Link to NEWSWEEK cover story on "the martyr factory" - an interesting illustration of the staircase to terrorism

NPR link to Barauck Obama's speech about race

NPR link to "what White people like" blog

Summary of recent (and disturbing) implicit racism research (thank you, Myles!)

Course Description:

This course offers a broad introduction to social psychological research on prejudice and discrimination. The first part of this course will examine how people's own group membership and the environment in which they live influence their attitudes, beliefs and behavior toward others who are different. The second part of this course will focus on the different ways in which cultural stereotypes affect members of disadvantaged groups (e.g., in terms of their mental health, physical health, performance and achievement). We also will consider the different ways in which individuals form various advantaged groups protect themselves and show psychological resilience. The third part of this course will identify interventions that may help alleviate intergroup prejudice and discrimination.

Course Goal:

Course Objectives:

• Describe current psychological theories and research relevant to prejudice and discrimination.
• Evaluate the scientific merit of different approaches to stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination.
• Apply these theories and research to understanding ordinary behavior.
• Engage with challenging moral and ethical human dilemmas.

I also designed this course to contribute to the following Psychology Department learning goals:

• Students should be able to apply psychological theories, concepts and principles to personal and broader social systems and issues.
• Students should be able to recognize and understand the complexity of cultural diversity

Required Text :
B.E. Whitley, Jr. & M.E. Kite. (2006). The Psychology of Prejudice and Discrimination. Belmont, California: Thomson Higher Education.

There also will be a web page with a reading list that includes "Current Events" articles and empirical journal articles that are particularly relevant to our class discussions.

Heather Smith, Ph.D.
Stevenson 3092c
664-2587
smithh@sonoma.edu

PDF Versions:
Course Project 1
Course Project 2
Three questons/comments
Diary entries

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