Dialogue and Relationships Research Lab

drr3

The Dialogue and Relationships Research Lab (DRR) is an interdisciplinary lab for research, teaching, and engagement around issues of difference and difficulty in close relationships across the lifecourse. The goal of the lab is to foster collaboration and engaged approaches to dealing with difference and challenges in our close relationships.

The DRR makes room for dialogue that centers close relationships across difference and contributes to interdisciplinary conversations within and outside of BGSU.

    The DRR is a home for research, teaching, and engaged practice that:

  • is dialogical, collaborative and engaged socially and ethically
  • is interdisciplinary
  • is community based
  • is relationship centered

    The founder of the DRR is Dr. Sandra L. Faulkner, School of Media and Communication.

 
Sandra Faulkner Legacy Award Winner 2022

Sandra L. Faulkner, PhD

  • Position: Professor of Media and Communication

Sandra L. Faulkner is Professor of Media and Communication at BGSU where she writes, teaches, and researches about close relationships. Faulkner’s interests include qualitative methodology, poetic inquiry, inclusive pedagogy, and critical perspectives on interpersonal and family communication. She engages in community-based research focusing on aging and communication across the life course and uses poetry as a form of social justice and activism. She has received numerous awards for her teaching and scholarship including the Jack Kay Award for Community Engagement and Applied Communication Scholarship, the James W. Chesebro Award for Scholarly Distinction for Contributions to the Study of Sexuality and Gender, and the Legacy Award from the NCA Ethnography Division. Faulkner is the Editor in Chief of Communication Studies.

 

lisa-h

Lisa K. Hanasono, PhD

  • Position: Professor of Media and Communication

As a professor, scholar, teacher, and leader, Dr. Lisa Hanasono’s work focuses on supporting the development, career advancement, and success of faculty and students. She is particularly interested in revealing the hidden curriculum of higher education and investigating how mentoring, academic leadership, supportive communication, and institutional change can support the success of faculty members and students. Currently, she is a Co-PI of a $2 million NSF grant that aims to strengthen graduate students’ instructional skills and impact through a peer mentoring and professional development program. She also was a Co-PI of a nearly $1 million NSF grant that focused on inclusive leadership and faculty allyship. Her research has been published in journals like Journal of International and Intercultural Communication, Communication Quarterly, Communication Teacher, and Human Communication Research.

DivyaS

Divya S, PhD

  • Position: Assistant Professor of Media and Communication

Divya S. is an Assistant Professor of Communication at Bowling Green State University, specializing in Human–Machine Communication (HMC). Her research explores how conversational agents and AI-driven technologies can advance health, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and support wellbeing through human-centered interventions. Her work bridges communication, behavioral science, and human-centered approaches, and has been published in Healthcare (Basel), Frontiers in Psychology, and the Atlantic Journal of Communication. Divya has previously served as a research scientist and collaborator on national-scale projects with leading health organizations and federal agencies. She is committed to advancing ethical and impactful AI-driven communication interventions that foster meaningful connections and positive outcomes.

wendy-w

Wendy K. Watson, PhD

  • Position: Professor of Gerontology

Dr. Watson is a gerontologist whose research focuses on women’s identity and close relationships in later life. She studies women’s experiences with new, intimate relationships in mid and later life, with a focus on dating, remarriage, sexuality, and sexual decision-making. She is also interested in identity development for women as they negotiate new relationships and maintain existing ones, as well as other life course transitions throughout adulthood and later life. Dr. Watson’s work is largely qualitative, utilizing in-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups.

natalie2

Natalie Rogers

  • Position: Graduate Student

Natalie is a second-year master's student in the School of Media and Communications. Her research interests include interpersonal and end-of-life communication. She is also interested in using affective archival analysis to better understand how collective memory impacts end-of-life communication.

Faulkner, S. L. (2025). Poetic Portraits of Older Women in the Great Black Swamp: Making Poems from Stories as Representation, Inquiry, and Community Engagement. Qualitative Research. Online First. https://doi.org /10.1177/14687941251390776

Faulkner, S. L. (April 13, 2022). Intergenerational Connections: The Power of Conversation and Connection Across Age. TEDX BGSU. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y3RopTWTu4&t=245s

Faulkner, S. L., Pollino, M. A., Shetterly, J., & Watson, W. K. (2024). Intergenerational Connections: US College Students’ Attitudes and Expectations Toward Older Adults and Aging in an Online Critical Community Engagement Project. Communication Pedagogy, 8, 48-67. https://doi.org/10.31446/JCP.2024.1.04

Faulkner, S. L., Watson, W. (2024). What I know now that I wish I had known when I was younger: Older women’s relationship advice as Skinny Poetry. Voices and Silences: Poetry as Knowing and Learning in Social Research. Heidi van Rooyen & Kathleen Pithouse-Morgan (Eds.). HSRC Press

Faulkner, S. L., Watson, W. K., & Shetterly, J. (2023). Intergenerational Connections: An online community engagement project. Communication Teacher, 37(2), 132–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2022.2077973

Faulkner, S. L., Watson, W. K, Pollino, M. A., & Reese, J. (2022). Poetic Portraiture as Critical Arts-Based Pedagogy and Methodology: Older Women’s Relationships through the Lifecourse. Qualitative Inquiry, 28(10), 987-997. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778004221097058

Difficult Conversations in Older Adults’ Close Relationships

drr group

In fall 2025, students in Sandra Faulkner’s graduate relational communication course (MC 7000), along with Dr. Wendy Watson are collaborating on a project with the Wood County Committee on Aging titled, Difficult Conversations in Older Adults’ Close Relationships. The purpose of this community engaged research is to identify what older adults in Wood County find to be difficult topics to discuss in their close relationships and why, the skills they have for engaging in these conversations, and what skills they need to develop. The findings from this research will be used to develop a workshop on how to have difficult conversations in close relationships for older adults in Wood County. This project is important for three reasons. First, findings from this study will advance research that explains how individuals have multiple goals in their interpersonal interactions and how individuals navigate these goals influence their success and satisfaction. Second, this study will provide best practices for discussing difficult topics in close relationships. Third, the findings from this research will be used to develop a workshop on how to discuss difficult topics in close relationships for older adults in the community. We began by conducting 4 focus groups with older adults at the senior center in Bowling Green about topics they find difficult to discuss, close relationships in which they want to discuss difficult topics, what they consider a successful conversation about a difficult topic to look like, and any insights they had into how to talk about difficult topics. They identified friendships, sibling relationships, romantic relationships, and parent-child relationships as relationships in which they needed and wanted to talk about topics such as health, finances, and end of life care. Participants goals included maintaining relational harmony, keeping autonomy, passing on wisdom, and ensuring practical matters are addressed. They experienced conflict because they wanted to be honest, but they do not want to hurt feelings, they want independence but also need help, and they want to protect loved ones but also want to be understood. Successful conversations were defined less by “agreement” and more by feeling heard and respected. Even if outcomes weren’t perfect, success meant reduced tension, shared understanding, and maintaining closeness in relationships. We will be presenting our work at a colloquium at BGSU and working on a collaborative research presentation for a national conference as well as a publication.

Photo:
Back Left to Right
K.C. Bailey, Donnie Glover, Victoria Main, Osama Bahassan
Bottom Left to Right
Kendall Johnstone, Natalie Rogers, Jack Cullen, Sandra Faulkner
Not pictured (Wendy Watson)

School of Media and Communication

Dr. Cheryl Campanella Bracken, Director

419-372-8349
419-372-0202
306 Kuhlin Center Bowling Green State University Bowling Green, OH 43403

Updated: 10/27/2025 04:03PM