Module Specifications..
Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024
Please note that this information is subject to change.
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Description This course draws upon the discipline of Sociology as an academic lens through which to explore childhood and different dimensions of children’s lives. In this module, students will develop their understanding of the centrality of children to the understanding of society and how it changes over time, and of the role that children play as active participants (or agents) who both shape and are shaped by their social world. The module explores different interpretations and understandings of childhood, and examines the implications of dominant discourses or ways of thinking about childhood for children’s lives. Students will participate in the following learning activities – Think-pair-share activities; critical analysis of childhood images; small group discussion; social barometer (moving debate); critical reflection; museum/photographic archive visit; critical media literacy analysis | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Learning Outcomes 1. Think critically and sociologically about a range of settings and influences impacting children’s lives 2. . Unpack common assumptions about ‘the child’ and ‘childhood’ and explore the meanings and values that are commonly attributed to concepts relating to childhood 3. Examine the ways in which children, as social agents, shape their childhoods and the processes of childhood change 4. Critically reflect on a range of local and global influences on childhood and understand the extent to which childhoods are shaped and acquire their meaningfulness within specific cultural contexts 5. Write analytically about 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
Sociology as a lens through which to examine childhoodHow can sociology, as a discipline, inform our understanding of children’s lives? What is distinctive about a sociological approach to childhood?Structure and Agency in Children’s LivesWhat are social structures and human agency and how do they influence us? What role do children play as active participants (or agents) who both shape and are shaped by their social world?Childhood as a Social ConstructionThis session examines the idea that what we know to be true about childhood, or what we think is good for children, is always a product of the culture and historical period in which we existParenting and the Sociology of the FamilyDo different cultural orientations to child rearing persist through time? Do approaches to child-rearing differ according to the social class origins of parents?Consumerism in Children’s LivesWhy are so many children preoccupied with consumer goods and items? How is consumerism among children related to the power or lack of power they have over their daily lives, within and beyond school?Gender and Sexuality in Children’s LivesHow is sexual knowledge constituted and regulated in children’s lives? What are the implications of dominant constructions of children as innocent, a-sexual beings?Bullying and Violence in Children’s LivesWhat function does bullying serve in children’s lives? Why are some children more likely to bully/be bullied than others? What role does schooling play in perpetuating cultures of bullying?Social Class and Inequality in Children’s LivesHow does social class structure children’s life chances and educational outcomes? Can schools make a difference to social class inequalities? Why are certain children and young people more likely to ‘resist’ and ‘oppose’ schooling than others? How do parents and children of varying social class backgrounds experience and interact with educational institutions?Children’s Lives in a Globalised ContextWhat is Irish society like as a context for children’s development? How are global movements to educate all children impacting children’s lives in the Global South? How do ‘we’ in the Global North think about childhoods in the Global South? How should we think about childhood in the context of globalization and global economic downturn? | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List
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Other Resources None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Programme or List of Programmes
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