SEMINAR in CHILDHOOD AND CULTURE
EDLF 589-5
Fall 2006, Mondays 1:00-3:45
Professor Diane M. Hoffman
924-6349
dmh3a@virginia.edu
OVERVIEW
This course focuses on how children and childhood are conceptualized cross-culturally, and the implications of differing cultural understandings of children and their development for educational practices. Using an anthropological and comparative lens, we will attempt to develop a critical perspective on the discourses that surround children in a variety of social and cultural contexts, from parental belief systems and child-rearing to research on child development, daycare, and early education. Cases will be drawn from a wide variety of cultures.
The course is divided intro three parts. In Part I we examine cultural and societal contexts for understanding childhood, focusing on methodological issues, notions of child development, parental goals for childrearing, and non-school based learning and socialization. Part II explores institutional environments for children’s early education and their interaction, and their interactions with families and communities. Part III shifts toward a wider global policy arena and considers issues of global import, such as childhood risk, violence, and consumer cultures.
The aim of this class is explicitly critical: the readings offer food for thought concerning alternative interpretations of children and childhood, especially those that question received knowledge or widely agreed upon ideas such as the value of parental involvement. It seeks to problematize familiar ideas and to help students acquire the conceptual tools for a deeper, more critical cultural lens on childhood in order to encourage thinking about alternatives in research, practice and policy.
REQUIREMENTS
1. Interpretive Essay: Due Sept. 25. Analysis of magazine article on parenting. More details provided in class.
TEXTS
De Carvalho,
Maria Eulina P. 2001. Rethinking Family-School Relations: A Critique of
Parental Involvement in Schooling.
Lareau, Annette.
2003. Unequal Childhoods: Class,
Race and Family Life.
Polakow, Valerie.1992.
The Erosion of Childhood.
COURSE PACKET of
articles and book chapters
Available from
Contents:
Bloch, M. N,
& Popkewitz, T. S. 2000.
Constructing the parent, teacher, and child: discourses of development. In L D.
Soto (Ed.) The politics of early
childhood education. (pp. 7-32).
Boler, Megan. 1999. Taming the Labile Student: emotional literacy curricula. From Feeling power: Emotions and education. NY: Routledge.
Briggs,
Jean. 1992. Mazes of meaning: How a child and a culture
create each other. In W. Corsaro &
P. J. Miller (Eds) Interpretive Approaches to children’s socialization. (New
Directions for Child Development No. 58). (pp. 25-50).
Chisholm,
James S. 1996. Learning Respect for Everything: Navaho Images of Development.
From C. P. Hwang, M. E. Lamb, and
Dohrn, B.
2000. “Look out, kid, it’s something you did”: the
criminalization of children. In V.
Polakow (Ed.) The public assault on
Glauser, 1997.
Street Children: Deconstructing a Construct. In A.
James & A. Prout (Eds), Constructing
and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of
Childhood.
James,
Allison, and Alan Prout. 1997.
Introduction. Constructing and
Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of
Childhood.
Joseph, Suad.
2005. Teaching rights and
responsibilities: paradoxes of globalization and children’s citizenship in
Greenfield,
Patricia. 1994.
Harkness,
Sara, & Super, Charles. 2006. Themes
and Variations: Parental Ethnotheories in Western Cultures. In K. H. Rubin & O. B. Chung (Eds.) Parenting
Beliefs, Behaviors, and Parent-Child Relations. (pp. 61-79).
Honwana,
Alcinda. 2005. Innocent and Guilty:
Child soldiers as interstitial and tactical agents. In A Honwana & F. De
Boeck (Eds), Makers and breakers:
Children and youth in postcolonial
Jenks, Chris.
2005. Constituting Childhood. From: Childhood.
2nd Ed.
Kessen, William. 1983. The Child and other cultural inventions. In F. S. Kessel & A. W. Siegel (Eds), The child and other cultural inventions. (pp. 26-39).
Kincheloe, J.
2004. McDonald’s, power and children:
Ronald McDonald/Ray Kroc dies it all for you. In S. R. Steinberg & J. L. Kincheloe
(Eds.) Kinderculture: the corporate construction of childhood. (pp.
120-149).
Leavitt, Robin, & Power, Martha. 1989. Emotional socialization in the postmodern era: children in day care. Social Psychological Quarterly 52(No. 1), 35-43.
Lee, Dorothy.
1987. Individual Autonomy and Social
Structure. From: Freedom and Culture.
LeVine,
Robert A. 2003. A cross-cultural perspective on parenting. In
R. A. LeVine, Childhood socialization:
comparative studies of parenting, learning, and educational change.
McDermott, R.
P. 1993. The acquisition of a child by a
learning disability. In S. Chaiklin & J. Lave (Eds), Understanding practice: perspectives on activity and context. (pp.
269-305).
Mason, Mary
A. 2005. The
New,
Rebecca. 1998. Social competence in Italian early childhood
education. In D. Sharma & K. W. Fischer (Eds.), Socioemotional development across cultures. (New Directions for
child development No. 81).
