PHIL 225.01 - Randolph

PSYC/BLST 160 / PSYC 380 (Dr. Alva Hughes)
Cross-Cultural Psychology: Psychology
and the African Diaspora
PSYC 160.01 AOK: Social Science (3 credit hours) CAR:
Nonwestern/Experiential. Black Studies Minor.
Psyc 380 has PSYC 200 & 201 as prerequisites and can be
counted as an elective on the Psychology major & minor.
CAR: Nonwestern/Experiential
This course is to provide
“Here in Bahia, 70 percent of the
population is of African descent,
an opportunity for you to
but
more than 80 percent of those
become familiar with the
who graduate from universities are
peoples and cultures of
white, so you can see clearly there
Brazil, with an emphasis
is a situation of exclusion.”
on the peoples of the Afri- Lázaro Raimundo dos Passos
Cunha, Diretor de Projetos, Steve
can Diaspora. We will
Biko Institute
learn about this culture
from the perspective of
cross-cultural psychology. We will explore the way in
which culture affects our beliefs and behaviors, as well
as develop a better understanding of the cultures of
Brazil. We will use the differences and similarities we
find to address the broader question of universals and
particulars in human behavior. Our travels will take us
from the busy streets of Rio, to the Colonial city of
Paraty and finally to
the city of Salvador.
In Salvador we will
examine the African
roots of the culture
and visit one of the
Quilombos that beO Balé Folclórico da Bahia
gan as fugitive slave
settlement.
PHIL 225.01 (Dr. Donna Turney)
Women’s Nature
AOK: Civilizations/Philosophy (3 credit hours) CAR: Experiential. Counts on the majors and minors for both Philosophy and for Women’s Studies.
The purpose of this course is to become familiar with
the people and culture of Brazil with specific attention
to gender and women. We will approach this through
the lens of philosophy in a critical examination of
Quilombo
Campinho da Independência women
weaving palm
thatch baskets
views of women’s nature. Students will consider accounts of women from the philosophical perspective
of the disciplines of sociobiology, psychology and
feminist theory and from the perspective of Latin
American society and culture. Students will consider
views of women from perspectives outside academic
“By stressing the elements of
discourse in travel to Brazil. aggressive eroticism and compliant domesticity, Xuxa’s narraThe cultivation of a critical
tive affirms dominant views of
perspective of perspectives
gender roles. Her representaon women includes firsttion of femininity serves the
hand exposure to Brazilian
interests of the social hierarchy,
culture in museums, marperpetuating inequality by
working to naturalize the myth
kets, cultural events, a Rio
of beauty and other mechanisms
de Janeiro favela and
of disenfranchisement and
Quilombo Campinho da
marginalization.” Author
Independência in and serAmelia Simpson about Brazilian blonde super star Maria da
vice to women in Salvador,
Graça Xuxa Meneghel’s media
at the Calafate Women’s
Collective, a local grassroots influence on Brazilian society.
organization.
Pre-requisites:
None for PHIL 221 and PSYC/BLST 160;
PSYC 200 and 201 for PSYC 380
No language requirement
(note that Brazil is a Portuguese speaking country)
Estimated Cost:
$5,400
including all airfare and airport taxes, lodging, all meals,
excursions and entrance fees, hotel room tips, guided tours
and Brazilian visa.
Important Note:
$500 due June 1, $2500 due August 1, and the
remaining balance due October 1, 2014
Faculty:
Dr. Donna Turney, chair of the
Philosophy Department, has
been on the faculty at RandolphMacon for 29 years. She teaches
Philosophical Problems, Women’s Nature, Modern Philosophy,
Philosophy of Science, Philosophy of Religion, Feminist Theory, 20th Century Philosophy, Emotion and Truth. She studied questions about
knowledge from the history of analytic philosophy to
feminist theory and has recently become interested in
service learning in philosophy. She loves reading fiction,
watching movies and knitting. All things being equal,
she would rather be outside than in.
Dr. Alva Hughes is a Professor of
Psychology who has been on the
faculty at Randolph-Macon College for
23 years. Her research interests include
culture and cognition, everyday
memory, and human animal
interaction She has lead 3 R-MC travel
courses to Ghana. She finds living with
at least one dog necessary. When she is
not busy trying to understand cognitive processes in
humans and dogs, she reads, knits, and eats chocolate.
Dr. Reber Dunkel is serving as Brazil
consultant/interpreter. Professor
Dunkel taught rural sociology for two
years at the Universidade Federal de
Viçosa, Minas Gerais, Brazil and
translated Portuguese documents as a
graduate research assistant on the
African Diaspora Research Project at
Michigan State University. A former
Peace Corps hydrologist in India, he
has previously co-led R-MC J-term travel courses to
New Orleans (Hurricane Katrina recovery/service learning) and twice to Ghana and Brazil. Youth in Brazil
were amazed at Professor Dunkel’s lack of futebol
(soccer) skills.
The professors have co-taught several service
learning courses and look forward to working
together in Brazil.
3/27/2014
Selected Activities (tentative)
Our trip includes
Rio de Janeiro, the
colonial city of Paraty and Salvador, Bahia the cradle of vibrant Afro-Brazilian
culture. Our first
stop is Rio, host of
the 2016 Olympics.
Copacabana beach is
a short walk from
our hotel. We visit
the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado,
Santa Marta hillside community and the Carioca de Gema nightclub for an evening of samba.
Next, we journey to the seaside town of Paraty that
flourished after gold was discovered in the 1690s. Activities include a trip to Quilombo Independência, a
thriving community on a former plantation, a whale
watching voyage, a tour of a traditional Caiçara
(descendants of mixed ancestry) fishing village, and
stops at pristine tropical beaches.
We fly to Salvador, a city with a rich legacy of Portuguese and creole architecture, baroque cathedrals
and museums around the Pelourinho UNESCO heritage site. There we attend the Balé Folclórico da Bahia
featuring sacred dances of Candomblé, capoeira and other traditional dances. Our community service with the
Calafate Women’s Collective addresses sex/gender,
income and health issues of women and children.
We hold evening sessions to share our experiences
and work on our projects. Our itinerary was planned
to provide cultural, historical and ecological
activities and meaningful
community service.
Lodgings will be the
Windsor Hotel in Rio de
Janeiro, Pousada do
Principe in Paraty, and
View of the Baía de Todos the Grande Hotel da
os Santos (Bay of All
Barra in Salvador.
J-TERM STUDY / TRAVEL COURSE 2015
*
Paraty
PSYC/BLST 160.01
PSYC 380
Cross-Cultural Psychology: Psychology and
the African Diaspora
PHIL 225.01
Women’s Nature
Students are encouraged to take both
PHIL and either PSYC or BLST
Embratur Rio
Travel Dates:
January 13 - January 27, 2015
(Classes will meet on campus from January 5 January 12 and January 27 - January 30)
Saints) Salvador, Bahia
3/27/2014