Week |
Subject |
Related Preparation |
1) |
Introduction to course. Outline of semester. Short writing assignment describing expectations and past experiences. |
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2) |
“Telling Stories” by Maeve Binchey and excerpt from “Portrait of a Lady” by Henry James. Writing about love and our concepts of what it means and how it is portrayed in the two stories. |
Reading. |
3) |
“Goodbye Marcus, Goodbye Rose” by Jean Rhys. Our experiences in life prepare us for the future. How do our lives change after a hugely impactful experience? |
Writing assignment. |
4) |
“Happy Endings” by Margaret Atwood. Writing about theme, characters, plot and mood. Example of summary and analysis of a short story. |
Reading. |
5) |
“Whose Life Is It Anyway?” by Brian Clark. The nature of life. What is our responsibility to ourselves? To others? |
Essay. |
6) |
“Moral Hazard” by Kate Jennings. The aging process and inconceivable choices. Is it possible or even acceptable to choose death over life? |
Essay. |
7) |
Midterm Essay concerning the nature of love and marriage and death and the choices involved. How do the stories exemplify the themes? |
Reading. |
8) |
Review. |
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9) |
“Crime and Punishment” by Dosteovsky. Using logic to make excuses for a criminal act. |
Essay. |
10) |
“Remains of the Day” by Kazuo Ishiguro. Prejudice and characters who must act against their better nature. |
Reading. |
11) |
“The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas” by Ursula Le Guin. Is it ever acceptable to sacrifice someone for the greater good? |
Reading. |
12) |
“The Joneses”. Capitalism and creating a desire and market. |
Background research. |
13) |
Essay on consumerism and capitalism. What goods do we consider desirable and why? |
Research. |
14) |
“First Confession” by Frank O’Connor. Comedy and plot. How does an author show theme through the use of humor? |
Reading. |
15) |
Final. |
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16) |
Final. |
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Program Outcomes |
Level of Contribution |
1) |
Develop close interest in human mind and behavior, and attain critical thinking skills (in particular the ability to evaluate psychological theories using empirical evidence), as well as appreciating psychology as an evidence based science. |
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2) |
Gain a biopsychosocial understanding of human behavior, namely, the biological, psychological, social determinants of behavior. |
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3) |
Acquire theoretical and applied knowledge and learn about basic psychological concepts and perspectives |
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4) |
Familiarize with methodology and data evaluation techniques by being aware of scientific research methods (i.e. correlational, experimental, longitudinal, case study). |
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5) |
Employ ethical sensitivity while doing assessment, research or working with groups. |
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6) |
Familiarize with the essential perspectives of psychology (cognitive, developmental, clinical, social, behavioral, and biological). |
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7) |
Get the opportunity and skills to evaluate qualitative and quantitative data, write reports, and present them. |
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8) |
Attain preliminary knowledge for psychological measurement and evaluation. |
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9) |
To have a basic knowledge of other disciplines (e.g. sociology, history, political science, communication studies, philosophy, anthropology, literature, law, art, etc) that can contribute to psychology and to be able to make use of this knowledge in understanding and interpreting of psychological process. |
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