PSYC241

Description

What enables people to resist against violence and oppression, even when they are targeted and severely restricted such as during genocide and other forms of collective violence? What are the different strategies of resistance that people use in spaces of 'tight oppression'? This seminar explores these questions about the psychology of resistance, drawing on oral histories of survivors of genocide as well as civil rights activists in the U.S. and feminist activists in different parts of the world, as well as on academic literature. This course is interdisciplinary, and addresses students of Psychology, Sociology, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, Peace Studies, IDCE, Race and Ethnic Relations, and other social sciences. Students in this course will (1) develop lay theories of the psychology of resistance; (2) work with video-recorded, archived oral history interviews that were conducted with genocide survivors and activists; and (3) integrate this knowledge with psychological and interdisciplinary literature on this topic. Students will present their individual and group work in class and at Academic Spree Day. Prerequisites for this course require a grade of C- or better. This course fulfills the mid-level First Seminar requirement of the Psychology major.