Provost's General Education Development Program
Course Proposal
Course Title: Introduction to Multiculturalism and Psychology
Department: Psychology
Course Level: 100 level (no prerequisites)
Course Capacity: 100
Instructor (s): Michelle Williams
Proposal Objective:
The purpose of the proposal is to develop and implement an introductory course exposing students to the role of multiculturalism in psychology. The goal of the course is to address concepts, theories, and research that highlight the importance of race, culture, and ethnicity in the psychological experiences of individuals and groups. Although the course will place primary emphasis on culture as defined by race and ethnicity, particular attention will be paid to the intersection of these concepts with other cultural experiences such as gender, social class, and sexual orientation. The course is designed to provide a general introduction to cross-cultural and multicultural dynamics and the role psychology has played in understanding the experiences of diverse groups. Although the course will be open to students regardless of semester standing and major, the material will be oriented primarily toward individuals with little exposure to psychology or multiculturalism (i.e. freshman and non-psychology majors).
The course objectives are to
increase students' knowledge, awareness, comfort, and sensitivity to
multicultural issues and to link these experiences to the science of
psychology. The course will move from a basic understanding of terms, concepts,
and definitions (e.g. race, ethnicity, culture, discrimination, prejudice,
hatred, attitudes and behavior, etc.) to more complex conceptualizations of
race and culture (racial identity, inter-ethnic and intra-ethnic dynamics,
racism, social and historical systems, etc). For example, students will be
exposed to seminal work in psychology such as Clark and
The course will meet the new general education guideline for Group IV (Diversity and Multiculturalism) by exposing students to a variety of models and theories that explain and demonstrate the diversity of human experiences, provide a context for discussing and understanding systemic and social forces that impact behavior, and provide guidelines for how to critically evaluate and articulate cultural knowledge, research, and experiences.
The course will complement other introductory courses in psychology such as General Psychology II (Psyc 135) where culture may be addressed in the context of understanding general psychological principles. The proposed course differs from Psyc 135 in that it provides a foundation for understanding multiculturalism and how it impacts the psychological experiences of individuals and groups. The proposed course will also prepare students for more advanced level courses that address multicultural issues such as Black Psychology (Psyc 270W) and the Psychological Mechanisms of Bias (Psyc 241W). Both Black Psychology and the Psychological Mechanisms of Bias are writing intensive courses, and therefore, require small and limited enrollment. These advanced courses also require an engagement in critical thinking and critical analysis of material that many of the students have little academic or experiential exposure. An introductory course on multiculturalism and psychology would provide a framework for developing these more critical and analytical skills. Thus, a secondary objective of the proposed course is to increase the number of students who may be interested in pursuing more advanced level courses that address issues of diversity and multiculturalism.
Evaluation of the Course Objectives:
In the fall 2004 semester, a survey will be administered to students taking Psyc 132 and Psyc 135 (approximately 2,000 students) to assess interest in the proposed course and the likelihood of future enrollment. The survey will assess how likely it would be for students to enroll in such a course to fulfill GEOC requirement as well as out of general interest in the topic. A formal course proposal will be submitted to Courses and Curriculum Committee during the Fall 2004 semester. In addition, an IRB proposal will be submitted to evaluate whether taking a multicultural psychology course increases multicultural experiences and interests.
Once the course is offered, the course objectives will be evaluated in several ways. The most obvious will be examining whether or not students enroll in the course. A log will be maintained of how many students request over-enrollment (if the course is full), how many drop the course within the first two weeks, and how many withdraw from the course during the semester. Once enrolled, students will be asked if they would consent to being contacted at a later date and asked about their multicultural experiences at UConn.
The primary course objective is to increase multicultural knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity. An anonymous survey with a code number assigned to each student will be administered during the first day of class. The code number will be unique to the student (mother's initials and last 3 digits of peoplesoft ID) but unknown to the instructor. The survey will ask students to report perceptions of their multicultural awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, and experiences, as well as the likelihood they would take additional multicultural and psychology courses. The same survey will be re-administered at the end of the semester and any changes (i.e. attitudes or behavior) assessed.
Students who consent to the follow-up questionnaire will be contacted by email at the end of the next academic year and asked to complete the same survey (i.e. perceptions of multicultural awareness and experiences as well as interest in other multicultural courses). Surveys will be mailed to the student along with a self-addressed/stamped envelope and a reminder of the code number parameters (mother's initials and last 3 digits of Peoplesoft ID). If possible, we would like to obtain follow questionnaires at the end of each academic year until graduation.