PSYC 3570: Multicultural Issues in Psychology
Fall 2014
Mon/Wed 3:00pm-4:15pm
Classroom South 621
CRN: 83249
Instructor:Dominique Thomas
Office:Kell Hall 225-D
Office Hours:Wednesdays 11:00-1:00 or by appointment
Phone: 404-413-6305 (leave a message)
Email: (E-mail is the BEST way to reach me)
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The goal of this course is to provide exposure to a broad range of psychological topics associated with multicultural issues. The course will give students an opportunity to explore human diversity from a wide range of theoretical and methodological perspectives that are reflective of cultural influences. The course objectives will be addressed via self-exploration, interactions with classmates and instructor, experiential exercises, assigned readings, and didactic presentations.
PREREQUISITESStudents must have successfully completed (C or better) PSYC 1101 (Introduction to General Psychology) NOTE: The GoSOLAR registration system will not allow students to register without having completed the prerequisites. Waivers for prerequisites will not be considered for regular students. Only post-baccalaureate and transient (visiting) students may request a prerequisite waiver through TenagneMulugeta in the main office of the Department of Psychology. No other requests for waiver of prerequisites will be considered.
COURSE GOALS
- Recognize the significance of and examine multicultural issues as it relates to psychological theory, research, and application of psychology principles.
- Stimulate an ongoing process of self-exploration and increase self-awareness around multicultural issues in psychology, with particular attention to personal biases based on one’s individual and multiple group identities that influence one’s behavior and attitudes in intercultural contexts.
- Facilitate a greater respect for and appreciation of both intergroup and intragroup differences.
- Students will learn to critically evaluate and critique behavioral science research literature in order to determine whether ideas, methods, and research findings appropriately address relevant multicultural issues.
- Students will increase ability to attend to own personal biases based on individual and multiple group identities through class discussion, group, experiential exercises, and reflective writing.
- Students will increase awareness and knowledge of the role of stereotyping, prejudice, and other “isms” and how they interact within the field of psychology.
- Students will engage in intercultural interactions in a safe classroom environment that facilitates non-defensive, collaborative, and productive communication about multicultural issues.
Required Textbook:
Mio, J., Barker, L., & Tumambing, J. (2012). Multicultural Psychology: Understanding our diverse communities (3rd edition). Boston: McGraw Hill. ISBN: 978-0-19-976691
Desire2Learn :
Other assigned readings will be available on the class Desire2Learn page or will be handed out in class.
PERSONAL CONDUCT
Creating a Safe Learning Environment:
Each student is responsible for reading and agreeing to terms in the contract regarding appropriate classroom conduct that helps to both create and maintain a safe classroom environment. The class contract will be created collaboratively, on the first day of class. Class participation in a respectful manner will be counted towards your final grade. Respectin this class implies your freedom to disagree with what other people say, without disrespecting each other. Respect also means that we strive to embrace diversity and multicultural concepts both in and outside of the classroom environment.
Students who exhibit behaviors that I consider obstructive or disruptive to the class or its learning activities will be treated according to the Board of Regents Policy on Disruptive Behavior. Disruptive students will first receive a verbal warning. Continued violations will result in the student being removed from the classroom, a meeting with the Chair of the Department of Psychology, and finally formal disciplinary action at the University level. In addition any student who engages in disruptive behavior may be assessed point deductions from his/her final grade or administratively withdrawn from the course.
Academic Honesty:The Department of Psychology follows the University system policy on academic honesty, published by the Office of the Dean of Students. All members of the University community, including students, faculty, and staff are expected to know the University’s standards of academic honesty and to abide by them. Lack of knowledge of these standards is not an acceptable defense for academic misconduct. For a full explanation of academic dishonesty, see the GSU student code of conduct at:
The most common types of academic dishonesty are plagiarism, cheating on assessments, and unauthorized collaboration.
GSU Department of Psychology Definition of Plagiarism: If a student uses or relies on others’ work in preparing any academic materials (e.g. written assignments, posters, presentations) the student must cite the source correctly according to the directions provided by the instructor. Failure to do so is plagiarism. Copying and pasting even part of a sentence or phrase is plagiarism, even when the source is cited correctly. Paraphrasing a source in a way that copies the phrase or sentence structure of a source is also plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, students are expected to properly paraphrase others’ ideas.
Quotes in scientific writing should only be used when the wording of the original source is critical to the student’s argument. Whether quoting is appropriate in a given instance is at the discretion of the instructor, not the student.
Cheating and Unauthorized Collaboration
Cheating includes the use or sharing of any unauthorized materials and/or assistance before, during, or after an assessment (e.g. exams, tests, quizzes). Unless otherwise specified by your instructor, you may not discuss an assessment or share materials or information with any other student at any time. Unauthorized collaboration occurs under the same circumstances as cheating, but involves assignments outside of the classroom (e.g. papers, projects, presentations) rather than assessments.
