Family and Culture

Catalog description

The Family and Culture course focuses on issues of diversity in American society using interdisciplinary approaches to understand the interdependence of culture, family, and the development of young children. It explores current theory, research, and practice regarding the relationship of culture (including, but not limited to, notions of race, class, ability, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ethnicity) to concepts of child competence, child rearing, family functioning, and parenting. Family and Culture also examines the role played by schools, childcare settings, hospitals, and other contexts and their potential for reinforcing cultural values and/or social inequalities. The course helps students develop a professional identify that includes a commitment to effective communication, critical reflection, social responsibility, ethical practice, and competence in working across interpersonal and social/structural barriers and borders.