Course Info: CSI-0243

CourseCSI-0243 History of Race & Childhood
Long TitleHistory of Race and Childhood in the U.S.
Term2017F
Note(s) Satisfies Distribution
Textbook information
Meeting InfoR.W. Kern Center 106 on M,W from 2:30-3:50
FacultyTammy Owens
Capacity25
Available5
Waitlist0
Distribution(s) Power, Community and Social Justice
Cumulative Skill(s)Multiple Cultural Perspectives
Writing and Research
Additional InfoStudents are expected to spend at least six to eight hours a week of preparation and work outside of class time.
Description

Each culture defines childhood according to their own values and beliefs. These definitions of childhood change over time. Since the nineteenth century, racial ideologies have shaped dominant conceptualizations of childhood in the U.S. In this course, students will examine the history of race and childhood. The guiding questions of the course include: How do racial ideologies affect the concepts of childhood, dependency, and age? How have defining historical moments in race relations such as U.S. slavery, the Brown vs. Board of Education case, and the Black Lives Matter movement influenced conceptualizations of the "American child" and "American childhood"? To answer these questions, we will engage scholarship in the History of Childhood and Youth Studies alongside representations and analyses of "American childhood" in literature and sociology. Placing history in conversation with literature and sociology is essential for exposing students to diverse interpretations of the interrelationship of race and childhood.