A Critical Introduction to Psychology is the first scholarly book, in which fifteen critical psychologists analyze chapters from popular Introduction to Psychology textbooks. In their critiques of mainstream (Euro-American) psychology, the authors of this edited volume also envision a pluriversal, transdisciplinary psychology, which is inclusive of critical voices from all over the world.

Reviews

“I would have loved to have this book available when I first started teaching psychology. Its clear description and critical analysis of major themes running through the typical Introduction to Psychology course should prove invaluable to anyone teaching that course today or planning to do so in the future, as well as to anyone curious about mainstream psychology’s culturally determined biases. The book is a useful, thought-provoking corrective to unexamined assumptions, an excellent choice for seminars on the interplay between mainstream psychology and other institutions that reinforce a status quo that leaves little room for diverse non-Western perspectives. Even non-critical psychologists will find much to ponder here, along with a steady stream of observations to spark student interest.” - Dennis Fox, PhD, Emeritus Associate Professor of Legal Studies & Psychology, University of Illinois at Springfield, Co-founder, Radical Psychology Network

“This is an ‘introduction’ to psychology that is not merely ‘critical’ as a first step, but it traces a fully critical journey around the discipline, enabling the reader to develop their own theory and practice in such a way as to question the parameters of academically-enclosed images of the individual.” - Ian Parker, PhD, Psychoanalyst in Manchester, UK, Honorary Professorial Research Fellow at the University of Manchester, Secretary of Manchester Psychoanalytic Matrix, President of the College of Psychoanalysts, UK

“A Critical Introduction to Psychology provides the reader with a timely, original and thought-provoking analysis of modern psychology, which offers a valuable perspective on the existing status-quo of psychology as an academic discipline. This book is a ‘must-read’ and an invitation to all scholars, teachers and students of psychology to critically reflect upon the reductionist conceptualizations and ideologies inherent in the discourses of introductory textbooks of psychology. As such the authors of Beshara’s edited volume introduce a compelling account on how a transdisciplinary and pluralistic approach to psychology provides a more inclusive, holistic and diverse view of human identity, behavior and cognition consistent with developments in history, philosophy, society, culture and the sciences.” - Laura Cariola, PhD, Honorary Fellow and Tutor in Clinical Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Co-founder of Language and Psychoanalysis, Social Science Protocols, and Language and Mind Research Network, Leader editor of the book series “Language, Discourse and Mental Health”

"Robert Beshara’s edited book, A Critical Introduction to Psychology, is timely and historic. The volume brings together a collection of radical and cutting edge essays on critical psychology that provide an accessible counter narrative to the standard story of EuroAmerican psychology. What I found extraordinarily compelling about this book is the new humane and inclusive vision that Beshara lays out for the future of psychology.  Questions about decolonization and decoloniality are the core of this vision and the book narrates a story of psychology that beautifully integrates psychoanalysis, humanistic and discursive psychology, feminism, anti-psychiatry, post-structuralism, liberation psychology, as well as theories from postcolonial studies. This book is bound to become a classic that will be read by undergraduate and graduate students across several disciplines and across generations. " -- Sunil Bhatia, PhD, Professor of Human Development, Chair of the Human Development Department, Connecticut College.

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