Module Specifications.
Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025
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Date posted: September 2024
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Repeat examination Repeat assessment Repeat exam |
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Description This module will explore different conceptions of childhood. It will introduce students to childhood studies though the lens of philosophy and four dominant perspectives that continue to inform discourse and policy in relation to children’s lives. It will explore the following four ‘framings’ focusing primarily on identity and diversity in the modern period: 1) The deficit or ‘privative’ view of childhood, 2) the gifted or ‘privileged’ view of childhood, 3) the psychogenic or ‘therapeutic’ view of childhood and 4) the liberationist or ‘emancipatory’ view of childhood. As well as considering recent scholarship in the area, there will be a focus on how, historically, major thinkers have viewed the significance of the early years, including Plato, Aristotle, Augustine, Locke, Rousseau, and Freud. Central to the course is the critical issue of children’s agency today and what philosophy and childhood studies have to contribute to the debate. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. Identify significant factors that have effected change in western ways of relating to and treating children 2. Develop a critical outlook on ‘childhood', with particular reference to how various constructions of childhood express different philosophies of the human person. 3. Identify the tensions between the perspectives explored within research and policy documents and offer critique based on two or more of the perspectives discussed. 4. Recognise important ideas around identity and their context in relation to childhood studies 5. Interpret intellectual traditions of thinking about children as individuals and as members of a community, society, and citizenry 6. Examine the ways in which ideas around nature and culture continue to inform conceptions of childhood | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and Learning Activities
1• The idea of a ‘perspective'. The point of studying philosophical history with regard to expanding our understanding of human possibilities and appreciating the ‘parochialism of the present'.2• Four differing perspectives on childhood: the ‘privative’, the ‘therapeutic’, the ‘privileged’, and the ‘emancipatory’.3• Philosophy as a form of reflection, with sources in childhood wonder and in early Greek thought. Socrates as exemplary figure of philosopher and teacher. Clarification of concepts and justification of opinions and beliefs. The importance of dialogue.4• Greek childhood especially in the classical period; Plato and Aristotle as defenders of a privative view of childhood.5• The influence of social movements including religion on childhood through the ages, for example Greek and Roman pantheism, Judaism, Buddhism and Christianity6• Child abuse in the ancient world: conflicting views on prevalence of infanticide, exposure (abandonment), swaddling, wetnursing and various kinds of mistreatment of children. ‘Psychohistory' and the work of Lloyd de Mause.7• The Renaissance and its impact on childhood: the printing press and the growth of social literacy; newly invented privacy and interiority; childhood and the ‘civilizing process' (Norbert Elias).8• The Reformation: new emphasis on family life, importance of ‘indoctrinating' children in religious teachings; the affirmation of ordinary life.9• Roots of Modernity: the Enlightenment and the influence of modern science, and of new notions of individual autonomy, democracy and ‘progress', on ways of understanding and treating children. The evolution of the nation-state: emergence of national schooling systems as instruments of nation-building with strong cultural and, later, economic remits.10• Romanticism, the idea of ‘nature' and a new cherishing of childhood: Rousseau's Émile as manifesto of ‘child-centredness'.11• Contemporary issues with respect to children in ‘advanced' liberal democratic societies: Children’s Rights; tensions with respect to ‘protection' and ‘empowerment'. The National Children's Strategy: Our Children, Their Lives. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List
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Other Resources 39788, Publication, 0, Government of Ireland: Our Children, Their Lives (The National Children’s Strategy). Dublin: Government Publications, 2000, http://www.ncca.ie/en/Curriculum_and_Assessment/Early_Childhood_and_Primary_Education/Early_Childhood_Education/Framework_for_early_learning/, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||