CHILDREN IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE
(Sociology 318) at Illinois State University
Syllabus, Assignments, Timeline
Spring 2014
Course time and place: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 2:00-3:15pm, Schroeder 106
Course Professor: Dr. Maria Schmeeckle (please call me Maria)
Office: Schroeder 348
Phone: (309) 438-2932
E-mail: mhschme@ilstu.edu
Office Hours: Mondays from 10:30am-12:00pm, Thursdays from 1:30pm-3:00pm, and by appointment
Required Readings (the Ansell book is at the bookstores, and on reserve at Milner Library.)
Ansell, Nicola. (2006) Children, Youth, and Development. London: Routledge.
Reading Packet, available in Reggienet. (See full references at the back of this document.)
Documentaries will be on reserve at Milner.
Web sites, as assigned.
Welcome Letter
Dear Students,
This course has been designed with the intent to transform your thinking, speech, and behavior
related to the experiences of children, with a special emphasis on global-level influences and processes.
Sociology and related disciplines have increasingly been approaching topics from a global perspective, which is
extremely valuable as we navigate professional careers and personal lives in our interconnected 21st century.
The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989 has stimulated scholarly
interest in children and recognition of children as full social subjects in their own right, with agency and their
own unique perspectives about their situations. We will consider the diversity of children’s experiences as well
as current trends affecting children across the world. Children’s wellbeing is affected by different levels of
access to power across individuals, families, groups, communities, and regions. When we consider the
problems of children and youth across the world, the influence of large-scale social structures become more
visible, as well as the need to actively promote children’s vitality and longevity. Children are affected by larger
contexts: the political, economic, health, educational, technological, media, religious, cultural, and familial
social structures operating in and across societies. We will consider these topics and influences, as well as ways
to positively contribute to the lives of children. It is my hope that you will leave this course with the ability
and desire to get involved in efforts to promote the vitality and empowerment of children.
Your professor, Maria
Student and
Instructor
presentations
and blogs
Children’s
media
Student and
Instructor
Presentations
and Blogs
Topics
students
choose
Readings
and web
sites
Field
trip
Outcome related to Diversity and
Trends: Students will expand their
abilities to discuss diversity and trends in
children’s experiences globally.
Children’s
media
Exploration of an
organization
Readings
and web
sites
Service
Learning
Outcome related to Voice and Action:
Students will increase their ability to speak
articulately about children’s issues,
recognize children’s choices/participation,
and learn how to get involved with
organizations in order to benefit children.
Transformational Goal:
The purpose of this course
is to enhance students’
global and sociological
understanding of children’s
experiences, and their
knowledge about how to get
involved in promoting the
vitality of children in our
interconnected world.
Outcome related to a Global
Perspective: Students will expand
their abilities to think about
children’s experiences at a global
level scale.
Readings
and web
sites
Global
organizations
Student and
Instructor
presentations
and blogs
Outcome related to Power and Inequality:
Students will develop their understanding of
how dimensions of power and inequality
shape children’s opportunities and lead to
advantages or disadvantages across the life
course.
Readings
and web
sites
Documentary
films
Student and
Instructor
presentations
and blogs
Requirements, Grade Percentages, and Key Dates (UNDERGRADUATE VERSION)
Name of Assignment
On-line Quizzes (best 10 of 11)
Student Blogs (10)
Discussant task & Participation
Service Learning
Field Trip
Synthesis Paper
% of Grade
30%
20%
10%
10 %
10%
20%
Date Due
ongoing/see timeline
ongoing/see timeline
sign up & ongoing
approximately 4/15
Jan. 23 (written work)
May 5 at noon
# Points
150
100
50
50
50
100
500
total
Number of points needed to obtain letter grades (undergraduates only):
A = 450 or above B = 400-449 C = 350-399 D = 300-349 F = under 300
Requirements, Grade Percentages, and Key Dates (GRADUATE STUDENTS)
Name of Assignment
% of Grade
On-line Quizzes (best 10 of 11)
25%
Student Blogs (10)
17%
Discussant task & Participation
8.3%
Service Learning
8.3 %
Field Trip
8.3 %
Synthesis Paper
17%
Supplemental Paper & Presentation
17%
Date Due
ongoing/see timeline
ongoing/see timeline
sign up & ongoing
approximately 4/15
Jan 23 (written work)
May 5 at noon
March 25 or 27
# Points
150
100
50
50
50
100
100
600
total
Number of points needed to obtain letter grades (graduate students only):
A = 540 or above B = 480-539 C = 420-479 D = 360-419 F = under 360
Special Needs
Students who need special accommodations in order to participate in the course should contact the Office of
Disability Concerns. The phone number there is (309) 438-5853.
