James S. Jackson: Discussion activity

[sue_frantz]

Between 2001 and 2003, the Program for Research on Black Americans—founded and led by the late James S. Jackson—conducted “the most comprehensive and detailed study of mental disorders and the mental health of Americans of African descent ever completed.”

The discussion below would be appropriate when covering surveys in the Intro Psych research methods chapter, when covering the psychological disorders chapter, or when covering stress and coping. While the instructions are written for an asynchronous (online) discussion, these instructions may be adapted for a synchronous (face-to-face/virtual) discussion.

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Initial post

Dr. James S. Jackson, University of Michigan social psychologist, passed away on September 1, 2020. Read his New York Times obituary. [Instructors, find his obituary in your library database and link to it there as the New York Times limits the number of free articles non-subscribers may access each month.]

Part A. Quote

Find a quote from the obituary that you found interesting and in 100+ words of reflection, explain why. Be sure to use quotation marks for your quote; the quotation is not part of the 100+ word count.

Part B. Research

Dr. Jackson founded the Program for Research on Black Americans. Visit the Program’s website. Review their five research themes found under the Research tab. After reading about each theme, which theme would you say is most important right now? In 100+ words of reflection, explain why.

Part C. Publications

On the Program for Research on Black Americans website, visit the Publications page. Much of the Program’s recent research is at least partly based on the National Survey of American Life. Please read through the journal article titles (either adolescent or adult). Based on the article titles, identify at least one article you would be interested in reading. In 100+ words of reflection, explain why.

Responses

Please respond to the initial discussion posts written by at least two of your classmates.

Part A. In 50+ words, respond to the quote chosen with at least two of the following:

• A compliment, e.g., "I like how... because...," I like that... because..."
• A comment, e.g., "I agree that... because...," "I disagree that... because..."
• A connection, e.g., "I have also thought that...," "That reminds me of..."
• A question, e.g., "I wonder why...," "I wonder how..." 

Part B. In 50+ words, respond to the research chosen with at least two of the following:

• A compliment, e.g., "I like how... because...," I like that... because..."
• A comment, e.g., "I agree that... because...," "I disagree that... because..."
• A connection, e.g., "I have also thought that...," "That reminds me of..."
• A question, e.g., "I wonder why...," "I wonder how..." 

Part C. In 50+ words, respond to the publication chosen with at least two of the following:

• A compliment, e.g., "I like how... because...," I like that... because..."
• A comment, e.g., "I agree that... because...," "I disagree that... because..."
• A connection, e.g., "I have also thought that...," "That reminds me of..."
• A question, e.g., "I wonder why...," "I wonder how..."