Psy 318. Adolescent Development
Wednesday 1:30 - 4:20 p.m.
Cleveland Hall 109, Wells College
Spring 2009
Instructor: Dr. Muñoz vmunoz@wells.edu
Teaching Assistant: Heather Frost hfrost@wells.edu
Heather will have office hours on:
Mondays 7 – 9PM Long Library
Tuesdays 1 – 3PM Macmillan 310
Click for: Research Paper Template
UPDATE for April 22 Class:
1. Article by Linda Prieto. Click to download as PDF. Please read for class
discussion: THE STINGS OF SOCIAL HIERARCHIES: From the Central
San Joaquin Valley Vineyards to the Ivy Walls
2. Annie John, pp. 72 – 148
3. Be sure to also read the PDF, Poor, Black, Learning Disabled, and Graduating
An Investigation of Factors and Processes Associated With School Completion
Among High-Risk Urban Youth, Christopher Murray & Jason Naranjo Brittany,
Betty, Emma (student led discussion)
4. Oral Presentation sign up: see under each week in syllabus.
Previous Updates
Assignment UPDATES For April 15 Class:
1. Annie John, pp. 3 – 71
2. Course Reader: See Week 12 for PDF download
3. Recommended: Presentation by Loren Krywanczyk, Middle School Teacher,
March 6, 2009, TransRhetorics Conference, Cornell University, “There Are
Transsexuals In Our Middle Schools!”
4. Recommended, but not required: finish Bone
5. Outline of your Independent Research Project: Be prepared to discuss what you
will be doing, articles you have found, the focus and purpose of your project.
6. Sign up for oral presentations of projects: April 29 and May 6.
Previous Updates:
Busy week, this week! We will discuss last week’s readings as well as the ones
assigned for this week.
1. New due date for Analysis Paper: April 8.
2. See April 1 & 8 in the syllabus for Bone reading assignments.
3. What are you planning to study for your research paper?
4. Guidelines for Analysis Paper. Click to download.
 Heather now has office hours. Email her or stop by. I especially encourage you to
discuss your ideas for your autobiography with Heather. Also, talk with her about
how to lead an interesting class discussion.
 Begin to think about the focus of your research paper. I will ask you to discuss
ideas in class.
 Check to be sure you are on the syllabus to lead a class discussion. Discussion
leaders are in red.
This syllabus will be updated throughout the semester. Please check back on a
weekly basis for new downloads and class materials.
Dr. Muñoz , Macmillan 310, Tel. 364-3248,
Faculty Webpage: click here
Office Hours: click here
Required Books*
Bone. Fae Myenne Ng. Hyperion. 2008. Paperback ISBN: 1401309534
Two or Three Things I Know For Sure. Dorothy Allison. Plume. 1996. Paperback ISBN:
0452273404
Rue Ordener, Rue Labat. Sarah Kofman. University of Nebraska Press.1996.
Paperback ISBN: 0803277806
Annie John: A Novel.Jamaica Kincaide.Farrar, Straus and Giroux.1997. Paperback:
ISBN: 0374525102
The House on Mango Street. Sandra Cisneros. Mcgraw-Hill College. 2000. Paperback
ISBN: 0072435178
A Course Reader is also required. The Reader will contain historical and
contemporary scholarship on adolescent development. Articles will be handed out in
class. Readings will also be downloadable in PDF format and are clickable from the
syllabus. It’s a good idea to get a folder to keep all of the copies in one place and to
make a separate folder on your computer desktop for the PDF ones so you don’t have
to print them out. These readings will be the “textbook” part of the course.
*All required books are available on reserve in the library.
Detailed Course Description
What happens in adolescence? Why is this a time in the life cycle that merits its own
course of study? When does adolescence begin? When does it end? What are the
critical aspects of adolescence? Turning points? What is the role of relationships and
intimacy? Is there an identity crisis? What are the vulnerabilities of this developmental
moment? Is adolescent development universal or is it culturally grounded and specific?
How does globalization affect adolescents?
When you were an adolescent what were the most important questions to you? What is
it that you wanted to know? What did you do to answer your own questions?
I raise these many questions because one of the distinguishing aspects between what
is known as “childhood” and what is called “adolescence” are the questions that are
important at these two times in the life cycle. The questions of childhood give way to
questions of how to enter “adulthood.” This transition from childhood to adulthood –
cognitive, cultural, social, historical, relational, and economic – is called adolescence.
What happens during transitional times in the life cycle?
We will critically explore "adolescence" as a socio-cultural and psychological construct
and the ways in which this time in the life-cycle, perhaps more than any other time,
focuses our attention on questions such as, "Who am I?", "Where am I going?", "What
will be my work?", "Who will I love?" and how these questions are mitigated by gender,
ethnicity, race, class, and sexuality.