Attendance Policy
Students are expected to attend class. On many days, there will be participation points given for student
contributions to class. These cannot be made up. If you must miss class, you are still expected to master the
content for the missed class session(s) by consulting with other students who were in attendance. You may
consult with me as well in office hours. Powerpoint slides (if any) will be posted.
Academic Honesty
Students are expected to be academically honest at all times. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense and will
not be tolerated. Make sure you are acquainted with University policies on academic dishonesty, published in
the University catalog and student handbook.
Brief Description of Assignments
On-line quizzes
The purpose of the quizzes is to reward you for keeping up with and understanding the assigned readings and
web sites for this course. These resources are the building blocks upon which our knowledge about children in
global perspective is built. After taking each quiz, you will be able to assess your basic comprehension and
retention of the readings for the week. To accomplish this, you will take quizzes on weeks when there is
assigned reading. Quizzes will be timed and you may refer back quickly to your readings during the quiz. At the
end of the semester, the lowest of the 11 quiz scores will be dropped.
Student blogs
The purpose of the blog assignments is to increase your ability to express yourselves articulately about
children’s issues, in a way that is publicly appropriate. We will each be constructing a blog in Reggienet. The
blog post assignments will enable you to demonstrate your enhanced ability to discuss children’s issues, as well
as to share your blog entries with your wider social networks. To accomplish this, you will complete 10 blog
entries across the semester; each blog will be worth 10 points. You will be given instructions about each one.
Blog posts should be relatively brief (3 paragraphs plus links or photographs) but should concisely demonstrate
a strong understanding of the assigned material. Posts will be graded using a rubric focused on depth of
understanding, application of key ideas, clear writing, and presentation style. Posts that are over a week late may
not be accepted for credit; please get in touch with me if your work is going to be late.
Discussant task and Participation
The purpose of the discussant and in-class participation tasks are to enhance your ability to orally discuss
children’s issues, and to broaden your knowledge of course topics by learning from your classmates. At the end
of this course, you should be able to speak articulately about children’s issues globally.
To accomplish this, each of you will present in-class regularly.
1.) You will serve as a discussion and synthesis leader on a designated day, launching from the
assigned material for that week. Reading discussants should prepare 1 to 2 single-spaced pages to turn in
to me, containing the following components: an idea outline highlighting some of the most essential
ideas from the readings, connections between these ideas and a) course themes and b) to previous
material already covered in the course, and several discussion questions to help the class consider the
sociological and global implications of the assigned material. This assignment is graded using a rubric
focused on identification of essential ideas, connections to course themes and previous content, and
insightful discussion questions for the class. (10 points)
2.) You will regularly contribute prepared ideas in class, highlighting material from your blog posts.
These short but important presentations will expand what all of us are exposed to, and will focus on your
reaction to our field trip to see The Penguin Project production of Grease: School Version, global trends
for adolescents, global agendas for children, global organizations focused on children, children’s media,
documentaries about children, important things you’re learning, service learning results and reflections,
organizations that resonate with your personal and professional goals, and final synthesis thoughts. In
addition, you will present the outcomes of your service learning work in mid-April. These in-class
comments are graded on a credit/no credit basis. (40 points)
Service Learning
The purposes of our service learning projects are to take small steps toward making a difference in the world for
children. You will do this through spending 15 or more hours enhancing cross-cultural awareness, working with
indicators about children for future display on a web site, or working in service to local children and youth.
More instructions will be forthcoming about each of these three options. Just before spring break, you will
report your hours and progress. By mid-April, you will submit a brief summary of activities, and your service
hours log.
Option #1: The first option is to participate as a conversation partner with an international student who
is studying at ISU’s English Language Institute this semester. For this project, we ask you to commit to
meeting one hour a week with your designated partner at a time that works for both of you. By
conversing each week, you will help another student learn to speak English better. In keeping with this
class, I would like you to have conversations about life in the country where your fellow student is from,
about childhood in that country, and about the specific childhood of your conversation partner.
