Courses taught

PSYCHOLOGY

PSYC 115: INTRODUCTORY PSYCHOLOGY. This course introduces students to the field of psychology and the many areas of study, research and application within this field, including the brain, learning, thinking, sensation, emotion, consciousness, development, social processes, abnormal psychology and psychotherapy. Students also learn some of the basic techniques and issues involved in psychological research.

PSYC 150: EXPERIENCE AND DYNAMICS OF MADNESS. This course surveys the broad spectrum of human actions, states and experiences that have been designated by such terms as "abnormal behavior," "mental illness," and "madness." We explore this realm of experience primarily through autobiographical accounts and cinematic productions, considering such questions as: What constitutes "abnormal" behavior? How does our culture construct "mental illness"? What are the current theories about the causes and treatment of troubled psychological states? In considering questions such as these, we move toward a greater understanding of and empathy for those suffering from so-called psychological disorders.

PSYC 354: INTERVIEWING AND FIELD RESEARCH. Introduces the student to naturalistic research techniques like in-depth interviewing and participant observation.  Includes a research project of the student’s own choice based on interviewing individuals, observing a real-life setting, or some other naturalistic technique.  Previous projects have included interviews with young women about the fear of crime, a field investigation of gossip in a local workplace, and an analysis of young children's artistic productions.  This kind of research, which uses unstructured techniques in one-to-one situations or ordinary social settings, is also known as “qualitative research” (in contrast to the “quantitative research” of surveys and experiments).  The student will learn how to gather and analyze information using these unstructured techniques, how to assess the validity of the findings, and how to apply these findings to actual psychological issues. 

PSYC 363: PSYCHOPATHOLOGY. This course introduces students to the study and treatment of psychological disorders.  Students learn about the theories and methods by which psychologists investigate these disorders, some of the techniques that have been developed to treat them, and some of the social and political controversies that surround them.  Students also learn to identify and recognize the symptoms of the most important types of psychopathology. Students also have the opportunity to apply the concepts they learn to real accounts of mental illness by individuals who have experienced it.

PSYC 374: COUNSELING AND PSYCHOTHERAPY. This course introduces students to the fields of psychotherapy and counseling.  The unique goals of these two distinct yet deeply interrelated fields are reflected in the two main objectives of this course:  (1) in the seminar portion of the course, students sample several major theories used by psychotherapists to inform their clinical thinking; and (2) in the lab portion of the course, students begin to acquire the fundamental counseling skills that underlie all collaborative helping. 

PSCY 379: COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY. What would happen if psychologists left their consulting rooms and laboratories, and went into the community to work with “real” people in “real” social settings?  This question has been answered by the discipline known as community psychology.  In this course students learn about the history, theories and methods of community psychology, and the broad range of activities carried out by its practitioners, including crisis intervention, consultation, problem prevention, needs assessment, program development, program evaluation, community organization, and working for social change.  In addition, students get a chance to practice some of what they learn by doing work in the local community.

 

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AND SOCIAL RELATIONS

HDSR 239: PERSONS AND SYSTEMS. This course introduces students to the perspectives central to the HDSR program. It provides a foundation for understanding assumptions about individual human beings, social systems, and the interrelationships of persons and systems. Central to this understanding is an appreciation of how the methods and subject matters of a wide range of disciplines - psychology, sociology, anthropology, politics, economics and philosophy - can be appropriated and applied in addressing the social problems that confront the nation and the world today. In exploring these issues, students have the opportunity to apply some of what they are learning outside the classroom by observing and interacting with real social systems in our local community.

HDSR 364: FIELD STUDY SEMINAR. The HDSR Field Study Seminar is designed to help HDSR majors fully process the experiences they had in carrying out the HDSR Field Study. Drawing from a variety of theoretical models, particularly those studied in the HDSR core and related courses, students analyze and integrate their experiences. In addition to being a seminar (based on discussion among students), the class also takes the form of a writing workshop geared toward production of a successful field study paper in which the student argues an original thesis about the social system he or she studied in the field and about the larger social world.