Teaching

This course uses social scientific theories and methods to explore the art of drag and its role in shaping, challenging, and reflecting cultural understandings of gender, identity, and community. Students will examine popular culture through a critical, inclusive lens, addressing topics such as gender performativity, intersectionality, social roles, discrimination, and political discourse. Through media analysis, foundational readings, and applied research, students will deepen their understanding of human behavior while considering how drag performance can both subvert and reinforce social norms.

Psychology of Gender examines how gender, sex, and sexuality shape the way we think, behave, and interact with the world. Drawing on social, cognitive, and developmental psychology, this course explores topics like gender identity, stereotypes, discrimination, and intersectionality—while also considering the role of politics, social justice, and cultural influences. Through research, discussion, and critical analysis, students will gain a deeper understanding of the psychological mechanisms behind gendered experiences and their real-world impact.

Why do people falsely confess to crimes they didn’t commit? Why are innocent people sometimes identified by eyewitnesses? How can investigators get the best evidence from eyewitnesses? How do juries—groups of 12 strangers—come to a decision during a trial? These are some of the core questions that legal psychologists (and students like you) strive to answer. In this course, you will apply knowledge and theories from social, cognitive, and developmental psychology to issues facing the legal system?

What makes a person competent to stand trial, waive their rights, plead guilty to a crime, or be executed? What are the effects of the "correctional" system on the people who experience it? Forensic psychology is the application of psychological science and practice to the legal system. We will learn about mental status examinations, correctional outcomes, and forensic decision-making — based on current, empirical psychological research.

Are we walking around in a world full of ghosts, bigfoots, and aliens? These stories and beliefs continue to captivate our collective attention. Why do people cling so tightly to these beliefs? This course will help us understand the social and cognitive processes behind pseudoscientific beliefs. We will also learn critical thinking and the scientific method to better understand valid, reliable, and reproducible science and thereby better identify pseudoscience.

Psycholinguistics is the study of the mental processes involved in language and language behavior. How do infants acquire language? Where is language in the brain? Why do some patients recover language abilities following brain injury, while others do not? We will examine the methods of psycholinguistics and discuss what is known about how humans listen, speak, converse, and read. We will discuss many of the fascinating ways in which language serves as a window into the human mind.

It’s hard to imagine an aspect of psychology more fundamental than memory. Without a functioning memory, all other cognitive functions—perception, learning, problem-solving, and language—would be impossible. Without a functioning memory, social interactions like play, relationships, and work would be chaotic at best. In this course, we will discuss cognitive, behavioral, social, and neuroscience perspectives and examine the diversity of phenomena we call "human memory."

More information coming soon!