Disruptive Behavior
Disruptive behavior includes coming unprepared (e.g., has not read the text), interrupting others, acting sour or defensive with others, or for consistently distracting self or others (e.g., texting on cell phone; frequently arriving late, leaving early, or traffic in and out of classroom).
Cell phones:According to the University’s official policy on disruption, students are prohibited from making or receiving phone calls, pages, or text messages, while in class. Every time your cell phone audibly rings or vibrates so loudly that the instructor can hear it during 2 points will be deducted from your final grade. If circumstances beyond your control require that you be available to receive a phone call/page/text message during class (e.g. your child is ill), please notify me BEFORE class. When the call, text message, or page comes in, please leave the room discretely to answer it. University policies on disruptive behavior can be found at:
PLEASE NOTE: Should you choose to text or use your phone during class, without prior permission from me, points will be deducted from your final grade. This is considered disruptive behavior in the classroom environment.
EMAIL POLICY
All students are required to activate and monitor their FREE university email accounts (student.gsu.edu). You are responsible for any and all school-related information sent to this account. It is your responsibility to check your email account regularly to make sure that your account is working properly and your inbox is not full. You are responsible for any course-related content that is sent to your correct university email account.
Email is the primary way that I make contact with individual students outside of my office hours. In order to manage the large amount of email that I receive, I ask that you follow some basic procedures when sending me electronic messages.
- All email messages related to this course should be sent from your GSU student account and have PSYC 3570 or MULTICULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY in the subject line.
- Each email message you send should include your name as you are registered for the course.
- You should wait at least one full business day after sending me an email message to send me another message (or call me) with reference to a given issue.
- Send copies of all messages that you send to me to yourself and save them until the end of the course, or until you receive your final grade for the course. Do not delete any information from the messages.
- DO NOT EMAIL ME on Desire2Learn!Please use the email address provided on this syllabus.
GENERAL CLASS ATTENDANCE & PARTICIPATION
Due to the participatory nature of the course, all students are expected to be in class during the scheduled meeting time, for the whole time and attendance is part of your grade for this course. You will be penalized for having more than three unexcused absences (see policy on excusing an absence below).
LATENESS POLICY
If you arrive to class more than 10 minutes late, you will be marked absent, unless you have already spoken to me about your lateness. You are allowed a total of 3 opportunities to be late during the semester. A fourth late arrival and each one thereafter counts as an absence. Many of the activities we do in class require everyone’s participation and late students can be disruptive to those activities.
IF YOU ARE ABSENT OR MISSA DEADLINE
If you are unable to attend class or be present for the full class period it is your responsibility to get notes from another student for any material you missed. In the event that materials distributed in class on the day you were absent are not available for download through Desire2Learn, you should get a copy from a classmate or see me during my regular office hours. After you have reviewed the materials from the class you missed, you are welcome to see me during office hours to discuss questions that you were unable to resolve on your own.
If possible, you should notify me in advance when you will be absent. In the event that you will be absent on the day that an assignment is due and you are aware of this absence at least one week in advance, I expect you to turn in the work BEFORE you go, rather than after you return. Work turned in to me in advance need not be accompanied by a “make up petition”. Work turned in late will ONLY be accepted if the absence is excused, per the makeup policy below.
Excusing an Absence: In order to have an absence excused, you must provide me with a typewritten explanation of your absence and copies of any supporting official materials (I must see the original and you must provide a copy for my records). Official documents must have the date, and name of the issuing party (e.g. your physician), and a contact phone number. They must also clearly indicate that you were unable to be in school on the day in question, according to some relevant authority. A bill from a physician’s office showing that you were there around the time of an assignment deadline is not enough. You must have a signed note from the physician stating that you were hospitalized or ordered to stay home from school and work on the day in question because of your physical or mental condition. Please do not include specific information regarding your diagnosis, a general note from your physician meeting the previously stated guidelines is adequate. This note must be provided to me by the next class.
All documentation relevant to your petition must be given to me in person or to the receptionist at the Psychology main desk of the 11th floor of the Urban Life Building within 48 hours of the assignment that was missed. (If you turn it in to the receptionist, be sure to have it time and date stamped, so I know when it was turned in). If your documentation is late or incomplete, I will not accept it and your petition will not be considered. After reviewing your materials, I will notify you by email as to whether your case warrants permitting late work. If it does not, you will receive a grade of zero for the missed assignment/exam. If you miss the midterm exam and have all appropriate documentation accounting for an excused absence, you and I will decide upon a time to take the make-up exam, which will occur no more than one week past the date of the original exam.
Veterans’ Attendance: The Department of Veterans Affairs requires that institutions of higher learning immediately report to them when a student discontinues attendance. Veterans who are receiving benefits to fund their education will be reported to the DVA if they do not attend class for a period of two weeks or more.
