Beyond WEIRD: Psychobiography in Times of Transcultural and Transdisciplinary Perspectives

This volume presents psychobiographical research in non-WEIRD―Western,  Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic―contexts and samples,  focusing on culture, transcultural and transdisciplinary work. It  creates a platform for researchers, scholars and scientists from diverse  backgrounds to put forth new theoretical and methodological stances in  psychobiography, thereby making the field more inclusive, diverse and  equitable. The chapters in this volume investigate the role of context  across the life course of non-WEIRD psychological subjects, as well as  the interplay between them and their environments across the life span.  They further elucidate cognitive, affective and behavioural aspects of  individuals with non-WEIRD backgrounds.
The volume provides a broad  and at the same time in-depth perspective into psychobiography beyond  the usual contexts and therefore has new and original learnings to offer  across disciplines and cultures. It is a breakthrough in terms of its  transcultural and transdisciplinary insights into lives lived in  different contexts in the world.

"Every person is in  certain respects (a) like all other persons, (b) like some other  persons, (c) like no other persons.  This book is a challenging and  fascinating exploration of extending psychobiography beyond its origins  in Europe and America to women and men of different races and social and  economic classes from Africa, Asia, and around the world. At its best,  psychobiography can increase people's awareness of their own subjective  experience and that of others, contributing to movements for social,  cultural and political  change."

William McKinley  Runyan,  Professor Emeritus & Professor of the Graduate  School,  School of Social Welfare, U. of California Berkeley

Beyond  Weird is beyond needed.  The book triumphantly fills the gap created by  a dearth of studies of people other than Western, educated, European  and American men.

James William Anderson, PhD, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago.