Academic Catalog

CNSL 3H: HONORS IDENTITY, CULTURE & EDUCATION

Foothill College Course Outline of Record

Foothill College Course Outline of Record
Heading Value
Effective Term: Summer 2021
Units: 4.5
Hours: 4.5 lecture per week (54 total per quarter)
Advisory: Not open to students with credit in CNSL 3.
Degree & Credit Status: Degree-Applicable Credit Course
Foothill GE: Area VI: United States Cultures & Communities, Area IV: Social & Behavioral Sciences
Transferable: CSU/UC
Grade Type: Letter Grade (Request for Pass/No Pass)
Repeatability: Not Repeatable

Student Learning Outcomes

  • Analyze and articulate concepts of Identity, Culture & Education, including but not limited to race and ethnicity, socialization, equity, ethnocentrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, self-determination, liberation, decolonization, and anti-racism.
  • Apply theory to describe critical events in the histories, cultures, and intellectual traditions, with a special focus on the lived experiences and social struggles of African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Middle Eastern Americans, and Native Americans and emphasizing agency and group-affirmation.
  • Critically discuss the intersection of race and ethnicity with other forms of difference affected by hierarchy and oppression, such as class, gender, sexuality, religion, spirituality, national origin, immigration status, ability and/or age.

Description

The honors course offers a challenging intellectual environment examining psycho-social issues and the development of individual identities to advance learning in American communities of color. Using race, culture and education as a frame of reference, issues of inequality and social justice are explored to discover their influence on personal development, learning, and agency. As an honors course, it is a seminar with advanced teaching methods focusing on Freirean praxis, major writing, reading, and research assignments, student class lectures, group discussions and interactions.

Course Objectives

The student will be able to:

  1. explain the major concepts, theoretical perspectives, empirical findings, and historical trends regarding identity development
  2. compare and contrast the theories related to self-esteem
  3. demonstrate an understanding of self-regulation concepts
  4. analyze cultural differences and similarities with respect to gender roles, social behavior, and disabilities
  5. distinguish American social structures of race and class
  6. describe important myths and stereotypes associated with different cultural groups
  7. examine personal and educational values and compare and contrast to diverse cultures
  8. employ the computer for research
  9. describe the culture of higher education

Course Content

This course examines the formation and development of human identity through theories and concepts drawn from counseling, developmental psychology, social psychology, and educational psychology. Major emphases of study will be on identity development, theoretical foundations of self and others, motivation, self-regulation, social structures, inequality, social justice, and human agency.

  1. Aspects of identity
    1. Erikson's theory of psychosocial development
    2. Marcia's theory of achievement of a personal identity
    3. Tajfel's theory of social identity
  2. Collective, cross-cultural and societal contexts to identity
    1. Weinreich's Identity Structure Analysis
    2. Self-categorization theory
    3. The need to belong
  3. Critical assessment of research methods in the study of identity
    1. Observation
    2. Ethnography
    3. Critical race theory
  4. Self-concept
    1. Schemas
    2. Actual self, ideal self, and ought self
    3. Personal discrepancies
  5. Self-esteem
    1. Rogers' humanistic theory of personality
    2. Temperament styles
    3. Parenting style
  6. Motivational theories
    1. Humanistic theories, Maslow's hierarchy of needs
    2. Behavioral theories and extrinsic motivation
    3. Cognitive theories and intrinsic motivation
  7. Arousal level and performance
    1. Development of self-efficacy
    2. Learned helplessness and learned optimism
    3. Persistence and self-monitoring
  8. Self-regulation
    1. Cognitive restructuring
    2. Values clarification
    3. Kohlberg's theory of moral development
    4. Learning and education as cultural values
  9. Agents of socialization
    1. Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory
    2. Relationships with self and others
    3. Role of educational institutions
  10. Connections between social structures
    1. Race
    2. Gender
    3. Social class and socioeconomic status
    4. Disability status
    5. Social institutions
  11. People of color in America
    1. European Americans
    2. African Americans
    3. Asian Americans
    4. Latino Americans
    5. Middle Eastern Americans
    6. Native Americans
  12. Prejudice and stereotypes
    1. Development of stereotypes
    2. Racism, classism, sexism, and ableism
    3. Stereotype threat
  13. Ethnocentrism and cultural identity
    1. Psychological factors contributing to ethnocentrism
    2. Intergroup attitudes
    3. Ethnocentrism and stereotypic thinking
    4. Institutional discrimination and oppression
  14. Inequality and social justice
    1. Privilege
    2. Oppression
    3. Civil liberties
    4. Human rights
  15. Critical pedagogy
    1. Freire's praxis
    2. Banking education
    3. Critical consciousness
  16. Constructing a student identity
    1. Emotional intelligence
    2. Multiple intelligences
    3. Yosso's cultural wealth model
    4. Intercultural communication
  17. Forging a new identity
    1. Meaning-making
    2. Action theory
    3. Human agency

Lab Content

Not applicable.

Special Facilities and/or Equipment

When taught as an online or hybrid distance learning section, students and faculty need ongoing and continuous internet and email access.

Method(s) of Evaluation

Methods of Evaluation may include but are not limited to the following:

Multiple choice quizzes
Essay exams
Research papers
Summaries and analysis of primary source research articles
Personal reaction papers
Problem-solving exercises
Midterms
Final exams
Service learning project synthesis and presentation

Method(s) of Instruction

Methods of Instruction may include but are not limited to the following:

Lecture presentations and classroom discussion using the language of personal and academic success
Class readings of subjects by the instructor and students followed by instructor-guided interpretation and analysis
Group and oral presentations of major projects followed by in-class discussion and evaluation
Socratic seminar style discussions—students practice how to listen to one another, make meaning, and find common ground while participating in a conversation
Service learning—students will apply course concepts and principles with marginalized communities and present their project for evaluation

Representative Text(s) and Other Materials

David, E.J.R., and Annie O. Derthick. The Psychology of Oppression. 2018.

Freire, Paulo, Myra Bergman Ramos, Donaldo P. Macedo, and Ira Shor. Pedagogy of the Oppressed. 2018.

Matsumoto, David R., and Linda P. Juang. Culture and Psychology. 2016.

Tatum, Beverly D.. "Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?" And Other Conversations About Race. 2017.

Weiten, Wayne, Dana Dunn, and Elizabeth Y. Hammer. Psychology Applied to Modern Life: Adjustment in the 21st Century. 2018.

Types and/or Examples of Required Reading, Writing, and Outside of Class Assignments

  1. Weekly reading assignments ranging from 40-60 pages per week.
  2. Weekly lecture covering subject matter from text assignment with extended topic information.
  3. Case studies from peer review sources may be used to further illustrate concepts.
  4. Guest speakers covering selected topics.

Discipline(s)

Counseling