The primary aim of this course is to provide the student, who has a background in psychology, the possibility to explore current issues in psychology applied to the Catalan and Spanish contexts and to understand their experience as sojourners from a psychological perspective. Two specific topics are viewed through the lens of cultural psychology: firstly, the challenges for providing appropriate psychological care in an increasingly multicultural society, and secondly, with particular reference to Catalonia, the complexities of family violence in Spain. The psychological literature in relation to sojourning is also explored and forms an integral part of the course. This enables students to chart their personal journey in a new culture and understand it from a psychological perspective. Furthermore, a group project allows the students to combine their lived experience as sojourners with psychological theory and apply both to the development of a cultural guide for American students living in Catalonia, thus improving group skills. It is hoped that the unique approach taken in this course will both complement and enrich the students’ experience as sojourners, living and studying in a new culture, on both an academic and personal level.
The primary aim of this course is to provide the student with an overview of both established and contemporary knowledge in the area of culture and psychology and to facilitate the student in gaining insight to the ethnocentric nature of western psychology.This course offers a combination of key areas in psychology (culture and mental health, social psychology and human development) each viewed through a cultural lens. Given that the students are here as sojourners (living temporarily outside their own country), the psychological literature in this area is also explored. A further component focuses on an applied area, psychosocial health of immigrants in Spain, and specifically Barcelona, thus providing the opportunity for students to apply the knowledge they have acquired and allow them to gain insight into a current cultural issue in Barcelona. It is hoped that the approach taken in this course will both complement and enrich the student’s experience as sojourners, living and studying in a new culture, on both an academic and personal level.