Option #2: The second option is to volunteer in the after-school program of the Western Avenue
Community Center, which serves underprivileged children in Bloomington. For this project, you are
asked to commit to serving as an academic tutor all semester to a child in grade K-5 one afternoon a
week from 3:30-5:15pm. Western Avenue is a faith-based organization, but volunteers do not need to
have any particular beliefs to participate. For this option, it will greatly help to have access to a car or be
able to carpool with someone who does. Tutors help with reading, homework, enrichment activities and
recreation time.
Option #3: The third option is to assist behind the scenes with an informational web site that I am
creating (with collaborators). It is called Worldwide Outlook for Children. The part that we are working
on right now is to bring together in a publicly available, easily searchable electronic mapping database
current and historical global, transnational, and comparative data about children and youth, as a resource
for researchers, policymakers, practitioners, the media, and the public, particularly young people. Those
who choose this service learning option will explore sources of information about children that I direct
you to, and search for additional compelling indicators on web sites and in academic journals. You will
think of ways to make the indicators interesting and accessible to a diverse, public audience.
Option #4: This last option will not work for most, or possibly any of you. But in case you live locally
(or will be in the Bloomington area through June) and have a strong interest in working with specialneeds youth, you might consider working with The Penguin Project of McLean County. They will be
working with local youth to put on a performance in June, and are looking for young people to help the
actors with their parts and performances. It might also be possible to volunteer in some other way with
The Penguin Project locally if you are interested. There is actually an informational “meet and greet”
meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 14 (our first day of class) at 6pm at U-High's Stroud auditorium. If you wish to
pursue this, it can be a service learning option for you.
Service learning will be evaluated with a focus on the depth and breadth of your contribution, the organization
and presentation of the completed projects, and the effort put forth by each person. Each student will keep a log
of hours spent and tasks accomplished, and will briefly summarize service work at the end of the semester.
Field Trip
The purpose of our field trip is to step out of our comfort zone of the classroom and explore the voices and
talents of special needs youth in our region. Our outing will give us a fresh and different perspective about many
of the issues we will be studying in class. To accomplish this, we will attend and reflect upon The Penguin
Project’s production of Grease in Peoria during the weekend after our first week of class. From their web site:
“The Penguin Project ® was conceived by Dr. Andrew Morgan to give children with disabilities an opportunity
to participate in the performing arts. ‘Dr. Andy’ is a developmental pediatrician and the former Head of the
Division of Child Development at the University of Illinois in Peoria. He is the primary medical specialist in
Central Illinois involved in the diagnosis and treatment of children with disabilities, but has also directed and
performed in many community theater productions in the area. He created The Penguin Project ® recognizing
that theater not only provides children with a valuable recreational experience and an opportunity to display
their creative talents, but also enhances social interaction, communication skills, assertiveness, and self-esteem.
The Penguin Project ® strives to demonstrate that individuals with disabilities are fully capable of participating
in community activities with the same dedication and enthusiasm as others, if given opportunity and support.”
The details about the field trip were already sent to you in an e-mail before the class started, so check there and
please sign up in Reggienet if you have not already done so.
After the field trip, you will post on your blog and write a letter of feedback to The Penguin Project cast and
leadership, making connections between specifics from the performance you watched and the learning outcomes
in our class. The field trip project will be evaluated by considering the extent to which you connect The Penguin
Project production (with specific examples) to our course themes in your feedback letter. A simple rubric will
be created, focused on the use of specific examples from the production, and the depth of connections to course
goals.
Synthesis paper
The purpose of the synthesis paper is to concisely demonstrate the breadth and depth of knowledge about
children that you have attained from your active involvement in this course. At the end of the semester, you will
be able to connect children’s experiences in a variety of ways to a global perspective, diversity and trends,
power and inequality, and voice and action. To accomplish this, you will need to be actively involved in course
material and class activities all across the semester. Prepare your synthesis project in the form of a 5-6 page* (12
point font), double-spaced paper plus references. Draw as comprehensively as possible from course material to
demonstrate your new level of thinking. Organize the synthesis paper around our course themes of a global
perspective, diversity and trends, power and inequality, and voice and action, as they relate to children. Grading
will be based on organization and writing, depth and breadth of material from the course, ability to synthesize
course material, and level of understanding of course content.
