In this module, students will learn to reflect critically on the history of childhood. The module examines how childhood has been conceptualised in the past; analyses different ideological models of a 'child'; and considers the diverse lived experiences of children. Throughout the last two hundred years, ‘childhood’ has been the object of intense social concern and debate, as something to be managed, safeguarded, shaped, idealised or demonised, developed, promoted or commercialised as the case may be. Focusing on Britain (in order to make the most of local resources and to contextualise contemporary practice), we will cover some key events in the development of modern social policies towards children, but we will do so in the context of particular debates and arguments about children’s lives and experiences. In this sense, the history of childhood is very much the history of conversations by adults and changing groups of professionals about children. However, throughout the module, we will also explore what life was like for children in the past and how it was shaped by social and cultural shifts. We will explore excerpts from written documents, vignettes from oral history, and material culture to get an understanding of the enormous changes in the diverse experiences, living conditions, and rights of children. This angle on the experience of childhood will be supplemented by a field trip and supported by the first assessment task.
The module supplies an important background context to the themes introduced in year 1 and also links to issues of the ‘representation’ of children explored in ‘Wild Things: Literature, Childhood, Psychoanalysis’ this year.