Psychology 12, Spring 2010
Introduction to African American Psychology

(Meets TuTh 9:35 - 10:50, FL 110)


Professor Halford H. Fairchild
Office:  203 Scott Hall, Pitzer College
Office Hours:  Tuesdays 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 a.m. and by appointment
Phone:  909-607-3056 - Cell: 323-252-8399

Course Syllabus (Working Draft)

Syllabus is dynamic, and changes as we proceed through the course.

 

Course Description and Requirements:

This course surveys the specialty of African American Psychology.  The course is writing and speaking intensive.  Tuesdays are devoted to lectures, films and discussion. Thursdays are devoted to discussions of the readings provided by the instructor.  Short "S/R" papers are required each Thursday.  See "S/R papers," described below. Recommended link: Association of Black Psychologists

 

Sample APA Paper

Another Sample

 

Schedule of Readings:

Date

Topic

1-19-10

Introductions & Course Overview

Kiri Davis, A Girl Like Me - Video that recreates the Clark Study - You Tube Version

 

1-21-10

What is African American Psychology? Notes

Fairchild, H.H.  (2000).  African American psychology.  Pp. 92-99 in A.E. Kazdin (Editor).  Encyclopedia of psychology.  Washington: American Psychological Association.

Fairchild, H.H.  (1995).  Placing Blacks at the center of psychology.  Los Angeles Times (City Times), July 30, 1995, p. 12.

 

Murray, Bridget. (1993). Black psychology relies on traditional ideology. APA Monitor , pp. 33-34.

 

 Weekend

Homework: View the Joseph White interview, write a one page summary & reaction statement (due 1/26/10).

Film: An Interview with the Founder of The Association of Black Psychologists, Joseph White

1-26-10

Sankofa, Part I

1-28-10

Sankofa, Part II.

Writing Assignment (due 2/2/10): Write a "movie review" of Sankofa. 500 - 750 words. Imagine that you are submitting the paper to the NY Times movie review section.

 

2-02-10

The writing process. Fairchild's writing notes. Fairchild's paper.

 

An Exemplary Paper (Sankofa Movie Review)

 

2-04-10

Writing Discussion

Course Planning

 

 

Writing Assignment for Tuesday, February 9. Write a paper that reviews the work of Thomas A. Parham. Watch the video, linked below, as part of your research.

 

Also, search Psych Info and the Journal of Black Psychology to find two or three articles by this African American psychologist.

 

Your paper should be 350 - 700 words (2 - 4 pages), and reference the video (linked below), and at least two articles by Dr. Parham. (Please put your title page as the LAST page, so that the papers can be evaluated somewhat anonymously.)

 

Parham & Williams (1993) - Demography & Racial Identity

Parham (1993) - Reaction to Penn

 

 

 

2-9-10

Three Exemplary Papers on Dr. Parham

2-11-10

Meet Dr. Na'im Akbar - A Keynote Speech at The ABPsi Convention

Los Angeles, CA August 4, 1995

Write a paper, as you did for Dr. Parham, that introduces readers to Dr. Na'im Akbar.

Please use your notes from today's video, the video interview linked below, and

searches of PsychInfo and/or The Journal of Black Psychology. Much can be

learned about Dr. Akbar from google searches, and a search on Amazon.com.

 

You can also find more material at video.google.com and youtube.

 

Please take the tutorial on the basics of APA style. Linked here!

 

2-16-10

Discussion of Na'im Akbar. Exemplary Papers

2-18-10

Black Families - A Video Lecture by Nancy Boyd Franklin

 

Extra Credit Opportunity: Sojourner Truth Lecture, Ms. Edwidge Danticat,

7:30 p.m., Rose Hills Theatre, Smith Campus Center, Pomona College. Write a 1 or 2 page review of the event for up to 100 BIG extra credit points! Due: February 23

 
Weekend

For your paper on Nancy Boyd Franklin, view the following:

Other videos on Nancy Boyd Franklin can be found at www.video.google.com. You can also search YouTube. A search of Amazon.com may be fruitful, as well as the usual searches at PsycInfo & the JBP.

A link to another video; an interview with Nancy Boyd Franklin on her book, Boys into Men. click here.  

 

Sample APA Paper

Here is a bit of help for your research on Nancy Boyd Franklin:

 

A Bibliography on Nancy Boyd-Franklin

Boyd-Franklin (1995): Therapy with Inner City Families

2-23-10

Discussion: Who is Nancy Boyd Franklin?

A sample edit

2-25-10

Meet Reverend Jeremiah Wright

Reading: African American Dialects (Fairchild & Edwards-Evans, 1990)

Paper Assignment: What is the nature of "Black English" and its implications for schools. Please use Reverend Wright's lecture, the article linked above, and conduct your own search to complete the discussion. This paper should incorporate the articles listed for next week, and the paper itself will be due March 23, 2010.

Review: Bibliography on Black English ("Ebonics")

Bibliography (sort order)
   

3-02-10

Readings in Ebonics - Students should be prepared to discuss the following articles. Students who lead the discussion on the articles are listed at the end of each article. ALL students, other than those already identified as presenting an article, should prepare to present the article marked, "random presenter."

