Cultural Child Development

In this course we will explore ideas and research that have combined cultural and developmental approaches to psychology. We will begin with an understanding of cultural psychology, and from there, several core questions will organize our course: What is childhood like among people's across the world? What are the roles of play, school, and work in children’s lives? How are the sequences and endpoints of development culturally shaped, for example, in areas such as problem-solving, attention, attachment, self, and emotions? This course emphasizes primary empirical and theoretical sources. Through lectures, in-class discussion and reflection, student-led debates and expert panels, and an interview project, we will seek to understand the cultural nature of child development in our own lives and in the lives of others (Not open to students who have taken PSYC 0417) (PSYC 105; open to psychology majors) 3 hrs. lect.