Spring,
2003
Instructor:
Elena Mustakova-Possardt
Office:
Melson 105
Phone:836-4599
Office
Hours: Tue/ Thu 9-11a.m., 12:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Course
Description:
This course is primarily experiential in nature, and is intended to provide
first-hand exposure to, and immersion into the reality and ways of relating
of another cultural group, in this case the Hispanic minority in Carroll
County. It is a field experience envisioned to expand students’ understanding
of the immigrant experience, so characteristic of the global mobility of
the 21st century, and the many global issues it raises, in the
course of providing service to a manifestly under-served segment of the
larger community.
Course
Objectives:
This course responds to a recently growing awareness in the psychological
community (APA) of the need to internationalize psychology, and train helpers
capable of working in holistic, grass-root, value-conscious, and culturally
sensitive ways in complex cross-cultural contexts and non-traditional settings.
Our main objective is to enhance out understanding of the complex responsibilities
of global citizenship in the 21st century by
·learning
to understand and appreciate the specific challenges and opportunities
of the fastest growing minority in the US – Hispanics;
·appreciating
the specific challenges of Hispanic integration into the rural South;
·becoming
aware of our own cultural limitations and challenges, and developing deeper
self-understanding;
·learning
to communicate better across cultural differences;
·realizing
the immense potential of genuine cross-cultural integration.
Course
Requirements:
1.
Attending weekly family day or community meetings at the Latino Community
Center in Carrollton, or will volunteer at the community clinic, and becoming
involved in assisting Latino families and children. Periodic group debriefings.
2.
Keeping a weekly journal/log of important questions, observations, and
insights, which will become the basis of a final reflection paper.
3.
Final reflection paper, enriched by some additional independent readings
on the Latino experience in the US.
Text: