This course examines the ways environmental factors intersect with social and economic inequalities to produce significant health disparities, particularly for low-income, racial, and Indigenous communities. Specifically, the course focuses on contemporary themes in environmental justice literature, namely environmental racism, gender and class disparities associated with climate change and environmental degradation, the politics of toxic exposure, […]
This course considers physical, intellectual, emotional and social development from birth through adolescence and the impact of the interaction of these various aspects of development upon the individual as a whole.
This course introduces students to the field of Children, Childhood & Youth (CCY) studies. It reviews many of the methodological approaches that have governed and continue to govern the study of children, childhood and youth. This course focuses on issues around discourses of the rights and power of children and youth and the “new childhood […]
An examination of the historical relationship among human rights, economic equity, and the idea of development in the global south; attempts of selected countries to alleviate poverty through various development strategies. This will entail a survey of socio-economic structures, and legal-political institutions in the global south, and an analysis of the relationship between the global […]
An historical and current analysis of what happens to children when they are socialized. Among the questions considered along with the meaning of socialization, are the basis of literacy and the role of parents, education, and work. While focused on Canada, the course may touch on the UK, the US, and other countries.
This class examines the genre of the fairy tale and draws on examples from the 16th century to the present, with special emphasis on the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm. We will investigate how fairy tales have functioned as vehicles for exploring the human condition and rites of passage, for social and political critique, […]
What is childhood? How has it changed over time? This course examines what it meant to be young in different times and places in the United States and Canada. It provides a historical perspective on what is often seen as a ‘natural’ developmental stage. We will ask how gender, race, class, religion, nationality, and ability […]