Psychology: Black Psychology and the Psychology of Marginalized Communities

Black folks, women, Queers, and other marginalized communities have been poorly served by psychology, particularly our home grown version in the United States. This truth ranges from the psychoanalytic movements that pathologized women and crafted our understanding of hysteria, to the deficit model used in research towards Black people, and the view of homosexuality as both pathology and criminal behavior. These threads of history continue into our current understanding and practices in psychology. The field has also transformed its understanding of identity politics, the social construction of identity and how we serve marginalized communities. Our program will address these themes through a study of early psychology, past and current research and practices as they impact marginalized communities.

We will examine alternative models of identity, past and current practices towards marginalized communities, and approaches to rectify potential discrimination in psychology. The program will provide opportunities for students to examine personal biases, our understanding of implicit bias, and how cultural values shape our understanding of identity and personal agency.

Our program may be taken for 8 credits or 16 credits. All students will meet for five intensive weekends during the quarter. Students enrolled in the 16-credit section will also meet on Thursdays and Saturdays for the quarter. Students enrolled in the program for 16 credits will construct a four-credit independent project and have a four-credit media literacy component.

The faculty: Marcella Benson-Quaziena is African-American, Queer and trained as a clinician (MSW) and Human Development and Organizational and Systems psychologist. George Freeman is African-American, Queer and trained as a clinical psychologist and systems theorist for the past 35 years. For both, their teaching, research, and clinical practice has consistently tackled issues of marginalization in these communities through clinical practice and teaching.