2017-2018 Academic Catalog

Apr 25, 2024

2017-2018 Academic Catalog [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

PSYC 275 - Societal Approaches to Thinking

This capstone seminar provides a theoretical and methodological frame for studying how thinking is shaped by the societal context in which the person is situated, by the social location the person occupies in that context, by the cultural discourses in which he/she participates, and by the nature of what is being thought about. The seminar draws from readings from interdisciplinary sources, including psychology. We start with illustrative works from developmental psychology, sociocultural psychology and social psychology that approach thinking and reasoning in their social and cultural contexts. We also examine some works that do not emphasize the social context of thinking but that examine everyday thinking about social problems. We then discuss interdisciplinary writings that emphasize how societies and cultures are structured internally in terms of gender, race and class, and we examine empirical research on thinking and on personal epistemology that is grounded in this kind of societal framework. The last class of the semester will be a symposium in which each student will present her or his final paper in a 15-minute formal presentation, followed by class discussion.

This course fulfills the capstone requirement of the Psychology major.

Prerequisites: Juniors and seniors only or Instructor’s permission.

Anticipated Terms Offered: Offered periodically