Theories on adolescence explored are those of Anna Freud, Erik Erikson, and Jean
Piaget as well as the more recent theorists who study the intersection of gender, race,
sexuality and class as part of psychological development during adolescence. We will
examine intellectual and moral development, vocational development, intimacy and
sexuality, schooling and learning, and femininity and masculinity and their roles in
identity development during adolescence.
We will take a case study approach. The autobiographical novels will be examined
through the various lenses provided by psychological theories of development. While
we study others, we also study ourselves. We will consider the question: what does it
mean to be a psychologist interested in adolescent development? What makes this time
in the life cycle worthy of its own area of study? How will you study a time in the life
cycle that might be close to your own moment in time of development or not all that far
away?
Films Throughout the semester we will view films, both documentary and from
popular culture, that will help us further understand the time period in the lifecycle we
call "adolescence." We will use seminar time to view and discuss the issues raised in
these films. Sometimes we will view the complete film, other times we will view selected
sections.
Course Assignments (100 possible points total)
1. Participation (10%) and leading Class Discussion (10%): Your participation in
the class through discussion of the readings and films is required. Participation that is
clearly informed by a careful reading of the texts with an eye to exploring and
understanding the theories is especially encouraged. My goal is to get you to read,
think, understand, and learn about other points of view in a critical manner.
-- Leading a Class Discussion: Each student will be responsible for leading one
discussion. Your preparation for this will include making a hand-out with an outline
containing questions for the class to consider based on the readings and the films. Plan
to spend 30 minutes leading the discussion. You can take various approaches to
encourage discussion; plan an activity, have group work, show a film clip, do free
writing. Do not repeat what we have all read, instead explore the reading from your
perspective.
2. Autobiography (25 %): Anna Freud finds that we have a difficult time recalling the
emotional intensity of adolescence once we are adults. This assignment is a challenge
to that assertion. In this autobiographical essay recall in as much detail as you can (and
would like) an experience during adolescence that you feel was (or is) critical in your
own development. 5 pages minimum - 7 pages maximum. The Autobiography is due
February 25 at the beginning of class.
3. Analysis of Autobiography (25%): In this paper you will take your autobiography
or case study and conduct an analysis of the experience by taking some of the
theoretical perspectives we have read and discussed and bringing this to your own
experience. The goal of this paper is to shed some analytical light on your experience
as well as to try out some of the theories to see if they help you to understand your own
development and thus the development of others. 5 pages minimum - 7 pages
maximum. The Analytical paper is due April 8 at the beginning of class.
4. Independent Research on Adolescent Development (30 %) Choose an area of
adolescent development that you would like to study further. Through a review of the
current literature explore this topic. Ten primary sources required. This assignment will
take the place of a final exam. 10 – 15 pages. You should begin working on this by April
8 the latest. Each student will present their research to the class during the last two
weeks of the semester. The 15 minute oral presentation will be worth 10%, the paper
itself will be 20%.
The paper will be due during finals week when final exam time is scheduled. TBA
Attendance and Assignments
Attendance is required. Only absences for documented illness or emergencies will
be excused without penalty. Each absence lowers your final course grade by a
grade. For example, say your earned final grade is an A but you have one
unexcused absence, your final grade will be A-. If you have two unexcused
absences your final grade will be B+, and so forth.
Assignments are due in class as written in the syllabus. Assignments handed in late
will be graded a letter grade lower for every late day, the day they are due will be
included as the first day.
ALL written work must be double-spaced, 12 point font, black ink, and be in APA
format. Please spell-check and proofread ALL work. Written work that does not
follow APA format will be graded down accordingly.
Please note: No assignments will be accepted via email.
Learning Outcomes
Critically analyze psychological theories of development by examining the underlying
assumptions about human development within the theories;
Understand how identity development is influenced by race, class, ethnicity, gender,
sexuality, immigration, colonialization, and the historical moment;
Develop awareness of the many aspects of diversity during adolescence;
Develop cultural competency in relation to working with adolescents of color;
Develop awareness of the ways in which privilege structures how adolescents develop
psychologically.
Course Links & Documents:
Racial and Ethnic Development Charts (PDF format)
Jean Phinney, "A Three Stage Model of Ethnic Identity Development"
Janet Helms, "An Overview of Black Racial Identity Development"
Chavez and Guido-Dibrito, Racial and Ethnic Identity
Damon Williams, Overcoming the Brutal Facts:Building and Implementing a
Relentless Diversity Change Process
The Holocaust Education Program Resource Guide
Armenian National Institute
Dorothy Allison, Notes to a Young Feminist
SCHEDULE OF READINGS & ASSIGNMENTS
WEEK 1: Jan 28
Overview of the course and Introductions.
What is unique about adolescence as a time in the life cycle? Why do we study this time
separately from childhood and adulthood? Should we?
Begin to think about the autobiography of adolescence. Keep a journal of thoughts over
the next few weeks.
