The Dynamics of Prejudice

Catalog description

This course is designed to help students understand how attitudes and beliefs of individuals shape intergroup relations and their impacts on the daily lives of individuals as well as the effects that these beliefs have on the larger social structure of American society. We will examine how profoundly our society and the groups to which we belong, influence us and our beliefs and ultimately how these beliefs shape prejudice in our society. In this course, students are encouraged to challenge ideologies that are considered "common sense" or that are taken for granted and this in turn will allow them to critically engage issues in society such as racism, classism, sexism, and will leave with an understanding on how privilege affects our views on disability, LGBTQ issues, religion and immigration. Rather than investigating these themes in the abstract, students will identify and unpack how these larger structural issues play integral roles in their everyday lives, interactions, and existence. Ultimately, this course aims to address the social inequalities that exists in our society as a result of prejudice and will challenge students to identify and engage in strategies to work towards changing these aspects of society.