PSYC W60 History of Psychology & Religion. This off-campus, European, dual-discipline course will involve the investigation of sites, museums, archives, and institutes of those individuals who created and contributed to the fields of experimental, clinical and cognitive psychology. The best way to understand these famous scientists and their contributions to psychology is to see where they lived, breathed and worked, thereby permitting a greater appreciation of how their contexts shaped their viewpoints and their theories. Our students’ immersion in the birthplaces of these distinctive schools of psychological thought will help them integrate different areas of psychology in order to form a deep appreciation for the roots of these fascinating fields of psychology. Texts include original readings (translated) by Wundt, Freud, and Piaget. Additionally, the origins of these “fathers of psychology” are in cities in which the Church Reformers lived and worked, thereby allowing students the opportunity to experience reformation history where it happened. Aspects of reformation history we will investigate include: the Reformation museum in Geneva, Luther in Worms, the Heidelberg Catechism in Heidelberg and the Anglican Church in London. Selected Reformation texts are also included in the readings. Through this experience, we expect our students to articulate the central concept contributions of each psychologist and reformer studied, but more importantly, understand how the cultural and historical context shaped these theoretical perspectives and what that means for a student of psychology and religion today. Student cumulative learning in the course will be evaluated on active engagement in daily group discussions of required readings and site visits, daily guided reflective journal entries and a final presentation summarizing their personal learning objectives. This course will fulfill the CCE requirement. Prerequisites: PSYC 151 and REL 121 or 131. Course dates: January 4-24. Fee: $3850. B. Riek, J. Yonker. Off campus.
PSYC W80 Knowing Yourself: The Psychology of Self-Understanding. This course is an introduction to contemporary theories and research about how people come to know and evaluate themselves and how self-judgments influence our emotions, actions, and aspirations. How can an individual’s self-concept and self-esteem be assessed? What are the limits and distortions of self-understanding? How does one’s self-concept originate and develop? How do people seek to maintain stable self conceptions and enhance their self-esteem? How does self-understanding contribute to the way we deal with anxiety, depression, and personal failure? What dynamics contribute to the disintegration of self? The course includes readings, lectures, class discussions, films, and personal reflection on one’s own self-concept. Evaluation will be based on two written tests and to complete a narrative life history that demonstrates their ability to use appropriate principles and concepts from the course. This course may fulfill an elective in the Psychology major/minor. This course is not open to students who have taken or plan to take Psychology 311. Prerequisite: PSYC 151. J. Brink, G. Weaver. 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
PSYC W81 Movies & Mental Illness. From the advent of the motion picture industry, movies have attempted to capture the essence of human affect, behavior, and cognition. This course focuses on the attempts of the movie industry to capture the essence of mental illness. The course is divided into two parts. The first part of the course will trace historical changes in the understanding of mental illness and the perspective on the mentally ill and those who treat them, and in so doing emphasize how movies reflect the Zeitgeist of broader western culture. The second part will focus on various emotional disorders, emphasizing symptoms and perspectives on the development and the treatment of these disorders. Students view a variety of movies and are involved in critiquing them regarding perspective, accuracy, and realism. The goal is to develop critical-thinking skills in viewpoint film portrayals of psychological disorders. Students are evaluated on the basis of a group project and final paper. This course may fulfill an elective in the Psychology major. Prerequisite: PSYC 212 or equivalent. S. Stehouwer. 8:30 a.m. to noon.