Community Psychology can play an important role in the post-apartheid psychology curriculum as South Africa struggles to implement its Reconstruction Development Programme. A Community Psychology course was developed to address some of the pressing issues that face the Black majority in South Africa. The course perspective, course structure, reading materials, and assignments are described. The relevance of psychology during the postapantheid era and the challenges that psychologists face at historically Black South African universities are discussed. The course has been contextualized for South Africa; however, it can be adapted to suit any Community Psychology course taught in societies that struggle with racist, sexist, and economic forms of oppression.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
African National Congress. (1994). The reconstruction and development programme: A policy framework. Johnnesburg, South Africa: Umanyano.
2.
AkbarN. (1981, April). Our destiny: Authors of a scientific revolution. Paper presented at the fifth conference on Empirical Research in Black Psychology, Washington, DC.
3.
BaldwinJ. A. (1989). The role of Black psychologists in Black liberation. Journal of Black Psychology, 16, 67–76.
4.
BergerS.LazarusS. (1987). The views of community organizers on the relevance of psychological practice in South Africa. Psychology in Society, 7, 6–23.
5.
BozzoliB. (Ed.). (1987). Class, community, and ideology: The evolution of South African society. Johannesburg, South Africa: Ravan.
6.
BreytenbachB. (1985). The true confessions of an albino terrorist. New York: Farrar Strauss Giroux.
7.
BrownM. (1970). Toward a Marxist psychology. New York: Harper & Row.
8.
BulhanH. A. (1981). Psychological research in Africa: Genesis and function. Race and Class, 23, 25–41.
9.
CarkenordD. M. (1994). Motivating students to read journal articles. Teaching of Psychology, 21, 162–164.
10.
ChamberlainK.BurroughS. (1985). Techniques for teaching critical reading. Teaching of Psychology, 12, 213–215.
11.
CooperS.NicholasL.SeedatM.StatmanJ. (1990). Psychology and apartheid: The struggle for psychology in South Africa. In NicholasL.CooperS. (Eds.), Psychology and apartheid: Essays on the struggle for psychology and the mind in South Africa (pp. 7–19). Cape Town, South Africa: Vision/Madiba.
12.
DavidsonW. S.RappaportJ (1978). Advocacy and community psychology, In WeberG.GeorgeJ. (Eds.), Social scientists as advocates: Views from the applied disciplines (pp. 67–97). Beverly Hills: Sage.
13.
DawesA. R. L. (1986). The notion of relevant psychology with particular reference to Africanist pragmatic initiatives. Psychology in Society, 5, 28–48.
14.
Du BoisB. (1983). Passionate scholarship: Notes on values, knowing, and method in feminist social science. In BowlesG.Duelli-KleinR. (Eds.), Theories of women's studies (pp. 105–116). Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
15.
FineM.VandersliceV. (1992). Qualitative activist research. In BryantF. (Ed.), Methodological issues in applied social psychology (pp. 199–218). New York: Plenum.
16.
FosterD. (1991). “Race” and racism in South African psychology. South African Journal of Psychology, 21, 203–210.
17.
FosterD.Louw-PotgieterJ. (1991). Social psychology in South Africa. Johannesburg, South Africa: Lexicon.
18.
FreemanM. (1989). Mental health care in crisis in South Africa (Paper No. 16). Johannesburg, South Africa: University of Witwaterstand, Department of Community Health.
19.
GilliomeeH.SchlemnerL. (1989). From apartheid to nation-building. Cape Town, South Africa: Oxford University Press.
20.
GramsciA. (1971). Selections from the prison notebooks. London: Lawrence & Wishart.
21.
GutierrezL. M. (1990). Working with women of color: An empowerment perspective. Social Work, 35, 149–153.
22.
HabermasJ. (1974). Theory and practice. London: Heinemann.
23.
HowittD., (1991). Concerning psychology: Psychology applied to social issues. Philadelphia: Open University Press.
24.
HowittD.Owus-BempahJ. (1994). The racism of psychology: Time for change. New York: Harvester-Wheatshenf.
25.
IsemongerI. (1990). A post-modernist critique of community psychology. Psychology in Society, 13, 37–41.
26.
LambleyP. (1980). The psychology of apartheid. London: Secket and Warburg.
27.
MooreheadM. (1990). The common roots of racism and sexism: Landscapes of war, landscapes of peace. Paper presented at the second annual conference of the Apartheid and Psychology Committee, University of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.
28.
MwamwendaT.S.. (1989). Educational psychology: An African perspective. Durban, South Africa: Butterworth.
29.
NicholasL. J. (1993). Psychology in South Africa: The need for an openly politically contextualized discipline. In NicholasL. (Ed.), Psychology and oppression: Critiques and proposals (pp. 205–211). Johannesburg, South Africa: Skotaville.
30.
NicholasL.CooperS. (Eds.). (1990). Psychology and apartheid: Essays on the struggle far psychology and the mind in South Africa. Cape Town, South Africa: Vision/Madiba.
31.
O'SullivanM. J. (1993). Teaching undergraduate community psychology: Integrating the classroom and the surrounding community. Teaching of Psychology, 20, 80–83.
32.
PrinslooR. (1992). The rhetorical reconstruction of psychology in South Africa today. Psychology Quarterly, 2, 36–46.
33.
RappaportJ.SwiftCHessR. (Eds.). (1984). Studies in empowerment: Steps toward understanding and action. New York: Haworth.
34.
RigerS. (1993). What's wrong with empowerment?American Journal of Community Psychology, 21, 279–292.
35.
SeedatM.CloeteN.ShochetI. (1988). Community psychology: Panic or panacea. Psychology in Society, 11, 39–54.
36.
Serrano-GarciaL. (1984). The illusion of empowerment: Community development within a colonial context. Prevention in Human Services, 3, 173–200.
37.
ShinnM. (1987). Expanding community psychology's domain. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15, 555–571.
38.
SmailD. (1994). Community psychology and politics. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 42, 3–10.
39.
SwartzC. (1991). The reproduction of racism in South Africa's mental health care. South African Journal of Psychology, 21, 240–246.
40.
VogelmanL.PerkelA.StrebelA. (1992). Psychology and the community: Issues to consider in a changing South Africa. Psychology Quarterly, 2, 1–9.
41.
WhitehornA. (1984). Serving the people: Social services and social change. New York: Columbia University Press.
42.
WhittakerS. R. (1991). A critical historical perspective on psychology in Azania/South Africa. In JansenJ. (Ed.), Knowledge and power in South Africa: Critical perspectives across the disciplines (pp. 55–68). Johannesburg, South Africa: Skotaville.
43.
WolffT. (1987). Community psychology and empowerment: An activist's insights. American Journal of Community Psychology, 15, 151–165.
