Hi Dawn and Tipsters!
Dawn Blasko wrote:
> Let me add my congratulations to Linda and Diane as well.
Thanks!
> They both look
> like great projects. Perhaps TIPsters would like to hear about them sometime?
> --
No need to twist my arm ;-) Anyway, I've enclosed two sections of the proposal
- brief relevance statement as well as a description of the proposed resource.
***** Please note ****** I would welcome suggestions particularly related to
item #3 below. How have you integrated this information into your existing
courses?
When completed, the resource will be available through the OTRP web site.
Thanks,
linda
The relevance, general or course-specific, of the research to the teaching of
psychology
This century is marked by unparalleled human cruelty, ethnopolitical conflict,
and genocide. Government genocidal policies alone have resulted in over 210
million deaths - 80 percent of these are civilian deaths (170 million); nearly
four times the number of individuals killed in combat during
international/domestic wars during this same time period. These statistics do
not include human rights violations and severely underestimate the additional
toll on human life from physical and psychological scarring.
Certainly, the problems of genocide, ethnopolitical conflict, and human cruelty
are of concern to all committed to human rights. However, psychology is
uniquely qualified to address the causes and consequences of these problems. One
can easily understand psychology's role in assessment, intervention, and
treatment of refugees and survivors of torture and/or extreme conflict. But,
perhaps more importantly, psychology can make a significant contribution to the
understanding of the psychosocial roots of human cruelty, ethnopolitical
conflict, and genocide. With this knowledge, we can work collaboratively with
other disciplines and programs (both governmental and non-governmental) to
develop models and policies towards early warning, prevention, peaceful conflict
resolution, reconciliation, and reconstruction.
Unfortunately, psychology education tends to ignore topics related to human
rights, ethnopolitical conflict, and genocide. As such, our students are
unprepared to meet the psychosocial needs of those within the broader global
community experiencing the trauma associated with these conflicts either within
their home countries or as refugees. Our students are also unprepared to
contribute to pre-conflict prevention or post-conflict resolution.
If we wish to truly internationalize psychology, students need to be aware of
events occurring outside of the U.S. Students should know that democide,
genocide, ethnocide, ethnopolitical conflicts, and large scale human rights
violations are not simply theoretical constructs or isolated historical events.
The analysis of previously occurring instances of ethnopolitical conflicts and
genocide whether the Armenian genocide, the Holocaust, the Cambodian killing
fields, or the more recent genocides in Rwanda/Burundi, East Timor, or Bosnia
provide us highly documented instances of human cruelty and conflict. Knowledge
of these atrocities may lead our students to greater understanding of the
cognitive, affective, social, cultural, and societal roots of human cruelty and
mass violence. With this knowledge our students are more likely to accept the
mantle of social responsibility and to become actively involved as citizens and
future psychologists within the global community. Conversely, they are less
likely to be apathetic bystanders only serving as fuel for continued human
rights violations, mass violence, ethnopolitical conflict, and genocide.
Information/training related to the causes and consequences of human cruelty,
ethnopolitical conflict, and genocide can not only be taught as distinct courses
and fields within the psychology curriculum but can also be integrated into
existing course structures and topics.
4. A description of the teaching resource that will be produced at the
conclusion of the research project
The teaching resource will consist of several sections. They are as follows:
1. Annotated bibliography: The teaching resource will include an annotated
bibliography of the major journal articles, book chapters, books, videos, and
internet resources concerning human rights, ethnopolitical conflict, and
genocide written from a psychosocial perspective. This annotated bibliography
will be organized according to topic. Within each topic, the bibliography will
be further subdivided when appropriate. For example, the topic of genocide can
be further broken down based upon discussion of regional genocides. Additional
topic categories will include but are not limited to: assessment,
intervention, and treatment of refugees and survivors of torture and/or extreme
conflict; models of collaboration with government and non-governmental
organizations; models and policies concerning early warning, prevention,
peaceful conflict resolution, reconciliation, and reconstruction. Resources
will be drawn primarily from the literature of psychology but will also include
sociology, anthropology, history, political science, international relations,
human rights studies, peace studies, and genocide/Holocaust studies.
2. Additional bibliography: A bibliography of other relevant material will be
included in each of the above topic sections. These resources will consist of
additional articles, book chapters, books, videos, and internet resources that
are not psychological in nature. For example, a classic history of Cambodia
might be included in this section. Thus an individual discussing the
psychosocial roots of the auto-genocide in Cambodia would have an awareness of
the best additional resources for further study. A very brief annotation will
accompany each listing.
3. Lecture suggestions: Lecture suggestions for use within traditional
psychology courses will be provided organized by course listing. Each will
include a brief description of the proposed lecture with suggested readings and
internet links. If appropriate, video suggestions will be provided.
4. Course suggestions and sample syllabi: While issues of human rights,
ethnopolitical conflict, and genocide should be integrated throughout the
curriculum, entire courses should also be developed to address the concerns from
a psychological perspective. Specific course suggestions will be provided in
this teaching resource. At least three course will be highlighted: a) a
course focusing on the perpetration of genocide taught from a psychological
perspective; b) a course concerning the Holocaust (the most highly documented
instance of genocide) taught from a psychological perspective including topics
related to perpetration, victimization, refugees issues, bystander effects,
resistance, propaganda etc.; c) Peace Psychology. For each, sample syllabi will
be provided including course objectives, readings, video suggestions, internet
resources, and course outlines.
linda m. woolf, ph.d.
associate professor - psychology
webster university
main webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/
Holocaust and genocide studies pages:
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/holocaust.html
womens' pages: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/women.html
gerontology pages: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/gero.html
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
