Dr. Christine E. Kunkle (formerly known as Rittenour)
Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Study:
Family Communication
Intergroup Communication
Communication and Aging
Research Interests:
Communicated prejudiceSocial justice
Family socialization
In-law relationships
Gender and feminism
Dr. Kunkle researches families and prejudice.
She is fascinated by humans' differential (mis)treatment of those dubbed as
different, and she asserts that family is a primary site for experiencing and
teaching "difference." Some of her work addresses within-family
differences based in social (e.g., ethnicity, age), structural (e.g., in-law
relationships), and value-based identities (e.g., feminism, generativity), as
she reveals how these differences coincide with the unity and happiness that
family members feel for each other. Some of her work addresses
communication about difference, including that which happens
within the family, then "spilling' into family members' treatment of
those outside of the family. Dr. Kunkle also works with the ADVANCE team to
facilitate prosocial change at the institutional level.
Education:
B.A., The Pennsylvania State University
M.A., West Virginia University
Ph.D., University of Nebraska at Lincoln