MB529: Intercultural Attachment (4 units)
Evelyne A. Reisacher, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies
Fall 2003 Pasadena

DESCRIPTION:

This course explores the dynamics involved when people from different cultures interact with one another, the changes they undergo and what facilitates and hinders attachment. Attention is given to nonverbal communication at levels beneath awareness, the importance of connecting emotionally as well as intellectually across cultures, and how interactively to regulate emotions to facilitate healthy attachment. The course draws on the latest developments of attachment theory and uses Allan N. Schore’s developmental attachment theory as a framework to investigate intercultural attachment. It is designed for students with no previous psychological or neurobiological training to improve their understanding and skills in relating with people from other cultures.

LEARNING OUTCOMES:

• Broadening of theoretical and methodological horizons of intercultural interactions.
• Understanding of the theory of attachment and its importance for analyzing intercultural relationships.
• Understanding of the principles of Schore’s developmental attachment theory as they are integrated into intercultural studies.
• Gain conceptual tools and skills that will enhance intercultural attachment.

COURSE FORMAT:

The course will be developed through lectures, audio-visual presentations, and class interactions. Students will have the opportunity to reflect on their own intercultural attachment experiences and engage in exercises and group work to apply attachment principles. The course is scheduled as a two-week intensive, but students will meet with Dr. Reisacher in an orientation session during Week 1. Assignments will be spread throughout the quarter.

REQUIRED READING:

Reader articles and chapters of books used in class are:
Bretherton, Inge. “The Origin of Attachment Theory: John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth." Developmental Psychology 28:759-775: 1992
Brewster Thomas E., and Elizabeth S. Brewster “Bonding and the Missionary Task: Establishing a Sense of Belonging.” Pasadena, CA: Lingua House: 1982.
Brueggemann, Walter “The Psalms and the Life of Faith.” Patrick D. Miller, ed. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press. 1995.
Finnegan, Ruth. “Communicating: The Multiple Modes of Human Interconnection.” New York: Routledge: 2002.
Schore. Allan N. “Attachment and the Regulation of the Right Brain.” Attachment and Human Development 2 (1). Pp. 23-47: 2000.
2001 Minds in the Making: Attachment, the Self-Organizing Brain, and Developmentally-Oriented Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. British Journal of Psychotherapy 17(3). Pp 299-328.
Van Ijzendoorn, Marinus H., and Abraham Sagi. 1999. “Cross-Cultural Patterns of Attachment: Universal and Contextual Dimensions.” In Handbook of Attachment. Jude Cassidy and Phillip R. Shaver, eds. Pp. 713-734. New York: The Guilford Press.

RECOMMENDED READING:

Cassidy, Jude, and Phillip R. Shaver, eds. Handbook of Attachment: Theory, Research, and Clinical Applications. New York: The Guilford Press: 1999.
Clinton, Tim, and Gary Sibcy Attachments: Why You Love, Feel and Act the Way You Do. Brentwood, TN: Integrity Pub., 2002.
Harwood, Robin L., Joan G. Miller, and Nydia Lucca Irizarry Culture and Attachment: Perceptions of the Child in Context. New York: The Guilford Press: 1995.
Kitayama, Shinobu, and Hazel Rose Markus. Emotion and Culture: Empirical Studies of Mutual Influence. Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association: 1997.
Reisacher, Evelyne Annick “The Processes of Attachment Between the Algerians and French within the Christian Community in France.” Ph. D. Dissertation. Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA: 1991.
Schore, Allan, N. Affect Regulation and the Origin of the Self: The Neurobiology of Emotional Development. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates: 1994.

ASSIGNMENTS:

1. The student is required to read 1,500 pages from the reading list in the syllabus/reader, and/or suggested bibliography.
2. Write a 1250 word (5 page) paper on student’s own intercultural attachment history (must complete reading first)
3. 30 -minute interview with a person from a cultural background different from student’s own.
4. 15 minute group presentation on intercultural attachment issues experienced during class
5. A 2500 word (10 page) paper on integrating emotion bases attachment and personal living or working context.

RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Elective.

PREREQUISITES: None.

FINAL EXAMINATION: No written examination.

Last Date Edited: June 9, 2003