Growing Up in the World: A Global History of Childhood

Has the concept of "child" and "childhood" remained the same across time and place? How did race, gender, and class affect children's experiences? Drawing on scholarship from around the world, this course will examine how historians recount the stories of children from the ancient past to the present day. Children tend to be neglected in historical narratives, overshadowed by the adults who run their lives. As kids generally do not leave behind written documents, their voices are difficult to find in a traditional archive. Therefore, our course goes beyond reading old pieces of paper. We will learn from skeletons, artwork, films, memoirs, toys, TV shows, newspapers, and other sources from the past. Each student will research and write about a childhood history that interests them the most. Using personal interviews with family members, visual artifacts, institutional records, or a variety of other sources, students are encouraged to get creative when researching and writing history. Students will leave this course with a strong grasp of what it means to be a historian and how to research the diverse lives of youth around the world.