 

If you have trouble getting the article, search 'ebonics' in psychinfo and locate the relevant article, and then use the "get" function. Although all articles are available, not all can be saved or linked properly here.

 

Fairchild & Edwards-Evans (1990): A powerpoint summary

Billings , A. (2005). Beyond the Ebonics Debate: Attitudes About Black and Standard American English. Journal of Black Studies , 36 (1), 68-81. doi:10.1177/0021934704271448. GERAL

 

3-04-10

Blackburn , M. (2005). Agency in Borderland Discourses: Examining Language Use in a Community Center With Black Queer Youth. Teachers College Record , 107 (1), 89-113. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9620.2005.00458.x. CAMILLE

Bohn, A. (2003). Familiar Voices: Using Ebonics Communication Techniques in the Primary Classroom. Urban Education , 38 (6), 688-707. doi:10.1177/0042085903257315. MICHAEL LOPEZ Michael's Powerpoint

Division 45, The APA. (1997). Ebonics Resolution. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health , 3 (3), 219. doi:10.1037/1099-9809.3.3.219. ALL

Gopaul-McNicol, S., Reid, G., & Wisdom, C. (1998). The psychoeducational assessment of Ebonics speakers: Issues and challenges. Journal of Negro Education , 67 (1), 16-24. doi:10.2307/2668236. (RANDOM PRESENTER)

Harper, F., Braithwaite, K., & LaGrange, R. (1998). Ebonics and academic achievement: The role of the counselor. Journal of Negro Education , 67 (1), 25-34. doi:10.2307/2668237. BRIAN WINTER

 

 

3-9-10

Readings in Ebonics

Hoover, M. (1998). A recommended reading list for teachers of students who speak Ebonics. Journal of Negro Education , 67 (1), 43-47. doi:10.2307/2668239. ANDRE L.

Hoover, M. (1990). A vindicationist perspective on the role of Ebonics (Black language) and other aspects of ethnic studies in the university. American Behavioral Scientist , 34 (2), 251-262. doi:10.1177/0002764290034002013. HANNAH

Ogbu, J. (1999). Beyond language: Ebonics, proper English, and identity in a Black-American speech community. American Educational Research Journal , 36 (2), 147-184. doi:10.2307/1163537. (RANDOM PRESENTER) - If link doesn't work, go through PsychInfo to get this article. ALL

 

3-11-10

Pryce, J. (1997). Similarities between the debates on Ebonics and Jamaican. Journal of Black Psychology , 23 (3), 238-241. doi:10.1177/00957984970233006. ROMY-MICHELLE

Smitherman, G., & Cunningham, S. (1997). Moving beyond resistance: Ebonics and African American youth. Journal of Black Psychology , 23 (3), 227-232. doi:10.1177/00957984970233004. ALLISON

Grant, S., Oka, E.R., & Baker, J.A. (2009). The culturally relevant assessment of Ebonics-speaking children. Journal of Applied School Psychology, 25, 113-127.

Seymour (1999) - Ebonics

 

Meet Robert L. Williams, who coined the term, "Ebonics."

3-16-10

Spring Break - Extra Credit Assignment: View "Precious" and write a movie review, due 3/23/10.

3-18-10

Spring Break

 

3-23-10

Discussion of the movie, Precious

 

Creating Pro-social Television, news article

Research on Star Crusaders by H. Fairchild (1984)

(Re)Creating Star Crusaders by H. Fairchild

 

Fairchild (1984): Per-pupil expenditures, school size, and achievement.

 

3-25-10

Black History: Lost, Stolen or Strayed, narrated by Bill Cosby (Xenon Home Video, 1991). Please write an S/R (stimulus/response) on this film. First peerson pronoun permitted. Due March 30.

 

Check this out: News about Precious

 

3-30-10

Annotated Bibliography on Ebonics due. Example of an Annotated Bib (on college stress).

Discussion of Black History, Lost, Stolen or Strayed.

Example of a Superb Annotated Bibliography

4-01-10

A Video Lecture by Asa G. Hilliard. Invited Keynote Address at the 2000 Annual Convention of The ABPsi, Accra, Ghana.

Dr. Asa Hilliard's Obituary.

A search of Asa G. Hilliard in Psych Info (author search) will yield rich rewards.

No weekend writing assignment, but students should continue to collect annotated bibliography for their paper on Education.

