Psychology of Diversity

Catalog description

Navigating diversity has become increasingly important as our social world becomes more integrated with people from many varied backgrounds. Psychologists have become increasingly interested in studying diversity from a scientific perspective in order to gain a fuller understanding of these complex phenomena as well as to identify ways to increase social justice. This course will provide students with an increased understanding of theory and research related to the psychology of diversity. The course will emphasize an empirical approach to diversity. The heart of this course will cover basic psychological processes related to prejudice, stereotyping, discrimination, and stigma. We will examine diversity that results from differences in race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, social class, sexual orientation, weight, religion, political ideology, and more. The course will make use of different learning formats and emphasize both more formal and experiential learning.