Childhood Through Culture

In this course we will analyze childhood as a social construction: a time of psychological development, a stage when myths trigger certain imaginary beliefs, and a phase when children learn lessons about human nature. We will read theoretical and literary texts about childhood and its development, and we will reflect on how human beings are created through mythological, literary, scientific, and pedagogic productions of our culture. We will read theoretical works by Agnes Heller, Boris Cyrulnik, Steven Pinker, Lloyd deMause, Bruno Bettelheim, and fictional works by Ulises Carrión, Marta Traba, Juan Carlos Botero, Juan José Millás, Juan Rulfo, Julio Cortázar, Juan Tovar, Elvira Navarro, Horacio Quiroga. (SPAN 0220 or placement exam at 0300 level).