Course Title
I Too Sing America: Psychology and Cultural Differences

Teaching Team

Dr. Charles Behling, Jeff Brake, Teresa Brett

Curriculum

Taking its title from the Langston Hughes poem, this year long seminar will explore the psychology of cultural differences and intergroup relations in the United States. Topics include intergroup stereotyping, communication, cooperation, conflict, justice, and discrimination. What are some of the opportunities and obstacles to our joining with Hughes in affirming, "They'll see how beautiful I am...I, too, am America"? This seminar is designed to focus primarily on racial interactions in the United States, and it will also include considerations of gender, ethnicity, national origin, class, religion, sexual orientation, and other sources of cultural differences. Psychological theories will be emphasized, but the seminar will draw heavily on interdisciplinary perspectives and on the experiences of its participants. Experiential education will be the primary pedagogic technique of the course. As a central part of the seminar, students will design and produce videos to explore cultural diversity, and to communicate their findings to the community at large. Diversity in the seminar participants themselves--faculty, students, and guests--will be an important resource for this seminar.