Polakow, V.
1993. Poor children’s pedagogy: the
construction of at-risk students. In V. Polakow, Lives on the edge: single mothers and their children in the other
Prout, A.
& James, A. 1997. A new paradigm for the sociology of
childhood? Provenance, promise, and problems.
In A. James & A. Prout (Eds),
Constructing and Reconstructing
Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of Childhood.
Rogoff, B.
2003. Development as transformation of
participation in cultural activities. From B. Rogoff, The
cultural nature of human development.
Scheper-Hughes,
Shweder, R.
A, Jensen, L. A., & Goldstein, W. M.
1995. Who sleeps by whom
revisited: a method for extracting the moral goods implicit in practice. InJ.
J. Goodnow, P.J. Miller, F. Kessel (Eds). Cultural practices as contexts for
development. (New Directions for
Child Development, No. 67).
Steinberg, S.
& Kincheloe, J. 2004. Introduction:
kinderculture, information saturation, and the socioeducational positioning of
children. In S. R. Steinberg & J. L. Kincheloe (Eds.) Kinderculture:
the corporate construction of childhood. (pp.1-47).
Talle,
Aud. 1995. A Child Is a Child:
Disability and Equality among the Kenyan Maasai. In Ingstad, B. & S. R.
Whyte (Eds.) Disability and Culture.
Tobin, Joseph. 1995. The irony of self-expression. American Journal of Education 103 (no. 3), 233-258.
White, M.
& LeVine, R. A. 1986. What is an Ii Ko? In H. Stevenson, H. Azuma, &
K. Hakuta (Eds). Child Development and
Education in
Woodhead, 1997.
Psychology and the Cultural Construction of Children's Needs. In A.
James & A. Prout (Eds), Constructing
and Reconstructing Childhood: Contemporary Issues in the Sociological Study of
Childhood.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Aug 28: Introduction to the Course.
PART I: CULTURE, SOCIETY, DEVELOPMENT: SHAPING the CHILD
Sept. 4: Social construction of childhood: Culture, Nature, and Society in Understanding Childhood
CP: James & Prout, Introduction
Ch.1, Prout & James, A New Paradigm for the Sociology of Childhood
Jenks, Constituting Childhood
Kessen, The child and other cultural inventions
Parenting article hand-out.
Sept 11: Development and Culture: Ideas and Ideals
CP:
Rogoff, Development as transformation of participation
Bloch & Popkewitz, Constructing the Parent, Teacher and Child: Discourses of development
White
& Levine, What is an Ii Ko?
Lee, Individual autonomy and social structure
Sept. 18: Parental Ethnotheory: Culture and Child-rearing
Note: Interpretive Essay Due/CLASS discussion of essays
CP: Chisolm, Learning Respect for Everything
Shweder, Who sleeps by whom revisited
LeVine, A Cross-cultural perspective on Parenting
Harkness & Super, Themes and variations: parental ethnotheories
Sept. 25: Emotional Socialization and Social Emotional Learning in Childhood:
CP: Briggs, Mazes of Meaning
New, Social competence in Italian
Leavitt & Power, Emotional socialization
Tobin, Irony of Self-expression
Boler, Taming the Labile Student: Emotional literacy curricula
Oct. 9: No
Class (Reading Day)
PART II:
EARLY EDUCATION/ SCHOOLING
Oct. 16: Preschools and Daycare: A Critical Cultural Perspective
Text: Polakow, Erosion of Childhood
Oct. 23: Preschool in
Text: Peak, Learning to Go to School in Ja pan
Oct. 27: Families and Schools I: Cultural capital and social inequality
Text: Lareau, Unequal Childhoods
Oct. 30: Families and Schools II: Conceptualizing Parental Involvement
Text: de Carlvaho, Rethinking Parent Involvement
PART III: ISSUES in the STUDY of CHILDHOOD: RISK, DISABILITY, VIOLENCE, GLOBALIZATION, YOUTH CULTURES
Nov. 6: Childhood and Risk; Constructions of disability
CP: Woodhead, Psychology and the Cultural Construction of Children’s needs
Talle, Aud, A Child is a Child
Kos, Nobody knows my life but me
Polakow, Poor Children’s pedagogy
McDermott, Acquisition of a child by a learning disability
Nov. 13: Childhood and Societal Violence
CP: Honwana, Innocent and guilty
Scheper-Hughes, Mother Love and Child Death
Dohrn, “Look out kid, it’s something you did”
Glauser, Street Children
Nov. 20: No Class/Thanksgiving Break
Nov. 27: Globalization and Childhood: ideologies, youth cultures and global consumerism, international rights discourses
CP: Steinberg & Kincheloe, Introduction: Kinderculture, information saturation
Kincheloe, McDonald’s, Power, and Children
Yeh & Tobin, Chinese educator’s perspectives on a crying child
Mason, The U.S. and the International Children’s Rights Crusade
Joseph, Teaching Rights and Responsibilities: Paradoxes of globalization
Dec. 4 Class Wrap-up; Student Presentations