Psychology 12, Spring 2008
Introduction to African American Psychology
Professor Halford H. Fairchild
Office: 203 Scott Hall,
Hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays,
Phone: 909-607-3056 - Cell: 323-252-8399
Course Syllabus
Course Description and Requirements:
This course surveys the specialty of African American Psychology. The course is writing and speaking intensive. Tuesdays are devoted to an exploration of the main text by Belgrave & Allison (students should expect quizzes in the first five minutes of each class); Thursdays are devoted to discussions of the readings provided by the instructor. Short "S/R" papers are required each Thursday. See "S/R papers," described below.
Texts:
Belgrave, Faye Z., & Allison, Kevin W. (2006). African American
Psychology: From
Fairchild, H.H. (2007).
Woods, Dorris S. (2006). Breaking Point: Fighting to end America's teenage suicide epidemic. Culver City, CA: Tiger Publications. (This book is scheduled for delivery at the end of January.)
Recommended links:
http://www.abolishthenword.com/homepage.htm - Abolish the Nword
Association of Black Psychologists
Schedule of
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Course Introduction and Overview - What is African American Psychology? Kiri Davis, A Girl Like Me - Video that recreates the Clark Study - You Tube Version (click the You Tube Version link)
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The impetus for African American Psychology: Racism in White Psychology (Powerpoint Lecture) (Review this powerpoint prior to Thursday.) Fairchild, H.H. (1991). Scientific racism: The Cloak of objectivity. Journal of Social Issues, 47(3), 101-115. (PDF FILE) (may be on quiz on 1/29/08) Video Lecture: Asa Hilliard: Either a paradigm shift or no mental measurement. Paper presented at the 1995 Meeting of The American Psychological Association, New York. Note: No paper due today! Fairchild's Notes on the Hilliard talk.
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Introduction and Historical Foundation. What is Black Psychology? (not on quiz) Memorial Program for Asa Hilliard (review for quiz, today) Wade Nobles: To be Afrikan, Part 1 (review for quiz, today) Wade Nobles: To be Afrikan, Part 2 (review for quiz, today) Wade Nobles: To be Afrikan, Part 3 (review for quiz, today) |
B&A: Chapter 1 |
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Fairchild's SR Papers: Film Notes and McAdoo; Reader |
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Agenda: Key Quiz
Filmed Lecture and discussion: Maulana Karenga: "Kawaida, Culture and Psychology: The Issue of Human Wholeness" Also read for quiz: Atonement for Slavery (op ed by Marcus Rediker)
Today's Video: Yes We Can by Wil.I.am Bonus Video: Get out the Vote in LA (2/3/08) |
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Europe Takes Africa's Fish (NY Times Article, January 2008) Fairchild, H.H., Whitten, L., & Richard, H.W.
(2003). Teaching African American psychology: Resources and
strategies. Pp. 195-206 in P. Bronstein & K. Quina (Eds.), Teaching
gender and multicultural awareness: Resources for the psychology classroom.
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Kinship and Family - Today's Quiz Video: Black History: Lost Stolen or Strayed, narrated by Bill Cosby
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B&A: Chapter 3 |
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Fairchild, H.H., & Basu, D. (2000). Continuing struggles in Black studies. Psych Discourse, 31(9), 11.
A photograph of Aborigines (NYT, 2/13/08) to ponder:
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Educational Systems - Today's Quiz
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B&A: Chapter 4 |
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Dillon, Sam (2007). Alabama Plan Brings Out Cry of Resegregation, LA Times, September 17, 2007. Report card shows gap between white, minority students Fourth- and eighth-graders' math scores increased, but white students are still scoring higher than their African American and Hispanic classmates, especially in California. By Tina Marie Macias, Los Angeles Times, September 26, 2007
Fairchild, H.H. (1984). School size, per-pupil
expenditures, and school achievement. Review of Public Data Use, 12,
221-229. (PDF FILE) Crowds of Pupils but Little Else in African Schools By SHARON LaFRANIERE, NY Times, Dec 30, 2006 .
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Neighborhoods and Communities - Today's Quiz Notes by Fairchild on Today's Chapter
Film Lecture: John Henrik Clarke, "The impact of psychological warfare on African people."
An Olmec Head
circa 1955: A typical Olmec head carving dating from 1100 BC on display in Washington DC's National Geographical Society museum. (Photo by Three Lions/Getty Images) (#3328921) . To see more, type Olmec Heads in a Google search box. These stone heads were found in Mexico, and document an African presence in the Americas well before Columbus.
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B&A: Chapter 5 |
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Notes by Fairchild on This week's Chapter (take a look at, for discussion, but no S/R due on this material)
Fairchild, H.H., & Tucker, M.B. (1982).
Black residential mobility: Trends and characteristics. Journal
of Social Issues, 38(3), 51-74.
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Interpersonal and Close Relationships - Chapter Highlights Today's Quiz Film Lecture: Na'im Akbar, "Too Legit to Quit" |
B&A: Chapter 6 |
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Fairchild, H.H. (1985). Black singles: Gender differences in mate preferences and heterosexual attitudes.
Western Journal of Black Studies, 9(2), 69-73. Black/Latino Shootings...LA Times Article January 31, 2008 Fairchild's S/R Paper for Today
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Cognition, Learning and Language - Today's Quiz Will NOT be posted today
Film Lecture: Rev. Jeremiah Wright - On Black English
Barack Obama's speech, March 4, 2008 |
B&A: Chapter 7 |
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Fairchild, H.H., & Edwards-Evans, S. (1990).
African American dialects and schooling. Pp. 75-86 in A.M.
