Hi Nancy,
I hope you don't restrain from posting important issues/topics to the list.
Just because others may not see connections to psychology and teaching does not
mean that they don't exist. I can't begin to tell you how many times
individuals at conferences have said to me in regards to my Holocaust research
and the study of the psychosocial roots of genocide, "What does this have to do
with psychology?" Personally, I think this is a sad commentary on the
discipline. While we all have our various bailiwicks, this does not preclude
one from seeing the relevance to psychology beyond one's particular domain of
study.
As stated before, the events in East Timor are directly related to several areas
within psychology. It certainly is closest to the work done by individuals
involved in Division 48 (Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict, and Violence:
Peace Psychology) as well as Division 52 (International Psychology),
International Council of Psychologists, Psychologists for Social Responsibility,
or SPSSI. And there are journals in the area as well such as Peace and
Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology. And of course, there is the joint
APA/CPA joint initiative and a post-graduate program in ethnopolitical conflict
at the Solomon Asch Center for the Study of Ethnopolitical Conflict.
The comparison to the "get rich internet scheme" is more than a stretch. As far
as I know it is not a legitimately recognized branch of psychology whereas the
study of peace and conflict is a recognized branch of psychology. It may not be
everyone's cup of tea but that does not negate its existence.
I thought you raised a very important concern and while I disagreed somewhat
with your conclusions, I found it extremely relevant and a significant
contribution. The most important point that I thought you mentioned was the
point about discussing this with students and colleagues. We discuss other
events of national import - my guess is that more than one class or colleague
discussed Columbine, more than one raised the issue of the Kosovar refugees
within the context of a course. and more than one probably discussed the
President's unseemly behavior. Clearly, the first two may have been more
directly related to the content of what many of us teach while the latter
perhaps less relevant. However, current issues and events do get raised in the
classroom, are the subject of psychology related videos, and even get
incorporated into texts. Bearing that in mind, we can certainly be open to
discussing within the context of our courses a extensive massacre and refugee
evacuation that is occurring at the same moment we are lecturing. According to
a U.N. spokesperson, from one-quarter to one-third of the population of East
Timor has been evacuated in the past few days.
Quickly perusing the content discussed on TIPS in the past year, it is hard to
believe that we once again return to the "is this relevant to teaching"
discussion again in relation to your post.
Thanks again,
linda
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> Friends,
>
> In retrospect now I am sorry that I posted my feelings on this topic.
> Perhaps I should have left out the part about "students" as I guess I was
> just looking for some peers to discuss with - but this is not an appropriate
> use either.
>
> In my own defense, I think the analogy to "asking students to send a dollar"
> is a bit strained. If you ask students to think about or notice something,
> they may very well draw their own conclusions about it - their perfect right.
> It's not like anyone is guaranteed to benefit or be able to exploit them on
> this issue.
>
> So, that's it. Please don't run me out of the cyber community on an
> electronic rail. I'll try to restrain similar impulses in the future.
>
> Peace.
>
> Nancy Melucci
> Faux Full Timer
> Psychology & Child Development
> El Camino College - Torrance, CA
--
linda m. woolf, ph.d.
associate professor - psychology
webster university
main webpage: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/
Holocaust and genocide studies pages:
http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/holocaust.html
womens' pages: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/women.html
gerontology pages: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/gero.html
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
