CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGY PROGRAMME COURSE DESCRIPTION

Code	Name of the Course Unit	Semester	In-Class Hours (T+P)	Credit	ECTS Credit
PSY313	CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGY	5	3	3	5

GENERAL INFORMATION
Language of Instruction :	English
Level of the Course Unit :	BACHELOR'S DEGREE, TYY: + 6.Level, EQF-LLL: 6.Level, QF-EHEA: First Cycle
Type of the Course :	Elective
Mode of Delivery of the Course Unit	-
Coordinator of the Course Unit	Assist.Prof. MEHMET OSMAN KURTKAN KAPICIOĞLU
Instructor(s) of the Course Unit	Assist.Prof. BERK EFE ALTINAL
Course Prerequisite	No

OBJECTIVES AND CONTENTS
Objectives of the Course Unit:	This course aims to introduce students to the major traditions, concepts, debates, and political concerns of critical psychology. The course examines how psychological knowledge has been historically produced, institutionalized, and used in relation to power, classification, subjectivity, normality, and social control. It encourages students to critically evaluate mainstream psychology through perspectives such as historical revisionism, paradigm critique, Foucauldian analysis, postcolonial and decolonial thought, feminist psychology, critical race perspectives, critiques of neoliberal subjectivity, anti-psychiatry, neurodiversity, animal subjectivity, and liberation psychology. By the end of the course, students are expected to understand psychology as a historically situated, socially embedded, and politically consequential field of knowledge and practice.
Contents of the Course Unit:	The contents of the course include introductions to critical psychologies; critical history and revisionism; paradigm shifts and methodological anarchism; modernity and the Cartesian subject; Foucault’s analyses of madness, classification, surveillance, panopticism, and praxis; postcolonialism, Fanon, and decolonial therapy; gender, family, race, racialization, and psychological power; neoliberal subjectivity, pop psychology, and the psy-complex; critical perspectives on mental health and psychiatry; development and neurodiversity; the place of nonhuman animals in psychological research; and contemporary horizons for liberation psychology.

KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES OF THE COURSE UNIT (On successful completion of this course unit, students/learners will or will be able to)
Explain the main concepts, historical roots, and theoretical concerns of critical psychology. (Bloom’s 2)
Describe how psychological knowledge has been shaped by historical, philosophical, institutional, and political contexts. (Bloom’s 2)
Compare mainstream psychological approaches with critical perspectives on subjectivity, normality, classification, mental health, development, and social power. (Bloom’s 4)
Analyze psychological theories and practices through critical frameworks such as Foucauldian analysis, postcolonial thought, feminist psychology, critical race perspectives, and critiques of neoliberalism. (Bloom’s 4)
Evaluate the ethical and political implications of psychology in relation to psychiatry, surveillance, family, gender, race, neurodiversity, nonhuman animals, and social control. (Bloom’s 5)
Discuss the possibilities and limits of psychology as a practice of critique, resistance, care, and liberation. (Bloom’s 2)

WEEKLY COURSE CONTENTS AND STUDY MATERIALS FOR PRELIMINARY & FURTHER STUDY
Week	Preparatory	Topics(Subjects)	Method
1	-	Introduction to Critical Psychologies	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
2	Literature review	Critical History Revisionism and its Discontents	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
3	Literature review	Paradigm Shifts and Methodological Anarchism	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
4	Literature review	Modernity and the Cartesian Subject	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
5	Literature review	Foucault I The History of Madness and Classification	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
6	Literature review	Foucault II: Surveillance, Panopticism, and Praxis	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
7	Literature review	Postcolonialism, Fanon, and Decolonial Therapy	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
8	Literature review	Gender, Family & Psychological Power	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
9	Literature review	Race, Racialization & Psychological Power	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
10	-	MID-TERM EXAM	-
11	Literature review	Neoliberal Subjectivity, Pop-Psychology and Psy-complex	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
12	Literature review	Critical Psychology of Mental Health and Psychiatry	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
13	Literature review	Critical Perspectives on Development and Neurodiversity	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
14	Literature review	Nonhuman Animals in Psychology: From Objects of Experimentation to Subjects of Experience	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
15	Literature review	Beyond Critique: Horizons for a Liberation Psychology	Lecture, Question and Answer, Exemplification, Demonstration
16	-	FINAL EXAM	-
17	-	FINAL EXAM	-

