Central States Communication Association, Detroit, MI.

Cornwell, N. C., & Orbe, M. (1999). Critical perspectives on hate speech: Explicating the centrality of 'dialogic listening' in attempts for meaningful dialogue. International Journal of Listening, 13, 75-96.

Allen, B. J., Orbe, M., & Olivas, M. R. (1999). The complexity of our tears: Dis/enchantment and (in)difference in the academy. Communication Theory, 9(4), 402-429.

Cornwell, N. C., Orbe, M., & Warren, K. (1999).  Hate speech/free speech: Using feminist perspectives to foster on-campus dialogue.  Journal of Intergroup Relations, XXVI(1), 3-17. (Lead article; 1999-2000 Best Article Award, Third Place)

Orbe, M. (1999).  Communicating about `race' in interracial families.  In T. Socha & R. Diggs (Eds.), Communication, race, and family:  Exploring communication in black, white, and biracial families (pp. 167-180).  Mahwah, NJ:  Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

Orbe, M. (1999, November). Negotiating multiple identities in and around organizational margins: A case study in co-cultural theory. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.

Orbe, M., & Warren, K. (1999, November). Negotiating societal stereotypes:  Analyzing "Real World" discourse by and about African American men.  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.

Warren, K., & Orbe, M. (1999, November). 'Real World' interracial conflict: Thematizing perceptions based on race and gender. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.

Wright, T. J., & Orbe, M. (1999, November). The value of collaborative research on subjective racialized positioning: Studying the face strategies of [BLIND] European American reviewers. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Chicago, IL.

Bell, K. E., Orbe, M., Drummond, D. K., & Camara, S. K. (1999, May)  Accepting the challenge of centralizing without essentializing:  Black feminist thought and African American women's communicative experiences.  Paper  presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.

Cornwell, N. C., Orbe, M., & Warren, K. (1999, May).  Contradictions of free speech and liberal democratic environments of learning:  A feminist analysis of hate speech.  Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.

Orbe, M., & Cornwell, N. C. (1999, May).  Contradictions of television reality:  The case of Black men on MTV's THE REAL WORLD. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, San Francisco, CA.  (Top Paper Award, Popular Communication Division)

Recent Grants

Project Grant, Michigan School of Civil Rights, $31,868.44, 2000.

Project: "Civil Rights Health 2000: A Community-Based Model"

Faculty Research and Creative Activities Award, Western Michigan University, $5,000.00, 2000-2001. Project: "Exploring First-Generation College Student Experiences"

Research Development Award, Western Michigan University, $3,625.00, 1999-2000. Project:  "Intergroup Relations Theory and Practice"

Additional Info

The Journal of Intergroup Relations, Editor, 1999-present

Women's Studies in Communication, Editorial Board, 2000-present

Communication Studies, Editorial Board, 2000-present