SW 503 Human Behavior in the Social Environment I

This course introduces students to the study of human development across the lifespan from prenatal/birth through middle childhood, in the context of their environment, including gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, socioeconomics, and disability. The study of mental health and mental illness, resilience, “the four psychologies'', narrative, humanistic, and existential theories. Intersectionality, feminist and critical race theory inform the lectures and discussions. This course also provides a foundation for later concepts and theories, such as the second semester of this course (SW 508) studying adolescence through late adulthood, qualitative and quantitative research methodologies in preparation for the student’s capstone project and the identification of trauma-related social determinants of health affecting large populations.