Psychology 213 - Psychology of Racism

We begin this course by examining how the concept of race was developed to justify human rights atrocities and how it continues to be used to justify racial disparities today. We then examine theories of racism and its persistence at multiple ecological levels: intrapersonally, interpersonally, and institutionally. Although a theory driven course, students will be asked to apply theory to their own personal experiences, deepening an understanding of our own areas of oppression and privilege. Finally we will turn to inter-group relations theory, attending not only to dominant and minority group race-relation dynamics, but also inter-minority group relations (e.g., Black-Asian relations).

Course limited to sophomores, juniors and seniors