Assignments
Beyond class participation, you will be asked to submit a journal entry every other week, write a final paper, and deliver an "Address to Humanity."
Journal Entries
What insights have you had during the past couple weeks? What did you think of the readings? Have you seen prejudice at work? Journal entries are a place to offer psychological analyses, show you are a keen observer of human behavior, and make creative connections between the course material and daily life. The challenge here is to see whether you can go substantially beyond the readings, videos, and class discussions to offer your own unique social psychological analyses and insights. In other words, rather than simply illustrating course material with examples from current affairs or your own life (as you would in a personal journal), see if you can delve deeper, take the course material beyond what you were given, and create a "journal of psychological insights." In doing so, don't be afraid to research your topic, interview other people, experiment with your life, engage in social justice activism, and suggest specific remedies when discussing social problems.
Beginning February 13th, you will be asked to turn in a 2- to 3-page typed, double-spaced journal entry once every two weeks. Anything related to the course is fair game: insights about yourself or others, social observations, commentaries on the readings or class discussions, etc. (given the 3-page limit, though, it is generally best to pick one central theme). Each journal entry should apply social psychology to the topic at hand, and each should be followed with a "Springboards for Discussion" page containing a few questions for class discussion (usually on the topic being covered the day journal entries are due). Also, be sure to include an essay title and page numbers.
Journal entries will be graded primarily on the basis of creativity and critical thinking, but variety and style will also be considered. That is, entries should not become repetitive (e.g., week after week of research critiques), and they should not be sloppy. To prevent sloppiness, spell-check your entry and proofread the printed version for typos. The grading for each journal entry will range from 0-5 points along the following scale:
- 5 points = truly superlative (a cleanly written, rare gem of insight)
- 4 points = very good (clean writing and creative, novel analyses)
- 3 points = generally good (shows a mastery of the course material)
- 2 points = acceptable (somewhat thin or contains significant errors)
- 1 point = marginally acceptable (very thin or contains major errors)
- 0 points = not turned in on time (late entries will not be accepted)
Final Paper
Final papers should be 10-15 typed, double-spaced pages (including references) and are due by 2:00 PM, Monday, May 14th (5 points will be deducted for each day the paper is late, except in the event of a health problem or family emergency). You are free to choose any paper topic that shows original, creative, and insightful thinking about prejudice and discrimination. Here are a few sample topics that would be appropriate:
- TOPIC #1: Do something novel that succeeds in reducing prejudice or discrimination, and write about what you did. What were the psychological principles that made it work? Could others do what you did? How could your idea be further improved?
- TOPIC #2: Create an original classroom activity, student assignment, web demonstration, tutorial, or other pedagogical resource that promotes social justice at the same time that it teaches about psychology. Then write a paper describing it and explaining the psychological principles involved.
- TOPIC #3: Write a paper that compares the common psychological mechanisms involved in two different forms of discrimination (e.g., sexism and racism, antifat prejudice and heterosexism). Cite relevant psychological research whenever possible, following a format similar to that found in psychology journals.
- TOPIC #4: Watch at least three minutes of video clips within each of the seven subcategories listed here and discuss: (a) whether the actions you observe involve prejudice, (b) the relation between animal cruelty and biases against human outgroups, and (c) effective ways to reduce speciesism.
- TOPIC #5: Analyze the role of prejudice in one or more international conflicts, such as the Iraq War, genocide in the Sudan, the war on terrorism, or the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Then see if you can use social psychology to generate specific practical suggestions for U.S. citizens who would like to help bring about peace.
Note: At the beginning of our May 1st class session, please submit a tentative paper title and a typed one-paragraph description of the paper you intend to write.
Address to Humanity
What if you stood before the United Nations, with TV cameras in front of you and translators at the ready? What words of wisdom would you have to share on the topic of prejudice? On our last class, we will hold a roundtable session in which each student delivers a 5-minute talk on the topic of prejudice and discrimination. This presentation should:
- Draw upon what you have learned during the semester;
- Show your capacity to think independently, deeply, and creatively by going beyond simple summaries of course material;
- Be designed to have a lasting effect on your listeners -- to change their thoughts or behavior (Hint: Use vivid, memorable material rather than abstract generalities). After the talks are given, I will collect a typewritten copy of your address, and we will open things up for a final discussion.
Grading
The overall distribution of final grades for this seminar is quite similar to that of other classes, but the grading will not follow arbitrary cutoffs determined in advance (e.g., 92%=A). Rather, grades will be based on previous norms for this class as well as my subjective judgment of where the grade cutoffs should most reasonably be drawn. Four components will enter into your grade:
- Class Participation (25-point maximum)
- Journal Entries (25-point maximum)
- Address to Humanity (20-point maximum)
- Final Paper (30-point maximum)
Note: As with many seminars, half of your grade will be determined from assignments at the end of the semester. Although this method of grading makes it difficult to project what your final grade will be, the advantage is that it ultimately yields the fairest grades (because it measures course mastery after all class material has been presented, rather than part way through).
Honor Code
Please read the Wesleyan Honor Code and abide by it closely. All papers, journal entries, and presentations for this class must be original -- not reprinted, excerpted, or adapted from existing work (e.g., papers for other classes, books, articles, web pages, and so on). Similarly, any text, tables, figures, or images reproduced from other sources must include clear reference citations, and all quoted passages must use quotation marks to indicate that they are quotations. If you're not sure about how to reference something, please ask me rather than running a risk of violating Wesleyan's Honor Code.
Course Organization & Philosophy
Organization
In the first session, students will create a baseline record of their attitudes toward prejudice and discrimination, and they will begin the process of getting to know each other. Next, the course will examine several psychological factors that promote and maintain prejudice and discrimination. This examination will begin at a general, decontextualized level, but it will soon move to consider the unique political, historical, cultural, and economic factors involved in specific forms of prejudice. After this micro-analysis of specific forms of prejudice, the course will then draw back for a final look at the macro level, emphasizing interconnections and common themes. In the final two sessions, students will also be able to review their baseline attitudes and see how their perspectives have changed during the semester.
Philosophy
There is no single best method for learning about prejudice, no simple road map to take us where we need to go with this subject material. Hence, we will have to build an understanding of prejudice together. My responsibilities will be to:
- Structure the course;
- Select thought-provoking discussion topics, readings, and videotapes;
- Facilitate the seminar discussions;
- Make myself available to you.
Your responsibilities will be to:
- Complete all required readings before class,
- Attend and participate fully in every session,
- Reflect deeply on the course material.
A core assumption of this course is that there is no way to have a deep understanding of prejudice without first having a deep understanding of yourself. Accordingly, we will use our own prejudices as a vehicle for understanding the prejudices of other members of society. Because this type of exploration is not as safe as the standard approach to studying prejudice, we will need to:
- Create a comfortable climate for discussion and dissent;
- Maintain strict confidentiality with any personal material shared in the seminar;
- Treat each other with respect, regardless of whatever differences we may have in opinion or lifestyle choices.
If we cherish the ideals of tolerance and diversity, the best place to begin is with this seminar.
Tentative Course Outline and Readings
NOTE: The reading assignment for each class session comes from the McGraw-Hill anthology and should be completed before the session it appears under.
Journal Entry #1 Due
