PSYC134 HM - Human Nature and Genocide

Credit(s): 3

Instructor(s): Gampa

Description: Students will critically analyze experimental social psychology by applying it to the study of human nature and genocide, by studying classical social psychology paradigms and experiments. Students will also engage with theories such as evolutionary psychology, cultural anthropology, Marxist psychology, and critical theory, allowing them to compare and contrast various ways of studying human behavior. In order to aid in this journey, the course will ask questions such as: What role does human nature play in genocide? Can human nature be discovered by the scientific method? Can evidence from experiments (such as Milgram) provide enough insight into why a person may, or may not, be capable of committing acts of genocide? Is human nature today the same as it was 15,000 years ago? Or, could genocide have happened 15,000 years ago?

HSA Course Area(s): Psychology
HSA Writing Intensive: No