Children, Youth and Development

Starting from the idea that childhood and youth are relational constructs, this course examines the experiences, accounts, aspirations, life strategies, and navigations of children and youth in global South contexts. Drawing on interdisciplinary perspectives that overcome the essentialization of "children" and "youth" in Childhood Studies literature; the course explores how development processes connect the experiences of global south children and youth with multiple generations while simultaneously situating them at the heart of the debates around social transfromations. The course provides broader and critical perspectives on the interplay between childhood, culture, and development, providing students with the opportunity to develop systematic knowledge of how various national and international development goals and policies impact young people's lives as well as how young people respond to them.

Specific topics covered may include:

• intersections in childhood studies and development studies
• the social meanings and values of childhood
• interventions for ‘vulnerable’ children and youth
• young people as economic actors
• children's rights in international development
• gender, education and learning
• children, migration and social change
• political economy childhood and youth poverty
• impacts of HIV/AIDS on children and families
• children in emergency circumstances
• young people’s social and cultural environments
• youth agency and political activism

Knowledge

The student has:

• In-depth knowledge of how children and youth in diverse familial, social, economic, cultural institutional and political contexts of the Global South fare in their lives.
• Advanced interdisciplinary understanding of the complex interrelationship between development processes and young people's everyday lives.
• Knowledge and critical evaluation of diverse social policies, programs, and interventions geared towards enhancing the well-being of children and youth in the Global South.

Skills

The student has:

• The skill of critically evaluating ongoing research and scholarship in the field of children and socio-economic and cultural change.

General competence

The student has:

• A general understanding of the life experiences and expectations of children and youth in the Global South.

Total lecture and seminar hours: approximately 30 hours.

Students are required to write a term paper on a topic related to the content of the course. The term paper is evaluated 30% of the final grade. Students must present their own term paper and will be assigned to comment on another student's term paper..