SOCIOLOGY OF CHILDHOOD

Specialization / Direction

General Foundation

the aim of the course is the presentation and understanding of issues regarding the concept of childhood, under the sociological perspective. The course focuses on the concept of childhood as a social category, considering the special features, the social formation processes and the changes that distinguish it on the social place and space. Specifically, students are expected to: - Be familiar with concepts and questions regarding the meaning of childhood, how it is structured and socially constructed, how the relationships between childhood and adulthood are defined - To acquire knowledge about the changes that have occurred historically, on the importance and the social definition of childhood as well as its modern versions - To recognize the diversity of childhood overcoming the perception that it is a global, homogeneous and unchanging phenomenon - Be able to judge the social relevance and impact of both the implementation of programs and policies related to the child, as well as the prevalence of certain scientific and professional discources articulated around the concepts of child and childhood

Sociology of Childhood: An introduction • Classic socialization theories: - The child as a passive social being - child identity - Psychoanalytic approach • Childhood, time and generational relations: - Age as a component of the asymmetric power relations between children and adults - The meaning and significance of generation • Non-Western societies: socialization and learning practices through initiation ceremonies - examples • The historical and social view of childhood - Childhood as a construction of modern societies - the "disappearance" of childhood • The new sociology of childhood - The child as active social being - The structural approach to the sociological study of childhood • Social control and children's rights - Childhood as an intervention and regulation field - The school as an institution of symbolic control and manipulation of childhood - The Convention on the Rights of the Child • Divergent forms of childhood (children workers, bullies children, street children, child soldiers)

08-01-2022