4-6-10

Hurley, E.A., Allen, B.A., & Boykin, A.W. (2009). Culture and the interaction of student ethnicity with reweard structure in group learning. Cognition and Instruction, 27(2), 121-146. Vanessa K

 

Marryshow, D., Hurley, E.A., Allen, B.A., Tyler, K.M., & Boykin, A.W. (2005). Impact of learning orientation on African American children's attitudes toward high-achieving peers. American Journal of Psychology, 118(4), 603-618. - Ja'Lynn

 

Hurley, E.A. (??). The performance gap: Stereotype threat, assessment, and the eduation of African American children. - Adam

 

Boykin, A.W. (1982). Task variability and the performance of Black and White schoolchildren: Vervistic explorations. Journal of Black Studies, 12(4), 469-485. (ALL ARE ASSIGNED THIS ONE) - Leah

 

 

 

4-8-10

Tyler, K.M., Boykin, A.W., Miller, O., & Hurley, E. (2006). Cultural values in the home and school experiences of low-income African American students. Social Psychology of Education - Colleen - Powerpoint Notes

 

Hurley, E.A., Boykin, A.W., & Allen, B.A. (2005). Communal versus individual learning of a math-estimation task: African American children and the culture of learning contexts. The Journal of Psychology, 205, 139(6), 513-527. - Michael R.

 

Cole, J.M., & Boykin, A.W. (2008). Examining culturally structured learning environments with different types of music-linked movement opportunity. Journal of Black Psychology, 34 (3), 331-355. - Rachel

 

Hilliard, A.G. (1996). Either a paradigm shift or no mental measurement: The nonscience and the nonsense of The Bell Curve. Cultural Diversity and Mental Health, 291), 1-20.

All are assigned this one.) - Kadija

 

Fairchild, H.H. (1991): Scientific racism: The cloak of objectivity. Journal of Social Issues, 47(3), 101-115. (All assigned this one). - Min

 

 

 

 

 Additional readings for potential inclusion in your paper.

Fairchild: On structured inequality in educational opportunity

Fairchild: Drip by drip, the indignities go on.

Fairchild: Today's America needs many tongues.

4-13-10

NO CLASS TODAY or Thursday. Please use the time to draft your paper on "Educating African American Children." Incorporate all of the relevant material from your readings on ebonics, classroom instruction, mass media, etc.

Writing the Literature Review: The Fairchild Method.

 

4-15-10

NO CLASS TODAY! See 4-13-10 for instruction.

 

 

4-20-10

Draft of paper on Education due today.

Discussion

4-22-10

Film, TBA

 

4-27-10

Revised papers due Thursday

Piper-Mandy, Erylene. (2007). Afrikan Psychology. Presentation at the Southern California Association of Black Psychologists, January 27, 2007. Los Angeles, CA.

4-29-10

Final drafts of paper are due.

Discussion of Piper-Mandy.

Questions to and from Professor Fairchild.

 

 

5-04-10

Course rap-up

 

5-07-10

Reading Day (no class)

 

 

 

Assignments


Quizzes.  Students should be prepared to take a short quiz every Tuesday at the beginning of class.  These will be multiple choice questions that examine the readings for that day, or weekend homework assignments.  Questions may also include material from the previous week's lectures, films, and/or discussions.

S/R Papers.  Students are required to write short "S/R" papers for each Thursday class session. "S/R" stands for "Stimulus/Response."  The "Stimulus,"  is the day's reading assignment.  The "Response" is the student's reaction to that reading.  For each class session that has a reading assignment, students should write an "S/R" for each of the readings.  When a film or video is shown on the previous Tuesday, an "S/R" should be produced for that film or video.  The "Stimulus" portion of the paper should be a very short summary or synopsis of what the reading assignment was about.  The "Response" portion may be short or long -- and should provide your insights, reflections, thoughts, reactions, and/or questions to the reading material.  These "Responses" will be shared in class as part of our class discussion.  Students should come to class, each Thursday, with their "S/R Papers" typed and ready to hand in.  These papers are generally graded on a pass/fail basis -- 100 points for being turned in on time (weak papers may receive fewer points; strong papers may receive bonus points); 50% credit for being late (turned in after class or if a student is absent).  Papers submitted by email are awarded 50% credit. (Half of the credit on this assignment is for students' oral contributions to class discussion.)

Mini-Lectures. Students will have an opportunity to provide one or two "mini-lectures" during the semester. These should be 5 to 10 minute oral abstracts of a reading from the student's research.

Research Project. Students are to research a topic within the field of African American psychology. This should culminate in a "review of literature" paper that is due toward the end of the semester (April 30, 2009). More will be said about this in class.

Course Rap Up.  On the last day of class, students will present (singly or in teams), a "rap" that defines the field of African American Psychology.  The rap should seek to integrate course materials (texts, readings, video lectures, class discussions, etc.).  The course "rap" will be ungraded.  (However, failure to complete this assignment will adversely affect a student's grade in course participation.)

Grading

Students will be evaluated and graded based on their quiz scores, S/R papers, and classroom participation.  Attendance and participation are heavily weighted.  Each S/R paper can earn up to 100 points (late papers receive 50% credit; papers submitted in absentia--where the student was absent and did not participate in the discussion--receive 50% credit; and papers submitted by email receive 50% credit).  Quizzes are worth up to 100 points.  Class participation is worth up to 500 points.   "A" students receive 92% or more of the available points; "B" students 82% or more; etc.  Students on the margins receive minuses or plusses. 

Assignments, grading and course sequencing may change.