In this book, Steve Duck, a founder of and prolific crossdisciplinary contributor to the field of relationships research, challenges students to re-examine their assumptions about relationships. Duck shows that in order to understand relationships properly, students must understand the roles that society, language, our taken-for-granted assumptions, and other people who share those assumptions play in the conduct of relationships. By analyzing talk and the material circumstances of our everyday lives, the author provides a number of features that help students apply the information to their own lives: Questions to Ask Your Friends: By discussing issues with their friends, students are able to see the cultural and social basis of some of their assumptions Discussion Questions: These questions provide thought-provoking topics for individual reflection or class discussion Listen in on Your Own Life: This feature asks students to find examples in their own lives and those of their friends