Time Schedule:
Rubye Elizabeth Thomas
BIS 348
Bothell Campus
Addresses the ways that cultural traditions and social practices both reflect and transform psychological experience. Examines both new theoretical and empirical work in cultural psychology and the intellectual roots of cultural psychology. Explores the implications of a cultural perspective for the larger projects/concerns of the field of psychology.
Class description
Cultural psychology examines the ways that cultural traditions and social practices both reflect and transform psychological experience. The central concern of cultural psychology is how persons and cultures create each other. Through theory development and empirical research, cultural psychology explores local understandings of self, mind, and emotion. While universal features of human experience are not ruled out, generalizations about the richness of this experience are built from close comparative study of people thinking and acting in specific contexts.
This course provides an introduction to the emerging interdisciplinary field of cultural psychology. We will examine new theoretical and empirical work in the field and will familiarize ourselves with the intellectual roots of cultural psychology. We will discuss also the implications of a cultural perspective for the larger concerns of the field of psychology. For example, we will explore how the findings of cultural psychology impact the way that we think about human development, intelligence, emotional experience, and identity.
Student learning goals
General method of instruction
Methods of instruction will include lecture,classroom discussion, and in-class small group work.
Recommended preparation
Class assignments and grading
Assignments include short written reflections on reading, take-home essay exams, and a research project.
Grades are assigned according to the quality of participation and the quality of written work.
