ANTH 333, Section 01, Schedule #17286
Anthropology of Childhood

California State University, Fullerton

Class Meetings: Tuesday and Thursday 10-11:15 AM, McCarthy Hall 428

Instructor: John Bock, Ph.D.

Office: McCarthy Hall 426 J

Email: jbock@fullerton.edu
Phone: (714)278-5574
Fax: (714)278-5001
Office Hours: 11:20 AM-12:50 PM Tuesday and Thursday or by appointment.

Required Texts:

Additional readings are available online as indicated in the syllabus.

Course Description:
The form, function, construction, and experiences of childhood vary widely across time and place. In this course we will use evolutionary theory and biocultural anthropology to develop an integrative framework in which to understand this variation. We will examine how physiological, psychological, sociocultural, and ecological processes all come into play in creating the diverse cross-cultural patterns of childhood and how our evolutionary history and cross-cultural diversity affect children’s developmental trajectories. The juvenile period in humans is the product of an evolutionary history unique to the hominid line. Human children are born relatively undeveloped, remain dependent on their parents for a long period of time, and spend a great deal of time learning before they become productive. Yet, within that biological framework there is a widespread cross-cultural variation. In this course we will use socioecological analysis emphasizing cross-cultural comparison of traditional and small-scale societies and the principles of human evolutionary ecology to understand that variation. Students who satisfactorally complete the course requirements will emerge with a deep understanding of the ways in which childhood is constructed differently in different times, places, and societies, as well as a comprehension of how human evolutionary history has produced that variation.

Course Prerequisites:

Anth. 333 fulfills General Education categories IV (Life Long Learning) and V (Cultural Diversity).


Objectives:
Our objectives are to:

Grading Procedures:

Academic Integrity:
Please consult the Student Handbook for information on the University’s academic integrity policies. Violations will not be tolerated and will be referred to the Dean of Students office, Judicial Affairs for further action.


Attendance:

Exam Schedule:


Exam

Date and Time

Lectures

Readings

Midterm

10/13 10:00 AM

08/23-10/06

P-B 1-2, L 1-7, B 1,6

Final

Tuesday 12/13 9:30 AM

10/18-12/08

P-B 3-6, L 8-9, B 2-5

Worksheet Schedule:


Worksheet

Worksheet Date

Worksheet Due Date

Lab 1

09/08

09/15

Lab 2

10/06

10/13

Lab 3

11/03

11/10

Video 1

09/29

09/29

Video 2

10/27

10/27


Class Schedule:
08/23-08/25:
Introduction and Overview: A biocultural perspective on childhood
Readings:
P-B, Chapter 1: Panter-Brick, C., Biosocial Research on Children

08/30-09/01:

What is childhood all about?: The evolution of the human life history

Readings:
P-B, Chapter 2: Bogin, B., Evolutionary and Biological Aspects of Childhood
Bock, J. What makes a competent adult forager? (B)
Bliege Bird, R. and D. Bird. 2002. Constraints of Knowing or Constraints of Growing (B)

 

09/06-09/08:

Understanding cross-cultural child development, Part 1
Computer Lab 1: Introduction to the electronic Human Relations Area Files (eHRAF)
Readings:
L, Chapter 1: Studying Child Development in Kpelle Society

09/13-09/15

Understanding cross-cultural child development, Part 2
Readings:
L, Chapter 2: Cultural Routines for Children’s Development
Weisner, T.S. 1997. The Ecocultural Project of Human Development (B)

09/20-09/22

What do children do with their time? Play (Part 1)

Readings:
L, Chapter 3: The Research Setting
L, Chapter 5: Parents, Children, and Make-Believe

 

09/27-09/29

What do children do with their time? Play (Part 2)
Video 1: “Promise of Play: Mother of Invention” (60 minutes) with discussion
Readings:
L, Chapter 6: Games and Models
L, Chapter 7: Dances, Songs, Stories, Proverbs, and the Acqusition of Values

10/04-10/06

What do children do with their time? Work (Part 1)
Computer Lab 2: Cross-cultural patterns of play and work
Readings:
L, Chapter 4: Kpelle Work

 

10/11-10/13

Review
MIDTERM EXAM

10/18-10/20

What do children do with their time? Work (Part 2)
Readings:

L, Chapter 8: Children’s Work

Munroe, Ruth, Robert Lee Munroe, and H. Shimmin. Children’s Work in Four Cultures: Determinants and consequences (B)

 

10/25-10/27

What do children do with their time? Work (Part 3)
Video 2: “One Child’s Work”  “Remember Me”
Discussion of videos
Readings:

P-B, Chapter 3: James, Allison. From the Child’s Point of View.

11/01-11/03

What do children learn? (Part 1)

Readings:
L, Chapter 9: Apprenticeship and Bush School as Formal Education
Computer Lab 3: Cross-cultural patterns of learning and development

11/08-11/10

What do children learn? (Part 2)
Readings:
Bock, J. 2002. Learning, Life History and Productivity (B)

11/15-11/17

Cross-cultural child development (Part 1)
Readings:
Low, B.S. 1989. Cross-cultural Patterns in the Training of Children. (B)

Scott, W. A., R. Scott, K. Boehnke, S-W. Cheng, K. Leung, and M. Sasaki. Children's personality as a function of family relations within and between cultures.(B)

11/22-11/24

FALL BREAK

 

11/29-12/01

Cross-cultural child development (Part 2)
Readings:

P-B, Chapter 5: LeVine, R. Child Psychology and Anthropology: An environmental view

P-B, Chapter 6: Richards, M. The Meeting of Nature and Nurture and the Development of Children

 

12/06-12/08

Children’s health in comparative perspective
Review
Readings:

P-B, Chapter 4: Panter-Brick, C. Biological Anthropology and Child Health.

Tuesday 12/13 9:30 AM

FINAL EXAM


References from Course Readings Packet
Bliege Bird, R. and D. Bird. 2002. Constraints of Knowing or Constraints of Growing. Human Nature 13: 239-267.
Bock, J. 2005. What makes a competent adult forager? In: B. Hewlett and M. Lamb, eds. Hunter-Gatherer Childhoods. Somerset, NJ: Aldine Transaction. Pp. 109-128.
Bock, J. 2002. Learning, Life History, and Productivity: Children’s lives in the Okavango Delta, Botswana. Human Nature 13: 161-198.
Low, B.S. 1989. Cross-cultural Patterns in the Training of Children: An evolutionary perspective. Journal of Comparative Psychology 103: 311-319.
Munroe, R.H., R.L. Munroe, and H.S. Shimmin. 1984 Children’s Work in Four Cultures: Determinants and consequences. American Anthropologist 86:339-379.
Scott, W. A., R. Scott, K. Boehnke, S-W Cheng, K. Leung, and M. Sasaki. 1991. Children's personality as a function of family relations within and between cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology 22: 182-208.
Weisner, T.S. 1997. The Ecocultural Project of Human Development: Why Ethnography and Its Findings Matter. Ethos 25: 124-149/