Understanding the Self: Creating a Self-Appraisal Biography



Overview

This course is guided by the discipline of humanistic psychology in understanding how identity and self-concept are formed, and how personal identity guides the individual to reach chosen life goals.

The lectures will draw on the tutor's recent writing on children’s psychological development, and the fulfilment of personality in professional roles including those of nurses, drawing on scholars in the tradition of humanistic psychology including William James, Adorno, Jung and Adler, Fromm, Maslow, Erikson, Dabrowski and others.

The course may also consider the scholar’s role as an auto ethnographer (including reflexive anthropology), in which the scholar reflects on a deep understanding of his or her own culture or social system.

Students will also be invited to reflect on their own experiences, encounters and socialization in a multi-ethnic, plural society.

Programme details

Course starts Tuesday 30 September 2025

This is an in-person course which requires your attendance at the weekly meetings in Oxford on Tuesdays, 1-3pm.

Week 1: The history and development of humanistic models of self-                

Week 2: Understanding the psychology of the self, and measurements of self-esteem and adjustment

Week 3: Self-Identity development in partners and children in ethnically mixed marriages, and of trans-ethnically adopted children.

Week 4: Disrupted and abusive childhoods and outcomes in levels of self-esteem and identity.

Week 5: The career, writing and influence of the humanistic psychologist, Abraham   

Week 6: Recent scholarship in sociology, psychology and the humanities in developing humanistic models of professional and personal adjustment and careers, and new models of social thought based on humanism (religious and secular) in advocating  development and change in societies

Week 7: Approaches to understanding society using auto-ethnography, and reflexive anthropology.             

Week 8: Personal development towards self-actualization and self-transcendence using Maslow’s approaches.

Week 9: Using self-theory in creating a 'story', the personal account of an individual’s biography and personal development.

Week 10: Where are you now in the understanding of the self.

Certification

Academic credit

Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme (CATS Points)

Please note, students who do not register for assessment and accreditation during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun. If you wish to gain credit from completing this course you must register to do so before the course starts.

Only those who have registered for assessment and accreditation will be awarded CATS points for completing work to the required standard. Please note that assignments are not graded but are marked either pass or fail.

Learn more about the Credit Accumulation Transfer Scheme.

If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee for assessment and accreditation.

Digital certificate of completion 

Students who are registered for assessment and accreditation and pass their final assignment will also be eligible for a digital Certificate of Completion. Information on how to access the digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course attended. You will be able to download the certificate and share it on social media if you choose to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Course fee (with no assessment) £300.00
Assessment and Accreditation fee £60.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. See details of our concessionary fees for short courses.

Tutor

Dr Alice Sawyerr

Dr Sawyerr is a Chartered Psychologist and Systemic Family Psychotherapist. She lectured in Psychology and Systemic Family Therapy at University of London for 20years. She provides assessment and Expert Witness Reports in Family Court cases in the UK.

Teaching methods

The course:

  • Will consist of mini lectures, seminars, discussions, working in pairs and using a range of question techniques.
  • Use of audio-visual aids such as video clips, role-play, and use of case vignettes to understand context and reflexivity.
  • Offers opportunities to observe and to practise how to use circular questions when gathering information for a biography and offering reframes or alternative perspectives in a classroom setting.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will have been given the opportunity to have learnt how to:

  • Develop basic understanding of ‘the self ’ in the history and discipline of humanistic psychology.
  • Show understanding of how identity and self-concept are formed.
  • Communicate verbally and in writing, knowledge and awareness of the influence of the wider social context (including gender, race, age, ability, culture, education, sexuality) on self and, with an ability to consider how inequalities and power differentials impact on people’s lives.

Assessment methods

Only those students who have registered for assessment and accreditation, in advance of the course start date, can submit coursework/assignments for assessment.

Assessment

The summative assignment will consist of a 1500-word extended biography. Students will also have the opportunity to submit a 500 word formative assessment in preparation.

Application

How to enrol

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

How to register for accreditation and assessment

To be able to submit coursework and to earn credit (CATS points) for this course, if you wish to do so, you will need to register and pay an additional £60 fee. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. 

Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process will not be able to do so after the course has begun.

If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education at the Department you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.

Level and demands

The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, ie first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support