What is stigma? How do stigmatized identities and conditions differ from each other? Why do we stigmatize? What are the consequences of stigma for cognitions and emotions, for social relationships, and for health? Through what mechanisms—individual, interpersonal, and structural—does stigma operate to produce adverse health outcomes? How do stigmatized individuals cope with and resist stigma? How can we reduce stigma and its negative effects? In this course we will consider stigma as a fundamental cause of health inequalities across a broad range of phenomena, including (but not limited to) mental illness, sexual and gender diversity, weight, disability, aging, poverty, and immigration status. Students can expect to examine stigma as a predicament that affects nearly all individuals at some point in the life course, and to develop expertise in an individual stigma that is relevant to their personal, academic, and professional interests through a series of focused course assignments.
PSY 1845