Readings for next week handed out in class.
WEEK 2: Feb. 4
Course Reader:
"Adolescence" Anna Freud
"Adolescence" J. Piaget
The Ethnicity of Adolescent Research, Roger J. R. Levesque
Film: Country Boys
Sign up to lead class discussion.
WEEK 3: Feb. 11
GUEST SPEAKER: Jennie Huling ’08 will present on “Breaking the Silence: Gender
and Violence.” Jennie is a Domestic Violence Advocate/Educator in Auburn.
Film: Tough Guise & Dar Williams “When I Was A Boy” & Pearl Jam “Better Man”
Course Reader:
C. Gilligan, "Exit-Voice Dilemmas in Adolescent Development." pp. 283-300.
E. Erikson, "Eight Stages of Man," from Childhood and Society, pp. 247-284
Self-made Motormen: The Material Construction of Working-class Masculine Identities
through Car Modification, Andrew Bengry-Howell & Christine Griffin Beth
`Chillin’, Being Dogged and Getting Buzzed’: alcohol in the lives of female gang
members, GEOFFREY HUNT, KAREN JOE-LAIDLER & KATHLEEN MACKENZIE
Aleris
WEEK 4: Feb. 18
Rue Ordener, Rue Labat, Sarah Kofman
Course Reader:
E. Erikson, "The Legend of Hitler’s Childhood," from Childhood and Society, pp. 326 –
358
WEEK 5: Feb 25
Course Reader:
Carol Gilligan, “Crisis and Transition,” from In a Different Voice, pp. 106 – 127
Ego Identity, Ethnic Identity and the Psychosocial Well-Being of Ethnic Minority and
Majority College Students, Gemima R. St. Louis & Joan H. Liem
Autobiography due at beginning of class
WEEK 6: March 4
Two or Three Things I Know For Sure, Dorothy Allison
Brushed behind the bike shed: Working class lesbians’ experiences of school, Yvette
Taylor*,University of Newcastle, UK Asa
Prevalence and Stability of Sexual Orientation Components During Adolescence and
Young Adulthood, Ritch C. Savin-Williams · Geoffrey L. Ream
Alex and Brittanie
Who’s Gay? Does It Matter?, Ritch C. Savin-Williams, Cornell University
Daniel
WEEK 7: March 11
The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros
“Culture Is the Way They Live Here”: Young Latin@s and Parents Navigate Linguistic
and Cultural Borderlands in U.S. Schools, Sally Brown, Mariana Souto-Manning
Nicole & Michaela
Course Reader:
Where "Something Catches" Muñoz – Chapter 7: Getting Out of Trouble or Getting
What You Want & Chapter 11, Peace, Justice, and Development.
WEEK 8: March 18 – No class. Spring break.
WEEK 9: March 25 -- Class canceled. Reading discussion moved to next week.
WEEK 10: April 1
From last week finish: The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, pp. 56 - 110
Karina L Walters, Jane M Simoni. (2002). Reconceptualizing Native women's health:
An "indigenist" stress-coping model. American Journal of Public Health, 92(4), 520-4.
Anna B.
A Longitudinal Study of Self-Esteem, Cultural Identity, and Academic
Success Among American Indian Adolescents, Nancy Rumbaugh Whitesell, Christina
M. Mitchell, Paul Spicer, and The Voices of Indian Teens Project Team
University of Colorado Denver
Lisa
Bone, Fae Myenne Ng, pp. 1 - 58
Discrimination Distress among Chinese American Adolescents, Jennifer M. Grossman
& Belle Liang
Anna F. & Karin
WEEK 11: April 8
Bone, Fae Myenne Ng, pp. 59 - 99
Ethnic Self-labeling in Young American Adults from Chinese Backgrounds, Lisa Kiang
Caroline
Analysis of Autobiography due at beginning of class
WEEK 12: April 15
Annie John, Jamaica Kincaide, pp. 3 - 71
Friendships and Romantic Relationships of Black and White Adolescents, Maria E.
Pagano · Barton J. Hirsch
Colleen, Tom, David
WEEK 13: April 22
Annie John, Jamaica Kincaide
Poor, Black, Learning Disabled, and Graduating An Investigation of Factors and
Processes Associated With School Completion Among High-Risk Urban Youth,
Christopher Murray & Jason Naranjo
Brittany, Betty, Emma
WEEK 14: April 29
Oral presentations: independent research on adolescent development.
1. Asa
2. Brittanie Q.
3. Caroline
4. Daniel
5. Karin
6. Anna F.
7. Alexandra
8. Lisa
9. Anna B.
10. Aleris
WEEK 15: May 6
Oral presentations: independent research on adolescent development.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Emma
Betty
Nicole
Brittany T.
Tom
Michaela
Dave
Colleen
Beth
Independent Research paper due during finals week. Exact day and time TBA.