- Cross-Cultural Development

Catalog description

An examination of child development from a cross-cultural perspective, with a special focus on understanding how cultural norms, psychological research, and power structures impact: clinical and medical practices, parenting/babyhood practices, notions of education/learning/work, and the development of cognitive, “moral,” and social processes. In addition to gaining an understanding of the current state of empirical psychological research on cross-cultural development, students will gain the ability to apply insights about cross-cultural development from anthropology, sociology, and history to the study of psychology. More generally, students will question and critique the development of policies and norms related to children, and will ask questions like: Who gets to decide what “normal,” “healthy,” and “good” childhood environments look like? In what ways do powerful individuals and institutions police, restrict, and limit child development? What are the consequences for violating cultural norms during development, and can we seek justice for those who have been wronged? In this way, students apply what they have learned about cross-cultural development to critical questions of power and justice in contemporary America.