* Note: For graduate students, the synthesis paper should be 10 pages.
Supplemental Paper and Presentation (Graduate Students only)
The purpose of the graduate student paper and presentation is to create an additional opportunity for graduate
students to learn about and share knowledge on a supplemental topic related to our course, and to create
additional learning opportunities for the undergraduate students. To accomplish this, graduate students will
prepare a 5 page double-spaced paper (plus references) and a 15 minute Powerpoint presentation (which will be
posted in Reggienet) on one of the following topics: 1) children’s experiences in another country that you are
familiar with, 2) children’s experiences in another country that you are interested in, 3) organizations focused on
children in the Bloomington-Normal community, 4) special protections and protocols pertaining to research on
children, drawing from the University’s Institutional Review Board human subjects training modules, 5)
children’s experiences in a particular realm such as labor, consumption, education, etc., and 6) children’s
experiences on another topic selected with the approval of the professor. The equivalent of at least three
academic journal articles should also be used as sources for this project. Graduate students are encouraged to
build upon a strong knowledge base that they may already have in topic areas related to children. They should
also relate their presentation materials to the major outcome goals of our course. Presentations should be emailed to me on the day they are presented, and will be posted in Reggienet to benefit our learning community.
Grading of the paper will be based upon organization and writing, and depth and breadth of understanding of the
topic. Grading of the presentation will be based upon organization of ideas, visual presentation, appropriate
pacing and volume of information, substantive contribution to knowledge, and presentation style.
Timeline
Jan. 14
Jan. 16
Class member introductions and introduction to the course. Course goals and assignments. What are aspects of a
global perspective? What do we mean by diversity and trends, power and inequality, voice and action? Theme
of this week’s readings: Conceptual and demographic perspectives. Assigned: Sign up for your preferred day
for the field trip, and arrange transportation if needed. Sign up for discussant tasks. Sign up for service
learning options. Read the James chapter, “Understanding childhood from an interdisciplinary perspective:
Problems and potentials,” the Zinnecker chapter, “Children in young and aging societies: The order of
generations and models of childhood in comparative perspective” (pgs. 11-39; pgs. 40-47 are optional), and the
O’Rand chapter, “Stratification and the life course: Life course capital, life course risks, and social inequality.”
On-line quiz #1 opens after class on 1/16 and will close at the start of class time on 1/23. Set up your blog
in Reggienet and be prepared to make entries. By January 23rd, prepare a professional, one- to two-page, singlespaced typed letter to the cast, crew, and leadership of The Penguin Project in Peoria with feedback about
the performance and connections to our course themes. In your letter, discuss connections between the field trip
and the learning outcomes that we are starting to explore in our class (see diagram with course goals), and use
specific examples from the performance. This will be due in class on 1/23. Complete your first blog post (in a
three paragraph format) regarding our field trip, giving highlights from your letter. This is also due on 1/23.
Field trip to The Penguin Project production of Grease in Peoria will occur on 1/17 (7:30pm), 1/18
(7:30pm), or 1/19 (2:00pm). Pick whichever day works best for you.
Jan. 21
Jan. 23
I will lead our first class discussion about the readings, and we will clarify any questions about the service
learning options. Theme of this week’s readings: Global diversity and trends related to children and youth.
Assigned: Read Larson articles, “Globalization, societal change, and new technologies: What they mean for the
future of adolescence” and “Conclusions: Adolescents’ preparation for the future,” Nugent’s executive
summary, “Youth in a Global World,” and the Gielen & Chumachenko chapter, “All the World’s Children: The
Impact of Global Demographic Trends and Economic Disparities.” Take on-line quiz #2. Make your second
blog post situating yourself within the world trends Larson et. al., Nugent, and Gielen & Chumachenko identify.
In other words, show how some of the world trends are applicable or not applicable to your own life.
Jan. 28
Jan. 30
Designated discussants launch from assigned readings (Discussant task #1). I will present more information
about the Worldwide Outlook for Children project and service option. All students present in class about how
they situated themselves among the global trends discussed in the readings. Themes of this week’s readings:
The emergence of academic research on childhood, and the international legal and intervention contexts that
surround children. Assigned: Read Watson chapter, “Children and their childhoods,” Skelton article, “Children,
Young People, UNICEF and Participation,” and Witteborn article, “The role of transnational NGOs in
promoting global citizenship and globalizing communication practices.” Take on-line quiz #3.
