SIMON FRASER UNIVERSITY
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EDUCATION 487-4
SPECIAL TOPICS: EDUCATION AND CHANGING CONCEPTS OF CHILDHOOD
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(D1.00)
Spring Semester, 1994
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Instructor: Dr. J. Dawson
(January 4—March 31)
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Office: ?
MPX 8639
Monday/Wednesday ?
Phone: ?
291-3476 (office)
14:30-16:20
Location: MPX 8680
PREREQUISITES:
60 hours of credit
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course will consist of a study of some of the origins of twentieth century concepts of
childhood and their relationship to educational thought and practice in the western world.
COURSE TOPICS:
1. Theoretical perspectices
Twentieth century interpretations of the experience of childhood will be examined.
Particular attention will be given to the works of Philippe Aries and Lloyd deMause.
2. Early Concepts of Childhood and Education
a.
Late Roman and Medieval Concepts of Childhood
b.
The "Bele Babees"--The Courtesy Tradition
c.
The Early Protestant Educators--The Educational Writings of Martin Luther, John
Calvin and Others
d.
The Puritans and Literature for Children
e.
John Locke--"the father of the Enlightenment in educational thought."
3. Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Concepts of Childhood and Education
a.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Naturalism
b.
Evangelicalism and Childhood
c.
Romanticism and Childhood
d.
Children of the Industrial Revolution
4. Selected Concepts of Childhood and Education in the Twentieth Century
a.
The Loss of Innocence: Child Sexuality and Aggression--Sigmund Freud
b.
The Well Socialized Child:
i. Maria Montessori
ii John Dewey
iii. Dr. Speck
c.
The Free Child--A.S. Neil
5. Children Without Childhood
a.
Children of Poverty
b.
Children of War
c.
Discussion Topics
i. Child Abuse
ii Drug Abuse
iii. The Changing Family
(Please see over)
Education 487-4 cont'd.
COURSE ASSESSMENT
Written assignments, presentations, and class participation
REQUIRED BOOKS:
Aries, Phillipe. Centuries of Childhood. A Social Histor
y
of Famil y
Life. Translated by R.
Baldick. New York: Vintage Books, 1962.
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques. Emile. Translated and edited by William Boyd. New York:
Teachers College, Columbia University, 1956.
Bagnell, Kenneth. The Little Immi
g
rants, The Orphans Who Came to Canada. Toronto:
Macmillan, 1980.
Kozol, Jonathan. Savage Inequalities. New York: Harper-Collins, 1992.
RECOMMENDED BOOKS:
Barret-Ducrocq, Françoise. Love in the Time of Victoria. Penguin, 1992.
DeSalvo, Louise. Virginia Woolf. The Impact of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Her Life and
Work. New York: Ballantine, 1991.
Cahill, Bette. Butterbox Babies. Toronto: Bantam, 1992.
Webber, Marlene. Street Kids. Toronto: UTP, 1991.
