COURSE SUMMARY

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, psychological 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, health sciences, and even computer science around cutting-edge issues in childcare and development, such as autism, attachment, puberty, gender, and AI, with discussions on policy implications. Students will engage in new conversations around core theoretical, methodological, and ethical questions in anthropological studies of childhood. This course will help students confront the myths and understand the realities of growing up in a globalizing world, challenge our own assumptions and conceptualizations of the “optimal” childcare, the “normal” childhood, and the “good” child, and reflect on the ultimate question of anthropology, what it means to be human.

The format of the class will include lectures, small-group discussions, big-group discussions, student presentations, and writing assignments. Special focus is put on in-class discussions. The class is for upper division and graduate students.

COURSE ASSIGNMENTS & ASSESSMENTS:

This course is designed so that everyone who puts in the work and stays engaged in the course should easily receive a final grade of ‘A’ or ‘B’.

• Class Participation (10% of final grade): I expect you to attend class and to engage with the course material and with your peers through classroom activities, discussion, and debate.
• Group presentation (10% of final grade): In groups of 3-4, you will select a lecture topic of interest and present the designated paper (marked by *) for 15 mins to your peers during Thursday class meeting. The designated paper might fall outside your particular disciplinary or sub-disciplinary domain, but that is the fun of this interdisciplinary course, to learn something new, collectively! You will specifically outline  (1) the main research questions examined in the paper, (2) the main theories the paper engages with, (3) the methods used in the paper, (4) the paper’s main findings, (5) how the paper fits into the class topic, and (6) the strengths and weaknesses of the paper, (7) new terms identified, and/or any questions you have about the paper. 
• You will sign up for your reading presentation slot in week 1.
• You can send me a draft of your presentation by Tuesday (two days before your presentation), if you want any feedback.
• For the other groups who are not presenting in that week, the designated student presentation reading (marked by *) is optional, not a mandatory reading. 
• I encourage you to find relevant popular media resources on this topic and explore the broader impact of academic research
• Weekly Reflections: What did I learn this week? (40% of final grade) Since week 2, students will submit their weekly reflections (about 250 words) based on the required readings for that week. Turn in online through Canvas by Monday noon (12 pm), and bring a copy for your own reference with you to use it for in-class discussion. Altogether students should submit 9 weekly reflections (lowest score dropped). These essays will show what students have learned that week. This form of writing should be used as an effective exercise of thought processes that will help you to develop your final paper. 
• Each weekly essay is worth 5% of your total grade. In these essays, you will discuss what you learned from the weekly readings, and make connections between different readings in the week, instead of focusing on one particular reading. 
• Please pick one or two key ideas from the readings, in the form of quotes, rephrasing of the quotes, or paragraphs (if paragraphs, to save space, please just state the page number and the beginning sentence instead of copying the entire paragraph). Expand on the key idea(s) to describe your reactions. Situate your response within the larger aims and themes of the engaged readings.
• At the end of the essay, you should raise two questions from the week’s readings that will help to develop class discussions. The instructor may provide prompts to help guide students focus their thoughts. 
• All sources should be appropriately cited (APA or Chicago Style). 
• This is an academic writing and will be expected to meet university writing standard. Plagiarism, including using AI, will NOT be tolerated. 
• Late policy: Assignments can be submitted late with 1-point-subtraction penalty up through Tuesday noon, after which assignments will close permanently.
• Final Paper: What did I learn in this course? Throughout the quarter, you will work on a 2,500 words paper examining the core question of this course: How do biological (or psychological) and socio-cultural factor interact to shape child-rearing and child development? Your paper should focus on one particular topic in childhood, but it can be either a) a research paper, using existing literature and research evidence to examine this particular topic; or b) a research proposal, drawing from existing literature to ask a new question and design an ethnographic study. The paper is worth 40% of your total grade. 
• Annotated bibliography (10%): Read more about what an annotated bibliography is here. Your bibliography should contain at least 6 references, including at least 1 reference outside the course reading list. You can use APA or Chicago Style.
• Main text (30%): Evaluation rubric will be posted on Canvas by the end of Week 8.
• This is an academic writing, and therefore, will be expected to meet university writing standard. Plagiarism, including using AI, will NOT be tolerated. 

Student-presentation sign-up sheet link: 

Google doc

Grading system

Final percentage scores are converted to grade points using the scales below. These are the MINIMUM percentages for each grade point. Percentages are automatically converted to grade points and NOT ROUNDED (e.g. 94.89 = 3.9). There are no grading curves. There will be an extra credit opportunity, announced later in class.