Feb. 4
Feb. 6
Designated discussants launch from assigned readings (Discussant task #2). Presentation about sex ratios,
female foeticide, and female infanticide. Themes of this week’s web site reading: UNICEF and its approach to
children’s participation, global conceptions of children’s rights. Assigned: Explore (as specified below)
designated web sites about the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Committee for the Rights of the
Child, the World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child, and UNICEF. Take on-line quiz #4. Make
your third blog post responding to the global agendas for children you’ve just learned about. Are you new to
the Convention on the Rights of the Child? Do you believe this treaty is useful? In what ways is it relevant to
your own childhood?
Read and watch ALL of the following material on web sites:
Convention on the Rights of the Child. Introduction and all sub-pages (about 16 pages). Other pages are
optional. UNICEF web site: http://www.unicef.org/crc/.
Committee on the Rights of the Child. Main Page (about 1 page). Other pages are optional. Office of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights web site:
http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/.
The World’s Children’s Prize for the Rights of the Child. About Us, What We Do, Laureates, the
Nominees 2013 (about 5 pages). Other pages are optional. Web site: http://worldschildrensprize.org/
UNICEF. Who We Are, What We Do, Frequently Asked Questions (about 3 pages). Other pages are
optional. General web site: http://www.unicef.org/.
Who We Are: http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_introduction.html
Frequently Asked Questions: http://www.unicef.org/about/who/index_faq.html
What We Do (note focus areas): http://www.unicef.org/whatwedo/
Top 10 Cartoons for Children’s Rights. Watch the Top 10 Cartoons (30 seconds each). Web site:
http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/video_top_cartoons.html
UNICEF Photography. Look at at least one of the photo essays (about 18 photos, with captions). Web
site: http://www.unicef.org/photography/index.php
Feb. 11
Feb. 13
Designated discussants launch from assigned web sites (Discussant task #3). Presentation about why the U.S.
has not ratified the UN CRC. All students present in class about global children’s rights and UNICEF web sites.
If time permits, service learning groups will have a chance to meet briefly. Theme of this week’s organization
research: Global NGOs (non-governmental organizations) and INGOs (inter-governmental organizations) and
their efforts to benefit children. Assigned: Research a designated global organization (among a list of options)
that is working to benefit children. Read one or more reports put out by the organization (totaling at least 60
pages). Make your fourth blog post introducing others to this organization, and the report(s) that you read. Be
specific, with some detail. No quiz this week.
Global organization options are as follows:
UNICEF. Web site for publications: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index.html
Innocenti Research Center. Web site: http://www.unicef-irc.org/
UNESCO
Programme for the Education of Children. Web site:
http://www.unesco.org/new/index.php?id=18622&L=0
Social and Human Sciences, focus on Youth. Web site:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/social-transformations/youth/
Youth Forum 2011. Web site:
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/socialtransformations/youth/youth-forums/7th-unesco-youth-forum/
World Health Organization
Child maltreatment. Web site: http://www.who.int/topics/child_abuse/en/
Child health. Web site: http://www.who.int/topics/child_health/en/
Save the Children International http://www.savethechildren.net/alliance/index.html
Various country branches of this organization have excellent publications. See country sites of
India, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, the U.K., the U.S.,
Child Rights Information Network. Web site: http://www.crin.org/
Human Rights Watch. Section on Children’s Rights.
Web sites: http://www.hrw.org/ and http://www.hrw.org/en/children
International Labour Organization. Focus on child labor.
Web site: http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/child-labour/lang--en/index.htm
Plan International
Web site: http://plan-international.org/
Feb. 18
Feb. 20
Students present in class about the global organizations they examined. We will watch previews of documentary
options. Themes of this week’s reading and media viewing: Global media consumed and produced by children
and youth. Assigned: Sign up for documentary options for the film project: Born into Brothels, Bus 174,
Children Underground, Precious Knowledge, Which Way Home, and Home/Land. Read Buckingham article,
“Childhood in the Age of Global Media” and listen to or view on-line approximately an hour and a half of
children’s media, choosing from options below. Take on-line quiz #5, based on the Buckingham article. Make
your fifth blog post specifying the children’s media you examined (with links to them), and connecting media
topics to what you have learned about diversity and trends in children’s experiences worldwide, children’s rights
and participation, and/or children’s media.
