Multiculturalism and Diversity: A Social Psychological Perspective

ISBN-13: 9781405190657 / Angielski / Miękka / 2009 / 194 str.

Bernice Lott

Opis

Multiculturalism and Diversity focuses on the ways in which history and identity inform each other, and examines the politics of culture as well as the politics of cultural identities within the U.S.

• Illustrates the basic proposition that each of us is a unique multicultural human being and that culture affects individual self-definition, experience, behavior, and social interaction
• Moves from early simple definitions of multiculturalism to more complex understandings focused on culture as learned, teachable (shared), and fluid
• Uses a critical approach to the study of culture and personal identity that is informed by historical and social factors and an appreciation of their interaction
• Examines the various cultural threads within the mosaic of a person's multicultural self such as sexual identity, gender, social class, and ethnicity

Recenzje

"Readers will enjoy its clarity, succinctness, and current examples. A timely contribution, the book can enrich training for research or practice and should prove valuable for anyone interested in culture and diversity." (Psychology of Women Quarterly, 2011)

"For instructors and researchers looking for new and better ways to define and describe the difficult constructs of culture, diversity, and multiculturalism, Multiculturalism and Diversity lives up to the task....... Furthermore, its individual chapters may serve as helpful stand–alone treatises on the four major cultural groups." (PsycCRITIQUES, September 15, 2010)

"A very good introduction for academics and (separately) the truly provincial for whom college is the first step out of their cultural womb." (Prometheus 6, January 2010)

Spis treści

1 Introduction: The Multicultural Person.

Multicultural Psychology and Cross–Cultural Psychology.

Interpretive Lenses.

Persons and Communities.

A Proposed Social Psychological Perspective.

Definitions and Common Themes.

2 Culture.

Culture is Part of Human Biology.

Diversity of Cultures.

Empiricism and Social Constructions.

3 Ethnicity.

Race and Racism.

Ethnicity.

4 Gender.

Differences in Relative Power.

Cultures of Gender.

Interactions with Ethnicity.

Gender Salience.

5 Social Class.

Doing Social Class.

Unequal Access to Resources.

Working–Class and Low–Income Families.

The Middle Class.

The Rich.

Moving On.

6 Sexual Identity Cultures.

Heterosexual Culture.

Sexual Minority Cultures.

7 The Cultural Mosaic.

Diverse Cultural Communities.

Cultural Identities: How Do I Describe Myself?

Conflicting Identities.

Cultural Intersections.

8 Some Implications for Research and Practice.

Research.

Practice.

What Now?

References.

Subject Index.

Name Index.

O autorze

Bernice Lott is Professor Emerita of Psychology and Women s Studies at the University of Rhode Island and is a former Dean of its University College. She received her university s Excellence Award for scholarly achievement, an honorary degree as Doctor of Humane Letters, served as president of APA s Division 35 (The Psychology of Women), and has been honored for scholarly, teaching, mentoring, and social policy contributions by APA s Committee on Women, Division 35, the Association for Women in Psychology, the National Multicultural Conference and Summit, and the New England Psychological Association.

Blurb

Multiculturalism is a theoretical, political, and educational perspective that has had great influence within contemporary psychology but of which the meaning and implications are not yet fully understood. In Multiculturalism and Diversity, Bernice Lott uses the lenses of social and critical psychology to illuminate the meaning and scope of culture and its relationship with diversity. Lott posits that all human beings in contemporary society are multicultural and focuses on the many dimensions and politics of culture and how these shape individual identities.

The definition of culture guiding this book is one that is inclusive and pertains to many human groups, large and small. The author argues that such an approach provides an authentic way of understanding how significant group memberships affect individual self–definition, experience, behavior, and social interaction. Multiculturalism and Diversity positions multicultural psychology as an active, changing, and dynamic field and is sure to stimulate reasoned debate, discussion, and questions for further empirical inquiry.