Multicultural Psychology

Catalog description

As individuals, we function in environments we share with others. In those contexts, we learn about what it means to be and how to behave as members of a group or groups. Further, societally, group membership is associated with power and privilege for some, and marginalization/minoritization for others. Multiculturalism and social justice are inclusive approaches to the dominant traditional models for providing psychological interventions and therefore, in this course, we will review using a social justice lens how researchers have conceptualized culture, difference, and multiculturalism. A significant portion of the class will be spent considering race, ethnicity, and culture from a psychological perspective, particularly as they relate to interactions between dominant and nondominant groups. Identity, discrimination, intersectionality, and privilege are a few of the topics we will discuss. This course is designed to enhance student application of self-awareness, knowledge, and skills of specific multicultural social justice competencies and advocacy competencies with diverse populations.