| Unit name | The Anthropology of Childhood, Learning and Becoming |
|---|---|
| Unit code | ARCH20069 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 1 (weeks 1 - 12) |
| Unit director | Dr. Morelli |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of Anthropology and Archaeology |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit introduces anthropological research on childhood and youth, focusing on the radically diverse ways these life-stages are understood and experienced in different social and economic settings.
We will also examine theories of learning, personhood and becoming, and through the analysis of ethnographic case-studies from various parts of the world, we will consider how these crucial aspects of human life vary widely cross-culturally.
Students will be encouraged to consider the following questions, amongst others: is childhood innocence a cultural construct? Could children live without adults? Is work during childhood always a form of exploitation or is it foundational to the household economy? Why do certain societies practice infanticide? Is school education a pathway towards social inclusion, or an institution that reproduce inequalities?
The unit has the following key aims:
o To introduce students to a range of anthropological theories on childhood and youth.
o To place well-established concepts relating to childhood, youth and learning at the centre of an anthropological, critical analysis;
o To enable students to recognise the specific constructions and expectations of Western childhood and youth, and critically reflect on Western theories of socialisation, development and learning;
o To demonstrate the contributions that child-centred ethnographic research can make to mainstream anthropology.
On successful completion of this unit, students will able to:
1) Explain and critically address key anthropological theories on childhood, youth, learning and education;
2) Contextualise the experiences and understandings of childhood and youth in specific ethnographic settings;
3) Apply anthropological understandings to aspects that concern their own lives and society;
4) Evaluate specific methods and practice-based techniques through which anthropologists conduct research with and about children and youth.
o 1 x one-hour lecture per week
o 1 x one-hour seminar per week
o 1 x all-day student presentation session
Summative
One 2000-word essay (50% - ILOs 1, 2)
One 2000-word portfolio of working papers (50% - ILOs 1-4)
Bluebond-Langner, M. (1978). The private worlds of dying children. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
Lancy, D. F. (2008). The Anthropology of Childhood: Cherubs, Chattel, Changelings. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Mead, M. (2001). Coming of age in Samoa: A psychological study of primitive youth for Western civilisation. HarperCollins.
Montgomery, H. 2009. An Introduction to Childhood: Anthropological Perspectives on Children's Lives. Malden: Wiley-Blackwell.
Willis, P. E. (1977). Learning to labour: How working class kids get working class jobs. Columbia University Press.
Zelizer, V. 1981. Pricing the Priceless Child. New York: Basic Books.
