Module Identifier ED10710  
Module Title THE SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD  
Academic Year 2007/2008  
Co-ordinator Dr Merris Griffiths  
Semester Intended for use in future years  
Next year offered N/A  
Next semester offered N/A  
Course delivery Seminars / Tutorials   5 Hours.  
  Lecture   10 Hours.  
Assessment
Assessment TypeAssessment Length/DetailsProportion
Semester Exam2 Hours  60%
Semester Assessment Assignment: 2,000 words  40%

Learning outcomes

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Students should be able to discuss and assess the various sociological constructions of 'childhood'.

Students should be able to apply sociological frameworks in order to analyze the social construction of 'childhood'.

Students should have developed general study skills.

Brief description

This module 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'.

Aims

Content

Lectures will cover the following aspects:

Seminar themes will follow lecture topics in the sense that they are designed to clarify or further illustrate points raised in the lectures. There will be a strong thematic vein (following a given sociological paradigm) running through the module as a whole, as well as a related progression from one lecture to the next. It will therefore be possible to deal with a combination of lecture topics within the fortnightly seminar structure. For example:

Reading Lists

Books
ADLER, Patricia & Peter Adler (1998) Peer Power: Preadolescent Culture and Identity. Rutgers University Press
ARCHARD, David (1993) Children: Rights and Childhood. Routledge
ARIES, Phillipe (1960) Centuries of Childhood Penguin
COOTER, R (1992) In the Name of the Child: Health and Welfare 1880-1940 Routledge
CORSARO, William A (1997) The Sociology of Childhood Pine Forge
FROST, N & M STEIN (1989) The Politics of Child Welfare Harvester Wheatsheaf
GARFINKLE, Irwin, Jennifer L Hochschild & Sara S McLanahan (Eds) (1966) Social Policies for Children Brookings Institute
HARDING, L F (1991) Perspectives in Child-Care Policy Longman
HOLLAND, Patricia (1992) What is a Child? Popular Images of Childhood. Virago Press
JAMES, Allison & Alan Prout (Eds) (1999) Constructing and Reconstructing Childhood. Falmer Press
JENKS, C (1992) The Sociology of Childhood: Essential Readings
OPEN UNIVERSITY (1988) Kids Lib: The Politics of Childhood 1800-1941 Open University Press
POLAKOW, Viviane Suransky (1992) The Erosion of Childhood. University of Chicago Press
QVORTRUP, Jens, Marjatta Bardy, Giovbanni Sgritta & Helmut Wintersberger (Eds) (1994) Childhood Matters: Social Theory, Practice and Politics. Avebury
STEINBERG, Sharon & Joe Kincheloe (Eds) (1997) Kinderculture: The Corporate Construction of Childhood. Westview Press

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4