SOCIOLOGY of CHILDHOOD and ADOLESCENCE

50:920:323
Instructor: Robin Brownfield

Reading List - Books

ARNOLD, JOHANN CHRISTOPH Endangered: Your Child in a Hostile World

MEIER, DEBORAH and WOOD, GEORGE (2004) Many Children Left Behind - FNO Press

PIPHER, Mary (1995) Reviving Ophelia - Ballantine Books

POLLACK, WILLIAM (1998) Real Boys – Owl Books

SCHOR, JULIET (2005) Born to Buy – Scribner

Brief description

This class will introduce students to the social, historical and cultural constructions of 'childhood' and children within the Western sociological context. It will also provide students with a clear sociological framework/paradigm in which to locate the various perceptions of 'childhood'.

Evaluation

Book Reviews

You will be required to write a 2-page review of the book Born to Buy by Juliet Schor. Due April 15.

Guidelines for book reviews are here.

Take Home Exam

There will be one take home essay exam due on March 4.
This test is intended to bring together the information from
the course. This exam will NOT test memorization skills,
but instead will focus the analytical skills of drawing
conclusions and themes from the readings. You may use
your books, class notes and analytical papers for the
exam. There are no make-up or late exams accepted
unless there is written documentation from the Dean.
Academic honesty is expected, meaning your work must
be your own, and you must be careful and meticulous
about properly citing any sources used or quoted.

Final Project

You will develop a project geared toward entertaining children and/or adolescents. The project can be educational or purely for entertainment. The project could be a children’s book about virtually any subject, a video, live or animated, a Power Point presentation meant to entertain, a skit or short play, a board or group game, a toy, or other form of entertainment. If you are inclined toward songwriting, writing one song and performing it would not be enough, but a series of at least 3 or 4 original songs performed in class might be an option.

You must, along with your project, include the age-group your project is geared toward, along with a short research paper (3-5 pages) about projects similar to yours. For example, if you write a children’s book (which should also be illustrated), include a paper on the history and or intent of children’s literature or a specific branch of children’s literature. If you do an animated video, include a research paper on the history and use of animation geared toward whatever age group your video is geared toward.

We will talk about the projects periodically during the semester to help guide you in what you are doing. You may do these projects individually, or as group projects. I will ask you to turn in a proposal for your final project before Spring Break.

Due date for project: between 4/17 – 5/1.

Schedule of Assignments

1/22 - 24 - Introduction
Read: Arnold, Ch. 1 - 3 (online)

1/29 - 31 – Socio-historical perspectives on 'childhood'
Pipher, Ch. 1, 2; Arnold, Ch. 4-6.
Movie: TBA

2/5 - Socio-historical perspectives on 'childhood'

Read Article: The History of Childhood is the History of Child Abuse

2/7 – Children and the changing family

Read: Pollack, Ch. 1 & 2
Pipher, Ch. 3. 4