Just Relationships

Book excerpt: Bringing a social justice lens to daily interpersonal relationships, Just Relationships offers a perspective on existing social science theory that demonstrates how our personal relationships should be grounded in fairness and justice. Douglas Kelley utilizes concepts from a variety of academic disciplines and helping professions to examine the barriers encountered in achieving balanced partnerships. This student-friendly book brings the important new perspective of social justice to courses focusing on interpersonal relationships and family relationships, supplementing traditional textbooks. This book presents key relationship theories in each chapter and then applies them from a social justice perspective; uses thought-provoking case studies and guiding questions to enhance student learning; examines a number of different types of interpersonal relationships including family, friends, lovers, and mentor-mentee relationships within a variety of socioeconomic and sociocultural contexts.