Teaching the Psychology of Women: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Abstract: This paper explores the development of a college freshman level course entitled, "Psychology of Women " at the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio, Texas. Interdisciplinary focus groups were held that included female professors from various disciplines, i.e., business, education, English literature, biology, nursing, and religious studies. The critical question posed to the group was: In this era of globalization and diversity, what issues and topics should be covered in a class that explores the psychology of women across the lifespan? The importance of studying womanhood within the context of nationality, religion, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, and physical ability was highlighted. Key Words: Psychology of Women, Lifespan, Interdisciplinary Approach This paper is based on the development of the course "Psychology of Women," taught at a private faithbased university. There are several ways to approach teaching such a course. The professor of the course used an interdisciplinary approach, involving a developmental perspective that examined the wide range of experiences that girls and women may encounter across their lifespan. The course examined the physical, cognitive, and psychosocial development in girl's and women's lives, and the impact that certain experiences may have on the mental health of the females. Topics such as physical development and health, spirituality, education and employment, and interpersonal relationships were covered. The course also integrated and highlighted themes related to the diversity of women's experiences due to socioeconomic differences as well as issues arising from race, ethnicity or disability. An additional theme in the development of the course was the social construction of gender. The voices of women from a wide range of disciplines and backgrounds is essential when examining the psychology of women. Therefore, in the pre-planning phase of the course, an interdisciplinary approach was used by asking female professors in disciplines outside of Psychology to identify and contribute to the topics that should be covered in teaching the Psychology of Women. Professors from the major disciplines at the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) attended focus groups to discuss topics they thought important to include in the course. Content from these sessions were used as major themes for the course, additionally, four of the participants were asked to contribute to the development of the course. Faculty contributing were from the disciplines of business, education, English literature, biology, nursing and religious studies. While the available textbooks and scholarship on the psychology of women provide a range of topics for discussion, the goal here was to have women in higher education contribute to the development of this course; female experts who were outside the traditional fields who might not otherwise be involved in the development of the curriculum (i.e., psychology and sociology). In addition, it was believed that these women would bring a diverse disciplinary approach to the development of the course, with each professor contributing by virtue of their unique experiences, their own diverse backgrounds with regard to race, ethnicity, age, socioeconomic status (during childhood years) and religion. GOAL OF THE PRE-PLANNING GROUPS The focus groups were posed with the critical question: What should we teach? In this era of globalization and diversity, what issues and topics should be covered in a class that explores the psychology of women? What are the life experiences girls and women are encountering today in their development? Are these experiences necessarily different than yesterday's experiences? What impact are these experiences having, both positive and negative, on women's mental health status? In exploring these critical questions, the professor experts were asked to think of the life experiences girls and women may encounter across their lifespan (childhood to late adulthood). …