Professional information

Brief educational history and professional biography

Gloucestershire County Scholar at Bristol Grammar School reading Classics (Latin, Greek, Ancient History); was then Commoner at Pembroke College Oxford reading Psychology, Philosophy and Physiology (won a distinction in first public examination on Animal Behaviour; Logic; and Statistics); graduated B.A. with Honours and MA; then was Social Science Research Council Scholar at Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield reading for Ph.D. in social and personality psychology. Graduated Ph.D.

Was Lecturer in Social Psychology, Glasgow University, Scotland; Foundation Lecturer in Psychology, University of Lancaster, and then Senior Lecturer in Psychology there ; became Daniel and Amy Starch Professor at the University of Iowa; and Daniel and Amy Starch Research Chair in 2000. Served as Chair of the Department of Communication Studies, University of Iowa, 1994-1998 and Chair of Department of Rhetoric 2010-present.

Co-founded the International Conferences on Personal Relationships (1982 onwards), founded and then edited the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (from 1984-1998); founded the International Network on Personal Relationships (1987) and served as its President in 1996; founded and edited the Handbook of Personal Relationships (first edition 1988, second edition 1997). Has published 40 books on issues such as personal relationship growth and breakdown, TV production techniques, the development of social psychology, and social support.

 

Research and professional interests

My interests have always been threefold: 1) to enhance interdisciplinary scholarship; 2) to promote the study of relationship processes; 3) to develop the careers of junior scholars and graduate students.

Research interests

My thesis was on Personal Constructs and Friendship Formation and Since the first conference on Love and Attraction in Swansea, UK, 1977, organized by Mark Cook and Glenn Wilson, I was fascinated by the fact that so many scholars were studying relationships but remained relatively uninformed about each others' work, particularly if it crossed disciplinary boundaries as they then existed.

Teaching interests; history of courses taught; and those yet to be taught 2005-2008.

I have taught communication Theoryon several occasions and also Methods, about which topic I co-edited a book with Barbara Montgomery in 1991. In the past I have also taught courses on The Law, on Health, and on Social Psychology. My other regular courses are on Interpersonal Communication for advanced undergraduate students, a graduate survey course on Relational Communication, an advanced graduate Seminar on Communication in Relationships, and a course about ConstructsCommunication and Commmunication & Identity, which brings together my interests in George Kelly, Kenneth Burke, George Herbert Mead, and issues of identity in everyday conversations. I have recently taught a new course on Nonverbal communication and Advanced Relational Communication: Relational rhetorics and epistemologies. Other courses include 36:374 Rel Comm Theory & Research and 36:070 Communication Theory in Everyday Life, 36:383 Commmunication & Identity, 36:371 Communication Theory, and two courses for Distance and Continuing Education: 36:019:EXZ Organizational Leadership; and 36:018:EXW Leadership and Organizational Procedures [Robert's Rules on Steroids].

Selected publications

Here are some examples of my published work as illustrated by book covers and the like. Fuller details can be found at the websites of the various publishers indicated in Related Sites.

Basics of Communication: A relational perspective (Steve Duck & David T. McMahan) SAGE 2009

Rethinking relationships (2011)

Human Relationships 4th edition SAGE 2007

Composing relationships: Communication in everyday life. Julia T. Wood & Steve Duck, Wadsworth (2006).

Understanding research in personal relationships: A text with readings. William Dragon and Steve Duck. SAGE, 2005.

Friends for life, second edition

Handbook of Personal Relationships, second edition

Human Relationships, Third Edition

Relating to Others, second edition

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

Personal Relationships and Personal Constructs

Meaningful Relationships

Latest book: The Basics of Communication (Duck & McMahan), Sage, 2008

Full Curriculum vitae