Anth481/WWU – Summer 2016

CHILDHOOD AND CULTURE

Anthropology 481: hybrid/e-course

We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors,

we borrow it from our children.
– Native American proverb

Instructor: Professor James Loucky; 360-650-3615; AH315 James.Loucky@wwu.edu

COURSE GOALS

This course focuses on how child development is understood and managed cross-culturally,
what contributes to child wellbeing, and when situations call for change. Common wisdom says
that children are our future, and that a society can be measured by how its most vulnerable
members are treated. A jarring disconnect exists between these ideals and the difficult
circumstances and sobering prospects faced by of many children and youth in the world today.
Fortunately, though, their experiences and voices are becoming central to growing awareness of
the intricate connections between a fair society and a healthy planet. An anthropological
approach allows us to probe links between human development and international
development, and to see how children and youth are both affected by and contributors to
profound contemporary developments spanning local and global, family and society.

Consider this an opportunity to view problems and potentials in cross-cultural and

multidisciplinary perspective, and through the eyes of the young. We first consider how child
development has been conceived and managed cross-culturally, examining what skills and
values are transmitted, and ways children become integral to community and place. We then
examine how children experience disruptions, whether in formative social relations or
associated with poverty and movement. Our focus then turns to how social and environmental
wellbeing can be promoted across cultures and generations. By exploring the diversity and
commonalities of intergenerational learning, we in turn become increasingly able to consider
implications for social and educational policy, and for us as citizens, parents, and teachers.

COURSE FORMAT

Insightful readings, visual resources, and research exercises are primary ways through which
we explore the knowledge generated by comparative socialization research. Our class is
grounded on shared goals of curiosity, critical inquiry, and concern for applying what we learn,
not only during the course, but in our further interactions and careers.

Interactive communication with the instructor and with classmates will occur through Canvas,
in addition to occasions we may meet face to face. Query and augment materials and methods
we use or might use, including both print and digital formats. Primary means for demonstrating
learning about the anthropology of children, and for envisioning alternatives to current
thinking and practice, consist of written responses to issues we consider, media monitoring,
interacting with children and youth when possible, and focusing on critical policy concerns.

Note that our schedule is experimental in two respects. Building times to meet each other is
intended to provide a hybrid experience, so we benefit from getting to know each other even as
we mainly interact online. We will also spread out our time to allow for fuller integration and
possible extensions of what we learn, through a tripartite scheduling:
 1. June 21-July 9: readings, journaling, writing assignments, and face-to-face meetings on
Tues June 20, Wed June 2, and Tues July 5 (10-11:45am, unless we agree otherwise. We
will meet in AH314, and via Skype for those not physically present on campus.
2. July 10-July 31: independent research and online communication with class colleagues.
3. Aug 1-Aug 18: synthesis, development of policy research paper or proposal, action plan
for dissemination or application; possible meetings together tba.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Build understanding of the commonalities and diversity of human development, and their
complex intersections with cultural context and global structures.
2. Develop research skills for identifying both needs and contributions of children and youth.
3. Deepen awareness of the intergenerational implications of the urgent challenges of our time.
4. Become effective advocates for inclusion of children as active partners in long-term solutions.

REQUIREMENTS/EVALUATION

Journaling: empirical and observational learning [35% of grade]

Maintain a journal on Canvas for recording what you learn about children and youth
throughout this course. Include insights and questions, links to online and visual resources,
connections you make to your own socialization and life, and comparative evidence. Draw on:
readings and films; posted outlines or commentary by instructor or classmates; observations of
and conversations with children; media monitoring of child-related issues and current events.
Write consistently. This means 3 or more posts each week, rather than mass comments
at the end. Posts can include comments to Open Class Discussion, to topical discussion boards,
and to your personal journal. Title posts whenever possible, to help facilitate your organization
of knowledge, as well as tracking responses to particular queries, readings, and contemporary
events. Both personal journaling and journaling for group consideration are options.
Prompts will sometimes be offered by instructor, or developed from comments you may
make. For example: “America’s Children:” Why, in a country as wealthy and resourceful as the
United States, are children among the poorest and least healthy of all? Address one example of
how we are currently failing our children, and what can transpire when youth are a top priority.

Critical Queries
Short research essays on key topics; 600-900wc each; use APA citation style for sources.