Padilla, H.H. Fairchild & C.M. Valadez (Eds.), Bilingual education:
Issues and strategies. Dillon, Sam. (11-20-2006). Schools Slow in Closing Gaps Between Races, NY Times Fairchild's S/R paper for Today
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Spring Break |
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Spring Break |
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Religion and Spirituality - Today's Quiz Videos for today: The controversial Rev. Jeremiah Wright More inflammatory remarks by Jeremiah Wright Barack Obama on "A More Perfect Union" (March 18, 2008) Text Copy of "A More Perfect Union"
Supplemental Readings for Today: Diversity in Higher Education, Article by Trower & Chait (2002) News Article: Teachers Lose Job Over Emmett Till poem, LA Times 3-18-07 |
B&A: Chapter 8 |
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Fairchild, H.H. (2000). Taking care of
business: The Black family and the Black church. Unpublished manuscript. Fairchild's S/R Paper for today.
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Self-Attributes and Racial Identity - No quiz today.
Film: A Question of Color Women in Iraq & their hair (LA Times article) Breaking Point Text: Preface, Intro and Chapter 1 |
B&A: Chapter 9 |
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Fairchild, H.H. (1987). N Word should be
odious from anyone.
Southland's Third World Slums (LA Times, 3/26/07) Fairchild's SR Paper for Today.
Breaking Point Text: Chapters 2 and 3 |
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Lifespan Development Film Lecture: Nancy Boyd Franklin LA Times article on Jeremiah Wright, March 30, 2008 Film: Breaking Point Text: Chapters 3 and 4 |
B&A: Chapter 10 |
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Fairchild, H.H. (2001). A wake-up call for
peace. Psych Discourse, 32(10), 18-19. Breaking Point Text: Chapters 5 & 6 |
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NO CLASS TODAY: Instead, conduct a search of PsychInfo for a recent article (2007 or 2008) in Black Psychology, and write a one page report. Be prepared to share a 1 or 2 minute presentation, on Thursday, about what you learned. Step by step:
Health, Illness and Disability -
To be postponed:
Video Lecture by Marcia Sutherland - Fairchild's notes. Study finds whites still outlive blacks Health issues and homicide are among the reasons for a persistent disparity in groups' life expectancies, but some findings are puzzling. By Mary Engel Los Angeles Times Staff Writer August 30, 2007
Breaking Point Text: Chapters 7 & 8 Above two newspaper articles are eligible for quizzing, today.
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B&A: Chapter 11 |
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Today, we will discuss what you learned from your research on Tuesday. Be prepared to offer a 1-3 minute synopsis of the article you read. Fairchild, H.H. (1987). Our 'ostrich
mentality' on racism. Breaking Point Text: Chapters 9, 10 & 11 |
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Psychosocial Adaptation and Mental Health - NO QUIZ TODAY! :o) Film Lecture: Marcia Sutherland on Essential Hyptertension Dramatization: Racial Memories ("The Reunion" from HBO) Breaking Point Text: Chapters 12, 13 & 14 |
B&A: Chapter 12 |
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Fairchild, H.H. (1994). Frantz Fanon's The
Wretched of the Earth in contemporary perspective. Journal of Black
Studies, 25(2), 191-199.
Breaking Point Text: Chapters 15 & 16 |
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Drug Use and Abuse - expect a quiz on this chapter. Video lecture: Sojourner Truth Lecture by LaFrances Rodgers-Rose, March 2, 1995. |
B&A: Chapter 13 |
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Fairchild, H.H. (1989). A whole community
faces a life sentence of neglect.
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Aggression, Violence and Crime Course rap-up will be today as there is no class on Thursday 5-8.
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B&A: Chapter 14 |
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Course Rap Up (see description, below) |
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Assignments
Quizzes. Students should be prepared to take a short quiz every
Tuesday at the beginning of class. These will be multiple choice
questions that examine the readings for that day. Questions may also
include material from the previous week's lectures, films, and/or discussions.
S/R Papers. Students are required to write short "S/R"
papers for each Thursday class session. "S/R" stands for
"Stimulus/Response." The "Stimulus," is the
day's reading assignment. The "Response" is the student's
reaction to that reading. For each class session that has a reading
assignment, students should write an "S/R" for each of the
readings. When a film or video is shown on the previous Tuesday, an
"S/R" should be produced for that film or video. The
"Stimulus" portion of the paper should be a very short summary or
synopsis of what the reading assignment was about. The
"Response" portion may be short or long -- and should provide your
insights, reflections, thoughts, reactions, and/or questions to the reading
material. These "Responses" will be shared in class as part of
our class discussion. Students should come to class, each Thursday, with
their "S/R Papers" typed and ready to hand in. These papers are
generally graded on a pass/fail basis -- 100 points for being turned in on time
(weak papers may receive fewer points; strong papers may receive bonus points);
50% credit for being late (turned in after class or if a student is absent).
Papers submitted by email are awarded 50% credit. (Half of the credit on this assignment is for students' oral contributions to class discussion.)
Course Rap Up. On the last day of class, students will present
(singly or in teams), a "rap" that defines the field of African
American Psychology. The rap should seek to integrate course materials
(texts, readings, video lectures, class discussions, etc.). The course
"rap" will be ungraded. (However, failure to complete this
assignment will adversely affect a student's grade in course participation.)
Grading
Students will be evaluated and graded based on their quiz
scores, S/R papers, and classroom participation. Attendance and
participation are heavily weighted. Each S/R paper can earn up to 100
points (late papers receive 50% credit; papers submitted in absentia--where
the student was absent and did not participate in the discussion--receive 50%
credit; and papers submitted by email receive 50% credit). Quizzes are
worth up to 100 points. Class participation is worth up to 500
points. "A" students receive 92% or more of the available
points; "B" students 82% or more; etc. Students on the margins
receive minuses or plusses.
Assignments, grading and course sequencing may change.