The Sociocultural Shaping of Psychological Experience

The focus of this course is on the mutual constitution of mind, culture, and society. Through classic and current readings, we will examine: 1) how psychological experience takes on structure and substance in a mutually constitutive relationship with the historical, sociocultural and economic contexts of people's lives; and 2) how socioculturally-shaped individuals shape the contexts of their lives. The course emphasizes the sociocultural contexts of national origin, race, social class, and gender in the U.S. It also addresses the question of how to create diverse communities, in particular how the principles of sociocultural psychology can help in the design and management of such communities.