Greg Kim-Ju, PH.D

Psychology of Multicultural Groups

Catalog Description: This course examines the roles of culture, race, and ethnicity in human development and behavior. Particular emphasis will be placed on theory and research that have attempted to extend the boundaries of psychology as a discipline beyond its current, predominantly Eurocentric limits to include diverse, cultural groups in the United States. We will draw on various levels (i.e., individual, family, community, institutional) of influence in order to acquire sociocultural and ecological perspectives on human development and behavior. Particularly important is the view that we cannot understand the individual in isolation from his/her culturally patterned social relations, practices, institutions, and ideas. My hope is that you will leave this course with a broader understanding of how we, as individuals and cultural group members, are products of shared culture and society, and with your own thoughtful analysis of how psychological theory and research capture the experiences of individuals and cultural groups in the real world.

This course meets the General Education Area E requirement as well as the upper division elective requirement for the Psychology Major.

Number of Units: 3

Last updated: 1/20/2007