Explore the application of the conceptual, action, and research tools of community psychology to social and economic marginalization and inequality in domestic and global contexts.
Consider ways in which you as a future community psychologist might apply action and research tools to issues of social and economic marginalization and inequality within a global context. How might you use intervention and research to facilitate liberation and well-being in the context of specific examples of marginalization and/or inequality?
Social marginalization occurs when a group is excluded from social, economic, and political life. Which groups are marginalized may change with time, and whether a person is a member of a marginalized group may change over the life cycle. For example, changing economic conditions in the post-industrial era have tended to marginalize working-class people, who before were considered middle class and enjoyed much more economic and political power. The same may hold for age groups – a child has little to no power compared to an older person who is a member of a large voting bloc.
Marginalization is a broad topic, and encompasses virtually any group that is the subject of community psychology, by definition (if they weren’t marginalized, we wouldn’t be trying to help them liberate themselves). Therefore, when considering action and research tools to apply, try to pick a design that fits the specific group. For example, if we are interested in studying issues related to the marginalization of women in the workforce, we might choose a feminist research model.
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