Theorising Childhood and Youth (893L5)

30 credits, Level 7 (Masters)

Autumn teaching

This module introduces you to theories and debates that have shaped the interdisciplinary field of childhood and youth studies. In the first half of the module you will be introduced to a framework for studying childhood and youth that considers the dividends of interdisciplinarity and reflects on the way childhood and youth are culturally and socially constructed, measured, imagined and governed. The module also situates disciplinary knowledge about childhood in a global perspective, critically reflecting on how Western ideas about childhood have been shaped by processes such as colonialism and Western child-saving movements.

The second half of the module introduces case studies of key topics in childhood and youth studies (e.g. working children, refugee children), providing an opportunity to reflect on how an interdisciplinary approach shapes our understanding of these topics. The module is also accompanied by a film club, looking at global and historical representations of childhood and youth.

Contact hours and workload

This module is approximately 300 hours of work. This breaks down into about 66 hours of contact time and about 234 hours of independent study. The University may make minor variations to the contact hours for operational reasons, including timetabling requirements.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2024/25. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to feedback, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum.

We’ll make sure to let you know of any material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.