Children’s media options:
UNICEF TV and Radio: http://www.unicef.org/videoaudio/index.html
Children in Communication about Migration. Web site: http://www.chicam.org/index.html
Innocenti Research Center. Web site: http://www.unicef-irc.org/
Save the Children (may need to look on specific country sites). Web site:
http://www.savethechildren.net/alliance/index.html
Youth Radio/Youth Media International. Web site: http://www.youthradio.org/
Children’s Radio Foundation
http://childrensradiofoundation.org/
UNESCO Youth Forum 2011 blogs and videos
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/social-and-human-sciences/themes/youth/youth-forums/7th-unescoyouth-forum/from-the-youth-bloggers/
Plan International: Youth Media, and Development Web site: http://planchildrenmedia.org/spip.php?id_rubrique=2
Other children’s media, as approved by Maria.
Feb. 25
Feb. 27
Designated discussants launch from the assigned article (Discussant task #4). Students present in class about
selected children’s media. Innocenti (documentary). Themes of this week’s readings: Global models of
childhood and youth; Development, globalization, and poverty, as they affect children and youth. Assigned:
Introduction, and Chapters 1 and 2 in Children, Youth, and Development book. Take on-line quiz #6.
March 4
March 6
Designated discussants launch from assigned chapters (Discussant task #5). Check in about service projects and
submit service hours log so far. Themes of this week’s readings: Changing cultural contexts; Children’s health.
Assigned: Chapters 3 and 4 in Children, Youth, and Development book. Take on-line quiz #7. Make your sixth
blog post summarizing the main messages from the documentary you watched and connecting it to our course
theme of power and inequality.
Spring Break: March 10-14 No classes
March 18
March 20
Designated discussants launch from assigned chapters (Discussant task #6). You will work in groups and
present in class about the documentaries you watched (together you will give a short summary, recreate a
common scenario from the film, and give personal reactions). Themes of this week’s readings: Education of
children; Children’s work/labor. Assigned: Chapters 5 and 6 in Children, Youth, and Development book. Take
on-line quiz #8. Make significant progress toward your service learning project, keeping in mind that you
will summarize your work for the class on April 17.
March 25
March 27
Designated discussants launch from assigned chapters (Discussant task #7). Grad student presentation on a
special topic. Themes of this week’s readings: Children in especially difficult circumstances; Children’s rights
and participation. Assigned: Chapters 7, 8, and Postscript in Children, Youth, and Development book. Take online quiz #9. Make your seventh blog post describing the most 5-10 important things you have learned from the
Children, Youth, and Development book.
April 1
April 3
Designated discussants launch from assigned chapters (Discussant task #8). Presentation about categories of
structurally disadvantaged children in the U.S. and worldwide. Themes of this week’s readings: Childhood
sociology in multiple countries; Western biases in global interventions with children and youth. Assigned: Bass
article, “Childhood in sociology and society: The US perspective,” Buhler-Niederberger article, “Childhood
sociology in ten countries: Current outcomes and future directions,” and Wang article, “Importing western
childhoods into a Chinese state-run orphanage.” Take on-line quiz #10.
Finish service learning projects by April 15 (although some projects will continue until the end of the semester.
April 8
April 10
Designated discussants launch from assigned articles (Discussant task #9). Presentation about Brian Gran’s
Children’s Rights Index. Themes of this week’s readings: Global perspectives about addressing children’s
problems. Read Conticini article, “Surfing in the air: A grounded theory of the dynamics of street life and its
policy implications,” Schmeeckle articles, “Street Children,” “Orphans,” and “Foster Care,” and Sharma article,
“Personal to Planetary Transformation.” Take on-line quiz #11. Make your eighth blog post describing and
sharing the results of your service learning project. Which project did you do, what was important to you as you
prepared, do you feel you made a contribution, and what did you learn?
April 15
April 17
Designated discussants launch from assigned articles (Discussant task #10). Students present in class about their
service learning projects, and hand in a one-page, single-spaced summary of the work done and the service log
in class. Theme of this week’s research: Child-focused organizations that resonate with students’ professional
and personal interests. Assigned: Select a professional or non-governmental organization that resonates with
your personal and/or professional goals and has some kind of focus on children. Research the organizations’
web site thoroughly (reading at least 25 pages of information), and consider interacting with someone from the
organization. Make your ninth blog post introducing your chosen organization, summarizing what you read,
and explaining why it is so relevant for you. No quiz this week.
