Babies in some contemporary hunter-gatherer populations never crawl and only start walking when they are 18 months old and older. Babies in Western, industrialized populations are encouraged to crawl and walk at much earlier ages. In many cultures, children spend most of their time in mixed age groups, and contribute substantially to childcare and household or other labor. In others, childhood is highly structured by education and other monitored activities. How do all these ways of raising children affect child development? Are there any universal patterns of child development and child rearing? How do biological, ecological and socio-cultural configurations interact to shape child-rearing and child development? How do such experiences in our early years impact individual wellbeing, cultural transmission and social change? How can biocultural perspectives inform contemporary U.S. childcare and educational practices?
This course examines the above questions through a holistic anthropological approach that integrates evolutionary and cross-cultural perspectives on human childcare and development from birth through adolescence. Anthropological reflections on childcare and child development are of vital importance in an era of globalization, when child-rearing, education, and child wellbeing in diverse societies is increasingly entangled with and influenced by Western knowledge and discourse. The course will draw on theoretical and empirical work in biological, cognitive, psychological, medical anthropology, as well as news reports, podcasts, and documentary films, to examine critical issues in childrearing and child development from infancy to youth across diverse societies. We will further examine interdisciplinary debates and/or collaboration between anthropology, psychology, education and health sciences around cutting-edge issues in childcare and development, such as autism, attachment, puberty, gender socialization, with discussions on policy implications. Toward the end of this course, students will engage in new conversations around core theoretical, methodological, and ethical questions in anthropological studies of childhood. Ultimately, this course will help students confront the myths and understand the realities of growing up in a globalizing world, and challenge our own assumptions and conceptualizations of the “optimal” childcare, the “normal” childhood, and the “good” child.
The format of the class will include lectures, discussions, and writing assignments. Special focus is put on in-class discussions. The class is for upper division and graduate students.
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