In the last century and a half, a new discipline called Psychology has aimed to place our knowledge of the human mind, brain, and behavior on a scientific footing. Using a wide array of scientific tools of analysis, professional psychologists have been studying fundamental questions that concern all of us. In this course we examine the history of professional psychology, along with its widespread and often contested social relevance, from a number of angles. We will focus on major figures and key controversies about scientific ontology, epistemology, and methodology, and about the social implications and public policy uses of psychological knowledge. We will consider how psychology was first established as an academic discipline, became institutionalized, grew as a profession, and came to be the large, diverse field of scientific inquiry, social practices, and policy applications that it is today. We will examine the social context and specific influences (i.e., politics, wars, social structures, patronage, academic environments, influential figures, etc.) that have shaped the development of psychology and its relationships with the wider society. And we will consider how the history of psychology can be relevant to the theory, practice, and social relevance of psychology.