| CODE | RSE5010 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Childhood | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Centre for Resilience and Socio-Emotional Health | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit explores the construction of childhood through history and culture, construing childhood as a dynamic, culturally subjective, and historically situated construct. Course participants will explore the various ways that childhood has been conceptualised and understood within historical and contemporary contexts. The study unit explores a diverse range of childhood experiences, understandings and representations of childhood in historical periods and cultures. Drawing on various disciplines such as history, sociology, psychology and education, course participants will be encouraged to critically engage with and challenge narrow and limiting definitions and concepts of ‘childhood’ and propose emancipatory frameworks of children as beings, the subject of their rights, actively influencing and shaping their own lives. Study-Unit Aims: This study-unit aims to familiarize students with the fundamental theories and representations of childhood and how these varied according to historical and cultural contexts. It provides an opportunity for participants to engage in a critical discussion of past and contemporary theories and understandings of childhood, discussing the limitations of narrow, reductionist and limiting definitions and the usefulness of more contemporary emancipatory approaches to childhood studies, drawing upon various disciplines such as anthropology, sociology, psychology, and education. By the end of the study-unit, course participants will develop an integrated emancipatory representation of childhood, with children situated in an important state of being rather than just becoming, influencing their own lives and subject of their rights as human beings. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - give a critical account of the historical development of the concept of childhood and how this has changed across time and cultural space; - critically describe and evaluate the concept of childhood from a social construction perspective, with a particular reference to cultural context; - identify and critically engage with the key concepts in the various theories and models on childhood, including issues related to gender, disability and other individual differences; - compare and contrast the various theoretical perspectives and contributions of different disciplines to the study of childhood and how these contributed to a transdisciplinary approach to childhood studies; - give a critical account of childhood from an emancipatory and child- perspective perspective and of children as agentic social actors. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - demonstrate how childhood studies can advance as a multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary field; - demonstrate a critical understanding of childhood as a social construction and children as social actors in research, policy development and practice; - adopt a child-perspective, emancipatory approach to children and childhood in research, policy development and practice; - advocate for children's voice in research, policy development and practice. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: - James A & James A (2012) Key Concepts in Childhood Studies (2nd ed), London: Sage. - Kehily M J (ed) (2015) An Introduction to Childhood Studies (3rd ed), Maidenhead: Open University Press. - Kehily,M. (2013) Understanding Childhood: A Cross Disciplinary Approach (Childhood Series) (Open University Childhood Series). - Qvortrup J, Corsaro W A and Honig M-S (2011) (eds) The Palgrave Handbook of Childhood Studies, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. - Wyness M (2018) Childhood, Culture &Society in a Global Context London: Sage. Supplementary readings: - Alanen, L and Mayal,l B. (2001) Conceptualizing child-adult relations, London: RoutledgeFalmer. - Christensen P, and James A, (eds) Research with Children: Perspectives and Practices. Latest Edition. London: Routledge. - James, A., Jenks, C. and Prout, A. (1998) Theorizing childhood, Cambridge: Polity Press. - Mayall, B. (2002) Towards a sociology for childhood. Buckingham: Open University Press. - Prout, A. (2005) The future of childhood: towards the interdisciplinary study of children. London: FalmerRoutledge. - Smith, C. and Greene, S. (2014) Key thinkers in childhood studies. Policy Press: Bristol. - Wyness, M. (2012) Childhood and society: an introduction to the sociology of childhood. (2nd Edition) Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-Requisite qualifications: This study unit is offered only as part of the MA in Transdisciplinary Childhood Studies | ||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Marit Ursin Paul A. Bartolo Anne-Marie Callus Carmel Cefai (Co-ord.) Maureen Cole Marceline Naudi Valerie Sollars |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2024/5. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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