The Social Psychology of Systems of Domination in the U.S.

Course Description

Summary

Social psychology is the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another. This course will explore social thinking, influence, and social relations that shape our lived experiences through a U.S. contextual lens. Social psychologists are increasingly concerned with the effects of the various systems of domination on outcomes such as health and wellbeing, relationships with others, personal and social identities, as well as political views and participation. This class draws upon critical race and Black feminist traditions to explore the shaping of marginalization in the United States. This class encourages students to think deeply about their lived experiences and ask big questions around their identity. This class takes a dialogic approach to explore power and privilege, controversial topics in US society, implicit biases, prejudice and discrimination, social class, (dis)ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, ethnicity, and other attributes. In this course students are expected to get comfortable with the uncomfortable- conversations and topics that are some of our everyday realities. One of the core values of Black feminist thought is the importance of community in generating knowledge. The course itself will take form in semi-structured class meetings, reading-based dialogue, experiential activities, and reflective writing as means of encouraging self and group awareness to promote social justice and alliance building across different identities and perspectives. The objective of this course is for students to have a space where they can participate in inquiry-driven learning experiences around key topics of social psychology.