Students
in the M.A. program complete the following program of study in
approximately two years.
Most classes will be offered in late afternoon
and early evening.
a. Proseminar in Childhood Studies (6 credits)
This
two-semester sequence will be taken during each student's first year.
An overarching theme (e.g., child health) will be selected, and
different disciplines (psychology, sociology/criminal justice,
anthropology, history, religion, and English) will serve as a
perspective for a section of the course. During each section, through
a combination of lectures, discussion, and readings, students will gain
knowledge of the substantive topic; they will also gain a broad
overview of each discipline's methodology and an understanding of the
strengths and limitations of each discipline's approach to the
problem. Toward the end of the year, students will be guided toward an
understanding of how a given problem can be approached in an
interdisciplinary manner.
b. Child Growth and Development (3 credits)
This
course will cover children's physical, mental, and social development. The goal of this course will be to provide students with an integrated
perspective on how typical children develop, beginning with the
milestones and developmental tasks of infancy and continuing through
the biological, social, and psychological changes of adolescence.
c. One course in cultural perspectives (3 credits)
Children
and Childhood in Cross-Cultural Perspective
The richness and diversity
of children's development is best understood by examining socialization
norms and child-rearing practices of the world's various societies. The course focuses on the rich anthropological literature on children
in different cultures, but considers as well cross-cultural
psychological and sociological investigations.
-Or-
Growing
Up in History
This course will develop students' understanding of
childhood at various points in history. This course will convey to
students both the aspects of childhood that are relatively invariant
across different periods of history, as well as the aspects of it that
dramatically differ depending on the historical period in which
childhood is examined.
-Or-
Literary
and Cultural Constructions of Childhood
This course will examine
changing concepts of childhood as reflected in a range of literary and
cultural texts from a variety of cultures and periods. It will
consider the representations of children and childhood throughout
literature and culture; the impact of the concept of childhood on
intellectual and aesthetic traditions; the role of childhood in
imagination and memory as well as in actuality; and the notion of
childhood as a discursive category useful for understanding human
subjectivity and the human condition.
d. Individual Research (3 credits)
This
course will offer students the opportunity to research a topic of
special interest to them. Each student will work closely with an
adviser to produce a capstone project/paper of 25-30 pages.
e. Disciplinary Concentrations (12 credits)
Each
student will choose two concentrated areas of study, one from the
disciplines in the humanities and one from the social sciences. Six
credits must be completed in each concentration. This will ensure
grounding in two traditional fields of study.
All
students in the Ph.D. program follow the program of study below, with
most completing the courses in two or three years, with the
dissertation completed in the fourth and/or fifth years.
Although
the program is intended for full-time students, part-time students are
accepted into the program. Most classes will be offered in the late
afternoon and early evening.
a. Proseminar in Childhood Studies (6 credits)
This
two-semester sequence will be taken during each student's first year. An overarching theme (e.g., child health) will be selected, and
different disciplines (psychology, sociology/criminal justice,
anthropology, history, religion, and English) will serve as a
perspective for a section of the course. During each section, through
a combination of lectures, discussion, and readings, students will gain
knowledge of the substantive topic; they will also gain a broad
overview of each discipline's methodology and an understanding of the
strengths and limitations of each discipline's approach to the
problem. Toward the end of the year, students will be guided toward an
understanding of how a given problem can be approached in an
interdisciplinary manner.
b. Child Growth and Development (3 credits)
This
course will cover children's physical, mental, and social development. The goal of this course will be to provide students with an integrated
perspective on how typical children develop, beginning with the
milestones and developmental tasks of infancy and continuing through
the biological, social, and psychological changes of adolescence.
c. One course in cultural perspectives (3 credits)
Children and Childhood in Cross-Cultural Perspective
The
richness and diversity of children's development is best understood by
examining socialization norms and child-rearing practices of the
world's various societies. The course focuses on the rich
anthropological literature on children in different cultures, but
considers as well cross-cultural psychological and sociological
investigations.
-Or-
Growing Up in History
This
course will develop students' understanding of childhood at various
points in history. This course will convey to students both the
aspects of childhood that are relatively invariant across different
periods of history, and the aspects of it that dramatically differ
depending on the historical period in which childhood is examined.
-Or-
Literary and Cultural Constructions of Childhood
This
course will examine changing concepts of childhood as reflected in a
range of literary and cultural texts from a variety of cultures and
periods. It will consider the representations of children and
childhood throughout literature and culture; the impact of the concept
of childhood on intellectual and aesthetic traditions; the role of
childhood in imagination and memory as well as in actuality; and the
notion of childhood as a discursive category useful for understanding
human subjectivity and the human condition.
d. Review of Literature (3 credits)
This
course will review the literature of a specific content area in
childhood studies preparatory to the student's undertaking
dissertation research.
e. Humanities Concentration (12 credits)
Four courses from the humanities will allow students to explore the history of children and depictions of childhood in the arts.
f. Social Science Concentration (12 credits)
Four
courses in the social sciences will allow research into the many areas
of psychology, sociology, and public policy which affect the lives of
children.
g. Electives (9 credits)
Three courses may be chosen from any field related to the study of children or the constructions of childhood.
h. Doctoral Dissertation
Each student must complete an original dissertation research project under the supervision of a faculty adviser.
