December 13, 2017
Dear Graduate Students at UCONN
I am teaching EPSY 6304: The Psychology of Men and Boys in Counseling and Education during the Spring semester from 12:15 – 2:35 PM on Wednesdays.
I am looking for a few more students who are interested in studying the psychology of men/boys in a seminar format. The class will include lectures, discussions, experiential activities, music/media, and psychobiographies of famous men and women.
There aere no exams in this seminar. There are weekly readings, brief assignments, and multi-media presentations, class discussions, and a major paper.
Contact me if you need a permission number or want further information (Jimoneil1@aol.com) or you can go directly to Peoplesoft to enroll.
I have provided information about the course below.
Jim O'Neil
Professor, Educational Psychology & Family Studies
Seminar For Undergraduate, Masters and Doctoral Students
EPSY 6304 – The Psychology of Men and Boys in Counseling and Education, Spring , 2018
Course Title: The Psychology of Men and Boys in Counseling and Education
Credits: 3
Instructor: Dr. James O’Neil, Professor of Educational Psychology and Family Studies
E-mail: James.O'Neil@uconn.edu
Telephone: (860) 486-4281 work; (860) 644-4043 home
Personal Webpage: http://web.uconn.edu/joneil/
Gender Role Conflict Research Webpage: http://web.uconn.edu/joneil/
Meets: Wednesdays 12:15– 2:35 pm – TBA
The negative effects of men's socialization and gender role conflicts are reviewed from the theory and empirical research in the psychology of men. Lectures, discussions, experiential activities, and psychobiographies of famous men and women are used to promote personal learning and psychoeducational outcomes. Implications for counseling, teaching, and more positive views of men are explored.
Overall Course Objectives |
1. Students should be able to describe and discuss the impact of
gender role socialization on men, boys, women, and girls and understand how
gender roles can negatively affect educational and personal development over the lifecycle.
2. Students should be able to personalize what they have learned in class and gain
insights about their own gender role journey.
3. Students should recognize how to empower themselves and their students to
resolve any negative consequences of sexism (or any other oppression) that
emanate from restrictive gender roles.
Student Learning Objectives
1. Define possible ways to engage the course on men and masculinity both conceptually
and personally.
2. Explain what the Psychology of Men/Boys and Men’s Studies are as disciplines.
3. Assess your own gender role journey including personal, professional and political
perspectives that have influenced your gender role socialization. Evaluate, if
applicable, the impact of: psychological violence, personal pain, gender role conflict,
gender role transitions, and defense mechanisms.
4. Explain the assumptions and critical conceptual frameworks of the course including
patriarchy, sexism, stereotypes, gender role socialization, gender role conflicts and
transitions, abuse of power, psychological and physical violence, gender role
identity, gender role schemas, distorted gender role schemas, self-protective
defensive strategies, the culture of cruelty, men and women as victims of sexism,
positive and affirmative masculinity.
5. Explain the evolving theories about men’s gender role socialization from biological, psychoanalytic, and socially based perspectives as well as the three conceptual paradigms of the course.
6. Explain the multicultural, racial, ethnic, sexual orientation, age, life stage, and other
aspects of masculinity in the context of masculine vulnerability.
7. Discuss affirming men and positive masculinity.
8. Explain what is known about men empirically from the Gender Role Conflict (GRC) Research Program and other research programs on men in the context of personal and interpersonal relationships and implications for mental and physical health.
9. Describe men’s violence against women from a gender role socialization perspective.
10. Assess your own patterns of gender role conflict.
11. Discuss the implications of the course in terms of counseling, teaching, and school reform.
12. Implement personal empowerment strategies from insights gained from the class.
Course Topics For EPSY 6304
Topic 1: Course Introduction; Expectancies; Review of
Syllabus; Class Goals, & Class Process; Psychoeducation; Engaging the Course and Psychoeducation
Positively
Topic 2: Introduction to the Psychology of Boys and Men: What is the Psychology of Men & Men’s Studies?
Topic 3: Critical Definitions and Conceptual Frameworks for the Course; Men As Victims of Sexism?
Topic 4: Societal Context for Understanding Men’s and Women’s
Relationships & Assessing Psychological Violence;
The Gender Role Journey: A Metaphor to Understand the Course and Yourself
Working With Pain and the Journey with the Gender Roles
Topic 5: Theories About Men’s Gender Role Socialization;
Power, Homophobia, Shame
Topic 6: Racial, Ethnic, Sexual Orientation & Contextual Aspects of Masculinity; Masculine Vulnerability
Topic 7: Thirty Years of Research on Men’s Gender Role Conflict
Topic 8: Men’s Violence: The Epidemic Problem That No One Can Explain
Affirming Men and Positive Aspects of Masculinity
Topic 9: Therapy and Psychoeducational Programming with Men and Boys
Topic 10: Professor’s Gender Role Journey
Men’s and Women’s Patterns of Gender Role Conflict: Telling the Truth About Our Lives
Topic 11: Therapy and Psychoeducational Programming with Men and Boys
Topic 12: Class Discussion: The Gender Role Journey Paper (GRJP) will be discussed.
Bring your rough draft outlines of your papers and your questions, concerns,
and support of others.
Topic 13: Therapy and Psychoeducational Programming
with Men and Boys
Topic 14: None
Topic 15: Class Closure, Methods of Healing,
and Next Steps, Course Closure
For more information, contact: Jim O'Neil at 860-644-4043