DROPS & WITHDRAWALS
Should you choose to drop or withdraw from this class after you have enrolled, you must do so via GOSOLAR. In general, you may voluntarily withdraw from the course and receive a W if you withdraw after registration and before the midpoint of the semester (October14th, 2014). For additional information concerning all types of academic withdrawals and grade assignments related to withdrawals, go to:
DISABILITIES & ACCOMODATIONS
Students who wish to request accommodation for a disability may doso by registering with the Office of Disability Services. Students may only be accommodatedupon issuance by the Office of Disability Services of a signed Accommodation Plan and are responsible for providing a copy of that plan to instructors of all classes in which an accommodation is sought. Please provide the instructor your accommodation plan during the first week of class.
GRADING
1
The final grade will be based on the total number of possible points earned out of 500 points.Attendance & Participation / 40
In-Class Reactions / 50
Self Reflection Papers / 110
Mid Term Exam / 100
Group Project / 100
Final Self Assessment Paper / 100
Total = / 500
485-500 = A+
465-484 = A
450-464 = A-
435-449 = B+
415-434 = B
400-414 = B-
385-399 = C+
365-384 = C
350-364 = C-
300-349 = D
299-0 = F / You must earn the minimum number of points for a letter grade in order to receive that grade for the course. I always round final point values to the nearest integer.
Self Reflection Papers (110 points):
1)Students will be required to submit eleven out of 12 self-reflection papers which are intended to facilitate self-exploration and serve as a launching point for class discussion.
2)You should always respond to one of the questions provided by the instructor.
3)In total, your paper should be 1-2 pages, typed in Microsoft Word with 12 pt font and 1 inch margins, so that they can be submitted electronically over Desire2Learn.
4)You will submit these papers on Desire2Learn and print them and hand them into me at the beginning of class.
5)In addition to the 1-2 page response to provided questions, students can feel free to respond to activities in class or things they would like to convey to the instructor in a more private format, but they must respond to the questions in order to receive credit for doing the assignment. Students in the past have found this a helpful outlet to journal about how activities in the class, readings, or discussions, have impacted them.
6)Late assignments will not be accepted. Please note that Desire2Learn time stamps your assignments.
Evaluation: Self-reflection Papers are graded on your effort and depth of processing, not for the “Correctness of your thoughts,” because there are no right answers to these questions and no “correct” reactions you should be having to course material. Each paper will be given one of two responses. A check (√) will indicate that the question has been answered with thought and effort. This means that the response shows a depth of exploration, self-examination, critical thinking, and is relevant to course material. An “SC” will communicate that you should “stretch and challenge” yourself more in your exploration of these issues. Responses that receive a “SC” may be superficial, sketchy, or lack depth.
Every question that receives a check (√) will be worth 10 points. Because there are 12 papers, if the student completes all 12 self-reflection papers, one “SC” can be dropped.
Making up an ‘SC’- You can make up 2 SC’s over the course of the semester if you would like. Students have one week from when they received the SC to hand in a new attempt at the same question. No make-ups will be accepted after 1 week has passed.
Exam (100 points): There will be an in-class midterm exam consisting of several short answer, multiple choice, and essay questions.
Group Facilitation Project (100 points):
Groups will facilitate a 30 minute class discussion that describes a discrimination faced by a specific group (e.g., women, transgender, ethnic minorities), and organizations that combat that type of discrimination.
Groups will identify a type of discrimination that the target group faces. (1)They will specify the level and type of discrimination (or ism). (2)Next, groups will identify an agency or program that represents how members of the target group are working against the discrimination they face. What resources/events do they offer to the target community? For example, a group describing racial discrimination may discuss how the NAACP is comprised mostly of African Americans and 1-2 specific things they do to combat racism. (3) Groups will also discuss how allies from the majority group can best combat discrimination toward the target group. Describe 1-2 organizations/agencies of allies working against the discrimination described in (1). What resources/events/volunteer opportunities do they offer to allies? (4) The final 10 minutes of the presentation should be devoted toward a class discussion that motivates us to get actively involved in opposing the discrimination. How do you envision getting involved?
Group Outline: Turn in one outline per group (see the Desire2Learn learning module on group project for more information). Peer Evaluation:Members of the class will evaluate each group’s presentation based on a rubric given by the instructorSelf Reflection:Each individual will turn in a 2-3 page reflection on their experience working in the group. Your project grade is based on your: Project Outline (30 points), Facilitation project (35 points), peer-informed evaluation (15 points), and self reflection (20points).
Examples of agencies that support empowered target communities and those that support the work of allies will be posted on Desire2Learn
Final Self-Assessment Paper (100 points): You will be required to submit a final self-assessment paper, which incorporates your experiences from the class (e.g. in-class discussions, activities, readings, and self-reflection papers). More specific requirements will be provided toward the end of the semester. Final papers are to be submitted via Desire2Learn, by 5pm on Friday, May 3rd. Late papers will NOT BE ACCEPTED
Your constructive assessment of this course plays an indispensable role in shaping education at Georgia State. Upon completing the course, please take time to fill out the online course evaluation. Thank you!!!
PSYC 3570 – Multicultural Issues in Psychology – Fall 2014