This book explores the communication challenges faced by parents as they raise children who are bi-cultural, multi-cultural, or are adopted from a heritage other than the parents. Each contributor views the family as a site of intercultural dialogue and mediation, and uses compelling studies throughout to examine the parents who creatively balance cultural influences within their families. Using television depictions of parents on Modern Family and All-American Muslim to the everyday activities of mixed-ethnicity and international families, Mediating Cultures reports the communication strategies employed by the parents as they strive to create affirming relationships between children and their heritages. This collection brings together two largely separate literatures of family communication and intercultural communication studies with accessible yet context-driven studies to explain how families integrate multiple cultural heritages and perspectives.

Contributions by: Carlos Aleman, Melissa Aleman, Nicole Blau, Chin-Chung Chao, Ali E. Erol, May H. Gao, Joris Gjata, Souhad Kahil, Tara Shenoy Kulkarni, Kimberly Moffitt, Natalia Rybas, Suchitra Shenoy-Packer, Dexin Tian, Candice Thomas-Maddox, Jennifer Willis-Rivera, Deanna Womack