SOURCE MATERIALS & RECOMMENDED READING
ARKONAC, S.A. (2015). Psikolojide Bilginin Elestirel Arka Planı. Hiperlink Publications
FOX, D., PRILLELTENSKY, I., & AUSTIN, S. (Eds.). (2009). Critical psychology: An introduction. Sage.

ASSESSMENT
Assessment & Grading of In-Term Activities	Number of Activities	Degree of Contribution (%)	Description	Examination Method
Mid-Term Exam	1	40		Optical (Test) Exam
Homework Assessment	1	10
Final Exam	1	50		Optical (Test) Exam
TOTAL	3	100

Level of Contribution
0	1	2	3	4	5

KNOWLEDGE
Theoretical
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Use information sources, including the most effective methods and current information related to psychology and auxiliary disciplines at a high level. (Bloom 3)				3
2	Identify problems in psychology and produce solutions. (Blooms 3)				3

KNOWLEDGE
Factual
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Distinguish normal and abnormal behaviors. (Blooms 2)			2
2	Interpret and report psychology research. (Bloom 3)				3

SKILLS
Cognitive
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Establish connections between psychology and other social sciences. (Bloom 4)					4

SKILLS
Practical
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Apply psychological tests. (Bloom 3).	0
2	Gain knowledge and skills about contemporary psychology theories and integrate this knowledge and skills to help individuals. (Bloom 6)			2
3	Conduct various experiments in the field of psychology. (Bloom 6)					4

OCCUPATIONAL
Autonomy & Responsibility
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Collaborate with the necessary institutions and individuals in the field studies. (6)			2

OCCUPATIONAL
Learning to Learn
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Integrate developments in psychology with existing knowledge. (Blooms 6)					4
2	Scientifically analyze human behavior. (Bloom 4)				3

OCCUPATIONAL
Communication & Social
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Express his/her knowledge and thoughts about the field in a fluent and understandable manner both written and verbally. (Bloom 2)					4
2	Recognize the individual, national and universal influences of problems in the field of psychology					4

OCCUPATIONAL
Occupational and/or Vocational
	Programme Learning Outcomes	Level of Contribution
		0	1	2	3	4	5
1	Integrate the knowledge of computer software, hardware and statistics required by the field of psychology. (blooms 6)	0
2	Survey the developments in information and communication technologies. (Bloom 4)	0
3	Support social projects related to psychology. (Blooms 5)				3

WORKLOAD & ECTS CREDITS OF THE COURSE UNIT
Workload for Learning & Teaching Activities
Type of the Learning Activites	Learning Activities (# of week)	Duration (hours, h)	Workload (h)
Lecture & In-Class Activities	14	3	42
Preliminary & Further Study	13	3	39
Land Surveying	0	0	0
Group Work	0	0	0
Laboratory	0	0	0
Reading	0	0	0
Assignment (Homework)	0	0	0
Project Work	0	0	0
Seminar	0	0	0
Internship	0	0	0
Technical Visit	0	0	0
Web Based Learning	0	0	0
Implementation/Application/Practice	0	0	0
Practice at a workplace	0	0	0
Occupational Activity	0	0	0
Social Activity	0	0	0
Thesis Work	0	0	0
Field Study	0	0	0
Report Writing	0	0	0
Final Exam	1	1	1
Preparation for the Final Exam	1	25	25
Mid-Term Exam	1	1	1
Preparation for the Mid-Term Exam	1	20	20
Short Exam	0	0	0
Preparation for the Short Exam	0	0	0
TOTAL	31	0	128