Reflective essay: In a comparative essay that draws on what you are learning about children
cross-culturally, reflect on your own experience of child socialization and wellbeing, noting
commonalties and uniqueness compared with children elsewhere. [12% of grade]

Wellbeing: Wellbeing is increasingly becoming a dominant theme in anthropology, psychology,

and society at large. How is it expressed and encouraged in different cultures, and what
commonalities do you see cross-culturally? [14% of grade]

Tough Circumstances: Schooling and healthcare are seen worldwide as keys to a better future,
yet their relative absence amid poverty, insecurities, and lack of opportunities continue to mark
the lives of many children in the developing world (a.k.a. “Third World” or “Global South”).
Drawing on one or more cases, discuss how this conundrum is being, or might be, resolved.
[14% of grade]

2
Child Policy and Advocacy
Insofar as many children face difficult – and unacceptable – circumstances, learning about
children and youth entails responsibility. Our final “culminating” project allows you to bridge
research with some praxis or advocacy, including envisioning responsiveness and hopefully
also tangible action on your part. Choose a research topic that includes, currently or
prospectively, positive change and/or advocacy for children and youth. Given the evolutionary
moment facing humanity, and to be lived longest by the youngest of our species, strive to
include some perspective on the critical coherence of planet and posterity

Collaborative development of research will be facilitated by thinking of stages. Succinctly state

your key concern or question, and why it matters (7/7). Communicate with others in class,
especially if you have common concerns; this may mean giving & getting feedback around
plausible question(s), relevant resources, and drafts. A précis (or emerging summary) will help
focus (8/3). Final product (due 8/18) may be a research paper, a policy prospectus, or
curriculum lesson. All will include: nature and rationale of the topic, context (antecedents,
political-economic structures, diversity), evidence (including what makes this anthropological),
and implications for application or advocacy (which may take many forms). [25% of grade].

Resources

American Anthropologist 109:241-306. 2007. Childhoods and Childhood Studies. (selections)

Ansell, Nicola. 2005. Children, Youth and Development. Routledge.
Diamond, Jared. 2012. Bringing Up Children. Pp. 173-209. In The World Until Yesterday: What
We Can Learn from Traditional Societies. Penguin.
Lancy, David F. 2015. The Anthropology of Childhood, 2/e. Cambridge University Press. [first
edition is adequate, but it lacks many updates based on authors’ continuing research]

COURSE OUTLINE (dates & supplemental readings tba)

Children of a Changing World

anthropology of child development: problems, perspectives, and potentials
construction & heretics of "childhood"
child-development as cultural adaptation
Assignments: Ansell 1; Bluebond-Langner and Korbin; Small; LeVine.

Week 2.
Comparative Socialization
human development: life cycle and stages in cross-cultural perspective
socialization: interactive learning, guided participation, family and self
children's roles in non-western cultures
caring and sharing: growing up valued - or not
Assignments: Lancy 1-3; Ansell 3; Diamond; reflective essay (6/29)

Week 3.
What is “Best” for Children – in a global and ecocentric age?
children’s needs – what’s love (and time, worth, etc)…got to do with it?
parental investment, building competence
inter-generational care & nurturance

3
child/economic development: intersections & contradictions
Maya children in a changing world: from tradition to transnational
Assignments: Ansell 2; Lancy 4-5; Weisner; wellbeing essay (7/6) & policy issue (7/7)

Weeks 4-6. Independent research & co-learning.

Read ahead, research further. Work on: tough circumstances essay & policy research.
Communication with instructor intermittent; communication via Canvas continues.

Week 7. Growing up Global: Unequal Childhoods

displaced children, damaged, indebted, disposable children
children’s work ≠ child labor
children of war, children on the streets, children on the move
serious play
health & education: critical connections, compound problems
Assignments: Lancy 6-7; Ansell 7; Rosen; policy paper précis (8/3); tough circumstances essay
(8/4)

Week 8. Children of Different Americas

the costs of poverty and social & budget priorities
growing up online: media and accelerating realities of youth
materialism, super-sizing, sexualizing, poly-pollutions
can school make a difference?
from vicious cycles to visionary successes
Assignments: Lancy 8-9; Manago; America’s children prompt (for journaling)

Week 9. Giving Voice to Children: Posterity and Promise

needs, rights, and entitlements
educating for responsible citizenship
children contributing to their own histories & futures
paths to intergenerational & intercultural inclusion
Assignments: Lancy 10; James; research paper/prospectus; possible final gathering (tba)