Minimum percent = Grade point

95 = 4.0 88 = 3.3 81 = 2.6 74 = 1.9 67 = 1.2

94 = 3.9 87 = 3.2 80 = 2.5 73 = 1.8 66 = 1.1

93 = 3.8 86 = 3.1 79 = 2.4 72 = 1.7 65 = 1.0

92 = 3.7 85 = 3.0 78 = 2.3 71 = 1.6 64 = 0.9

91 = 3.6 84 = 2.9 77 = 2.2 70 = 1.5 63 = 0.8

90 = 3.5 83 = 2.8 76 = 2.1 69 = 1.4 60-62 = 0.7
89 = 3.4 82 = 2.7 75 = 2.0 68 = 1.3 <60 = 0.0

READINGS:

• Selected chapters from books: 
• LeVine, Robert A. & New, Rebecca S (eds). 2008. Anthropology and Child Development: A Cross-Cultural Reader. Wiley-Blackwell. 
• Xu, Jing. 2024. “Unruly” Children: Historical Fieldnotes and Learning Morality in a Taiwan Village. Cambridge University Press. (UW library has full access to its electronic version)
• All journal articles and book chapters are posted on Canvas.
• Documentary Films: Babies documentary (video available to stream through UW library), other documentary excerpts will be presented in class and links embedded in lecture slides. 
• Recommended books:
• Hrdy, Sarah. 2024. Father Time: A Natural History of Men and Babies. Princeton University Press. (UW library ebook)
• Morelli, Camilla. 2023. Children of the Rainforest: Shaping the Future in Amazonia. Rutgers University Press. (UW library ebook)

COURSE SCHEDULE (Google Doc)

COURSE POLICIES

1. Academic misconduct: The university’s policy on plagiarism and academic misconduct is a part of the Student Conduct Code, which cites the definition of academic misconduct in the WAC 478-121. (WAC is an abbreviation for the Washington Administrative Code, the set of state regulations for the university. The entire chapter of the WAC on the student conduct code is here.) According to this section of the WAC, academic misconduct includes: “Cheating”—such as “unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes”, “Falsification” “which is the intentional use or submission of falsified data, records, or other information including, but not limited to, records of internship or practicum experiences or attendance at any required event(s), or scholarly research”; and “Plagiarism” which includes “[t]he use, by paraphrase or direct quotation, of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment.” The UW Libraries have a useful guide for students.
2. Accommodation: Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. Contact the Disability Services Office (206-543-6450 or dso@uw.edu ) to request accommodations. Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including information on how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form
3. Communication: Clarifying questions about assignments, quizzes, and concepts that the whole class would benefit from should be brought up during class and/or posted to the Canvas Discussion Open Q&A. For any other individual communication with your teaching team, please use email (not Canvas messaging). Practice professional communication in your correspondence: use your uw.edu email address and employ proper salutations (Dr. Xu). I will respond to emails within 48 hours. *If you are struggling for any reason with assignments or course pacing, please do not hesitate to reach out or request a one-on-one zoom meeting*. If you need to urgently communicate with, please add *urgent* to the subject line. 
4. Inclusivity: Among the core values of the university are inclusivity and diversity, regardless of race, gender, income, ability, beliefs, and other ways that people distinguish themselves and others. If any assignments and activities are not accessible to you, please contact me so we can make arrangements to make an alternative assignment available. Learning often involves the exchange of ideas. To include everyone in the learning process, we expect you will demonstrate respect, politeness, reasonableness, and willingness to listen to others at all times – even when passions run high. Behaviors must support learning, understanding, and scholarship. Preventing violence is a shared responsibility in which everyone at the UW plays apart. If you experience harassment during your studies, please report it to the SafeCampus website (anonymous reports are possible). SafeCampus provides information on counseling and safety resources, University policies, and violence reporting requirements help us maintain a safe personal, work and learning environment.
5. Mental Health Resources: The UW Counseling Center provides a safe environment to help students explore the challenges of life and learning through counseling, outreach, preventive programming, advocacy, and consultation. The Counseling Center strives to create a diverse, inclusive, and multicultural learning community. As both a service and training site, the staff is committed to excellence within the college mental health profession. They provide personal counseling, career counseling, study skills assistance, and other services to currently enrolled UW students. The Counseling Center also provides consultation to faculty, staff, and parents who have concerns about a student. More information at: http://counseling.uw.edu/

The instructor of the class reserves the right to modify the syllabus during the quarter.

Bio471A_Winter2025_Syllabus.pdf