Spring, 2009
Professor: Dr. Travis Langley
Office: McBrien Hall Room 301-F
Contact: langlet@hsu.edu
Required textbook: None.
Required readings: Plenty.
OVERVIEW:
PSY 3053. Multicultural Mental Health. This course examines Non-Western perspectives on mental health, including issues of psychological science, diagnosis, and treatment. Culture-bound syndromes rarely found in Western society are explored. Coverage includes social and cultural determinants of psychopathology and the range of problems in individuals, families, and communities; mental health of indigenous peoples, ethnocultural minorities, immigrants, and refugees; cultural views on related issues such as suicide; mental health issues among native Americans and other citizens of non-Western/non-European descent; and the influence of Eastern philosophy on areas of contemporary psychology, views toward mental health, and how the mentally ill are treated.
GRADES
1/3 Assignments
1/3 Quizzes & Final
1/3 Report
PERSONAL COMMITMENT
While you enjoy great flexibility in taking this course online, you and you alone are responsible for your success. It requires motivation and devotion. You must make sure you follow instructions and do your work before the deadlines.
CONTACTING YOUR PROFESSOR
For an online course, the easiest way to contact me with questions or comments is by e-mail. Write me at langlet@hsu.edu any time and I will respond after I see the message if a reply is necessary. If you cannot e-mail me, you will need to leave a message on my voicemail at (870)230-5222. E-mail is best, though.
I will send messages to the entire class via e-mail at times. The e-mail system is set up to send messages to your HSU student e-mail address. If you prefer to use some other address, you must go into Reddie Connect and set up your mail options so that it will forward e-mail to you. I do not plan to use ANGEL's mail system ever.
If I can help you with anything else, always feel free to ask. Some of you have never taken online classes before, so do not be embarrassed when you occasionally goof here or there. That's part of the learning process, and I'll do everything I can to help you get things running smoothly.
INTERNET ASSIGNMENTS
We will not use chatrooms and you will not have to be online at any specific time of day to do the assignments. At this point, the technology for that is too awkward and not every student's computer will be able to handle it. To do your assignments, check the message board on the Reddie Connect page for this class frequently. You will either do each assignment on that message board or learn from the message board where to go to do each task. You will have assignments every week (every day for those of you trying to complete the course during the 3-week pre-summer session).
EXAMS
You will take quizzes online through ANGEL.
Call the HSU Computer Help Desk at 230-5678 or e-mail helpdesk@hsu.edu if you have non-ANGEL account difficulties.
You will come to campus to take the final exam at one of the following times:
Monday, May 4 3:00
Wednesday, May 6 1:00
Wednesday, May 6 3:00
COMPUTER TIPS
To make sure your computer can interact with our system, you may need (1) the most current version of Internet Explorer, (2) Windows updates, and (3) Java updates. This syllabus will be updated soon with information about the online system which we will use for quizzes.
Call the HSU Computer Help Desk at 230-5678 or e-mail helpdesk@hsu.edu if you have account difficulties.
ONLINE REPORT
You will each write a report on an appropriate topic (e.g., alcoholism among Native Americans, ethnic psychology, Asian psychology, Naikan therapy, shenkui) for Wikipedia either has no article on the topic or it has a very skimpy article. We'll discuss this in the mandatory orientation session. Assignments along the way will help you create this article.