Neural Costs of War
PSYC 329
Spring 2011
| Section:
01
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| Certificates: Civic Engagement |
The sequelae of psychological and physical trauma of war will be covered, and the neurobiological systems involved in stress reactions taught. Students will learn about resilience factors (genetic, biological, and psychological) to extreme stress, the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder, including the neural and psychological mechanisms that underlie the diagnosis. Social and interpersonal effects of war will be considered, reasons behind the burgeoning suicide rates will be examined, and recent scientific initiatives to address these problems of war will be examined. |
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Essential Capabilities:
Ethical Reasoning, Speaking
In addition to learning about the neurobiology of extreme stress, students will develop skills in ethical reasoning as they consider the social, cognitive and neural costs of war, and they will develop their speaking (and writing) skills in the seminar-format course.
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| Credit: 1 |
Gen Ed Area Dept:
SBS PSYC |
| Course Format: Seminar | Grading Mode: Graded |
| Level: UGRD |
Prerequisites: None |
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Fulfills a Requirement for: (CIVI-MN)(NS&B)(PSYC)(STS) |
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Past Enrollment Probability: Not Available |
| SECTION 01 |
Major Readings: Wesleyan RJ Julia Bookstore
Readings will be selected from the contemporary literature addressing PTSD, stress reactions, and resilience in the Afghan, Iraq, Gulf and Vietnam wars. No text will be used for the course.
Film and newsprint media will be utilized as part of the course. For example, the British documentary FOUR HOURS AT MY LAI (1989) and reports from the NEW YORK TIMES.
The final reading list will be expanded to include contemporary published studies. Examples presently selected include:
Benedict, H. (2009). THE LONELY SOLDIER. Boston: Beacon (excerpted portions)
Charney, D.S. (2004). "Psychological mechanisms of resilience and vulnerability: implications for successful adaptation to extreme stress." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY, 161, 195-219.
Kuehn, B.M. (2009). "Soldier suicide rates continue to rise." JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION, 301, 1111-1113.
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Examinations and Assignments:
Each student will be responsible for presenting part of the course material with a 20-minute oral presentation. There will be no exam. Two papers wil be required, one at mid-term, and the second as the final. |
Additional Requirements and/or Comments:
Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through their Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. Completion of PSYC251 OR NS&B213 OR BIOL213 OR PSYC240 OR along with reason(s) for wanting to enroll should be noted in this request.
Only one Wesleyan University course can be taken as non-graded towards the major. |
| Instructor(s): Sanislow,Charles A. Times: ...W... 07:00PM-09:50PM; Location: ALLB304; |
Permission of Instructor Required
Enrollment capacity: 20 | Permission of instructor approval will be granted by the instructor during pre-registration through the Electronic Portfolio. Click "Add to My Courses" and "To request a POI electronically, click here" to submit your request. |
| Drop/Add Enrollment Requests | | | | | |
| Total Submitted Requests: 6 | 1st Ranked: 0 | 2nd Ranked: 0 | 3rd Ranked: 0 | 4th Ranked: 1 | Unranked: 5 |
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