Psychology of Social Change

As a local activist, I'm always interested in developing better/deeper ways of engaging my students in meaningful local action.

In a world struggling with a number of serious environmental and social justice issues, how do we affect social change? How do we create a healthier, cleaner, safer, more compassionate world? And how do we, as individuals, become better people? In this class, we will select environmental and social justice issues and then examine the theoretical and empirical perspectives on how our beliefs, reasoning, and emotions, as well as our goals, desires, and fears, influence our attitudes and actions with regards to these issues in positive and negative ways. We will read about power, oppressive structures, and extractive economic practices – particularly how they affect the lives of women, LGBTQ+, and communities of color – and the cultural and psychological barriers to health and wellbeing. In the process, we will tackle the applied problem of actually enacting change in our own lives, and in our communities.

Jen Wright

Professor, Director First Year Experience

Psychology Department

College of Charleston