Syllabus Psy 328 Culture and Mental Health in Argentina

Instructor:

Objectives:

Upon completion of the course students will be able use the cross-cultural perspective developed in Argentina

a) to differentiate between various definitions of normality, abnormality, adjustment, and mental health and the implications of the different definitions,
b) to understand various aspects of positive and maladaptive mental health,
c) to describe various theories of psychology and their implications for explaining and treating abnormal behavior,
d) to understand positive adjustment in relation to aspects of personal life, such as interpersonal communication, gender relations, etc.,
e) to explain how cultural differences impact adjustment and mental health,
f) to recognize Argentine healing traditions and understand their conceptual link to modern U.S. psychological approaches.

Grading:

Books:

Weiten, W. & Lloyd, M. A. (2003). Psychology Applied to Modern Life. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.

Matsumoto, D. (2000). Culture and Psychology (2nd Ed.). NY: Brooks/Cole .

Required Tasks:

1. Weekly journal (see guidelines) (50)  Journal entries should be turned in at the first class session of each week and will be returned at the second session of the same week.  See the guidelines attached.  Start you journal entries on the plane flight to Rosario.

2. Home culture analysis (see guidelines) (50) You should be prepared to discuss your analysis on the first day of class . The actual paper is due at the second class session of the first week of class.

3. Short essays/discussion questions (weekly) (100) Attached is a list of discussion questions for each of the required chapters in the Weiten & Lloyd book. Choose two of these questions for each chapter and write a response that includes both the information in the chapters and relevant in-class and out-of-class experiences (e.g. a discussion question on psychotherapy would include a discussion of healing methods based on our excursion to the Music Therapy Center). Due dates will be negotiated to allow inclusion of excursion and other out-of-class activity information.

4. Individual or Group Projects/Presentations (100) There will be several out-of-class observation and interviewing assignments that will allow students to use Rosario as a learning laboratory. We will discuss these during the first week of the course. Also we will divide responsibility for presenting chapter content from our textbook.

6. Summary paper (100): Due at the last class session, this paper should integrate all of the in and out-of-class, formal and informal learning experiences from the class. More than a mere listing of activities, the paper should identify themes, major learnings, and individual changes and affirmations of attitude, perspective, belief, feeling, and behavior related to the overall theme of the course. Approximately 5-8 pages in length.

 Reading Schedule:

Academic Policies:

2. Written assignments
Unless you bring a computer and printer or typewriter with you, your written assignments will be handwritten.  These must be legible.  Plan on a bit more time in writing these assignments so that you can exercise care in writing.  Also, points will be deducted for late assignments.