April 22
April 24
Students present in class about the child-focused organizations they found that resonated with their personal
and/or professional interests. The class revisits the idea of synthesis and what is expected for the synthesis
papers. Assigned: Work on synthesis papers. Tenth blog post sharing a few thoughts about what synthesis is,
how you are using synthesis to look back on the course, and what insights that process is bringing up for you.
No quiz this week. On April 24, there will be no class meeting (I will be at a conference). This gives an
opportunity to work on your synthesis papers.
April 29
May 1
If applicable, finish presentations about child-focused organizations that resonate with personal and/or
professional interests. Students will also present in class about the synthesis reflections they discussed in their
final blog posts. Please feel free to hand in your synthesis papers on the last day of class as an alternative to
dropping them off on Monday, May 5th.
Finals Week: Synthesis paper is due Monday, May 5th at noon. Drop off to the department office (Schroeder
332) or to me in my office (Schroeder 348).
Children in Global Perspective (Soc. 318), Spring 2014, Illinois State University
Reading References (in the order assigned)
Readings are posted in Reggienet for you…
James, Allison. (2004). Understanding childhood from an interdisciplinary perspective: Problems and potentials. Pp. 25-37
in Pufall, P.B. & Unsworth, R.P. (Eds.) Rethinking Childhood. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Zinnecker, Juergen. (2001). Children in young and aging societies: The order of generations and models of childhood in
comparative perspective. Pp. 11-52 in Hofferth, Sandra L. & Owens, Timothy J. (Eds.) Children at the Millennium: Where
have we come from, where are we going? Advances in Life Course Research, Vol. 6. NY: Elsevier Science Ltd.
Note: Only pages 11-39 are required. Pages 40-52 are optional.
O’Rand, Angela. (2006). Stratification and the life course: Life course capital, life course risks, and social inequality. Pp.
146-162 in Binstock, Robert H. & George, Linda K. (Eds.) Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences, 6 th Edition. NY:
Academic Press.
Larson, Reed W. (2002). Globalization, societal change, and new technologies: What they mean for the future of
adolescence. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(1), 1-30.
Larson, Reed W., Wilson, Suzanne, & Mortimer, Jeylan T. (2002). Conclusions: Adolescents’ preparation for the future.
Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(1), 159-166.
Nugent, Rachel. (2006). Youth in a global world. Washington, D.C.: Population Reference Bureau.
Gielen, Uwe P., & Chumachenko, Oksana. (2004). All the world’s children: The impact of global demographic trends and
economic disparities. Pp. 81-109 in Gielen, U.P. & Roopnarine, J. (Eds.) Childhood and adolescence: Cross-cultural
perspectives and applications. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Watson, Alison M.S. (2009). Children and their childhoods. Pp. 14-31 in Watson, Alison M.S., The child in international
political economy. New York: Routledge.
Skelton, Tracey. (2007). Children, young people, UNICEF and participation. Children’s Geographies, 5(1-2), 165-181.
Witteborn, Saskia. (2010). The role of transnational NGOs in promoting global citizenship and globalizing communication
practices. Language and Intercultural Communication, Vol. 10 (4), 358-372.
Buckingham, David. (2007). Childhood in the age of global media. Children’s Geographies, 5(1-2), 43-54.
Wang, Leslie. (2010). Importing western childhoods into a Chinese state-run orphanage. Qualitative sociology, 33: 137159.
Bass, Loretta E. (2010). Childhood in sociology and society: The US perspective. Current Sociology, Vol. 58: 335-350.
Buhler-Niederberger, Doris. (2010). Childhood sociology in ten countries: Current outcomes and future directions. Current
Sociology, Vol. 58: 369-384.
Conticini, Alessandro. (2008). Surfing in the air: A grounded theory of the dynamics of street life and its policy
implications. Journal of international development, 20, 413-436.
Schmeeckle, Maria. (3 encyclopedia entries currently under review for the forthcoming Encyclopedia of Family Studies).
1. Street Children 2. Orphans 3. Foster Care
Sharma, Monica. (2007). Personal to planetary transformation. Kosmos, fall/winter.