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Psychology from the Margins

Psychology from the Margins: Volume 1 (2018)

Introduction


Caitlin Martin-Wagar & Stefan Jadaszewski, Editors

Welcome to the inaugural issue of Psychology from the Margins! Psychology from the Margins publishes an issue once annually, which includes peer-reviewed narratives, biographies, commentary, and reviews related to traditionally marginalized groups and social justice issues throughout the history of psychology.

The idea for Psychology from the Margins was conceived by a group of counseling psychology doctoral students and their professor, Dr. David Baker, in the Department of Psychology at The University of Akron. As such, the inaugural issue of this journal features peer-reviewed articles from several individuals from this group of counseling psychology graduate students. Through the education and guidance provided by Dr. Baker, we noted that there was a need for greater attention to the historical review of social justice topics and contributions of psychologists from traditionally marginalized backgrounds. From this, we developed a passion for the history of psychology, viewed through a social justice lens. We began to discover that there were countless untold stories of those in the field of psychology and related fields who have been historically oppressed. The contributions of those individuals and the areas of social justice which they and others bravely pursued were our inspiration.

A common theme in this inaugural issue of Psychology from the Margins is the use of historical context and analysis to better understand how the amelioration of social inequities can best be approached by the field of psychology in the present. Through acknowledging previously unacknowledged contributions and archival data, alternative approaches to social advocacy are proposed. We seek to advance the historical record of issues of social justice by uncovering and critiquing historical approaches to justice and inequities, by improving the understanding of values and worldview, and learning from our historical roots.

We are aware that this issue only begins to scratch the surface of the underacknowledged contributions in psychology’s past which this publication aims to bring to light. Notably, we hope to feature historical work centering on the contributions of psychologists from a wider range marginalized groups, including psychologists of color and LGBTQ psychologists.

We encourage graduate students and other interested parties to submit their work to future issues. Together, we can continue to unfold and tell the stories of those whose contributions were underrepresented by or left out of the existing historical narrative.

Supported in part by the Society for the Teaching of Psychology (APA, Division 2), http://teachpsych.org.

Articles