CT413E - Adoption: Past and Present
Contemporary Studies – Wilfrid Laurier University
Dr. Tarah Brookfield
Wednesdays 11:30-2:20 – Fall 2013
From Left to Right: Painting “The Orphans” by Thomas Kennington (1885); Mother giving child up for adoption Saigon
airport (c. 1975); Sculpture, “The Search” by Jean Paton (2013)
Contact Information: tbrookfield@wlu.ca or 519-756-8228 ext. 5792
Office Hours: RCW 309 - Wednesdays 9:00-11:00 or please make an appointment.
1. Course Description
This is an interdisciplinary course that draws on history, social work, anthropology, psychology, women’s
studies and other fields to analyze the creation and consequences of adoption in Canada’s past and
present. The course will analyze the origins and evolution of child welfare solutions for children without
parents, and the experiences these children had with institutional care, fostering, and domestic and
international adoption. It will also consider contemporary issues in adoption, including changing social
work practices, the impact of technology and media, and the ethics of adoption. The course will play close
attention to how understandings of race, class, gender, and nationality affect adoption practices and
perceptions of adoptees, birth mothers, and adoptive parents.
2. Readings
Students will be expected to read approximately 100 pages a week. Readings include scholarly articles,
fiction and testimonials from people with a personal connection to adoption:
 CT413E Coursepack
 Veronica Strong-Boag, Fostering Nation? Canada Confronts its History of Childhood
Disadvantage (Waterloo: Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2011)
 Bruce Gillespie and Lynee Van Luven, eds. Somebody’s Child: Stories about Adoption
(Touchwood Editions, 2011)
3. Evaluation
Type
Participation
Proposal
Draft
Essay
Journal
Bonus
Value
30%
5%
5%
30%
30%
2%
Due Date
Weekly
Oct. 2
Oct. 30
Nov. 20
Dec. 4
Meeting With Instructor (Before Week 6)
4. Assignment Details
A. Weekly Participation – 30%
Participation comes in many forms. Most importantly, it means you are expected to attend every seminar
and come prepared to discuss the weekly topic and readings. All students should actively and regularly
contribute to the ebb and flow of the discussion and debate by sharing their ideas, responding to
questions, asking questions, and respectfully listening to their classmates’ contributions. Please note,
students will be evaluated on the quality, rather than the quantity of their participation, however each
student should contribute a minimum of twice per seminar.
Participation is graded out of 3 each week. 0=absent, 1=weak, 2=good, and 3=excellent. The instructor
will use your top 10 marks (out of 11) to calculate your participation grade. If you miss class, you cannot
make up weekly participation marks. Halfway through the term the instructor will provide you with
feedback on your participation.
B. Essay – 40% in three parts
This research-based essay will allow the student to investigate a topic related to the course themes.
Research for the essay will involve a minimum of 5 scholarly sources (articles or books written by
academics and published by a scholarly journal or press). This may include up to 2 sources read in class.
You should also include 3 non-scholarly sources. Depending on your topic, the non-scholarly sources
may include newspaper articles, documentaries, adoption memoirs, historic documents, literature, or
adoption websites.
***If you choose to perform an interview or in any way involve human participants in your research, you
will need to consult with the instructor about Laurier’s policies and practices involving research with
human subjects and complete an ethics approval form and submit it with your proposal.***
Suggested Topics: Fostering and Foster Care, Home Studies, Open Adoption, Baby Farming, Infertility,
Single Parent Adoption, LGBTQ adoption, Special Needs Adoptions, Social Work practices, Maternity
Homes, Orphan Trains, Adoption Resources for Children, Adoption Resources for Adults, Nature-Nurture
Studies, Abandonment, Attachment Theory, Celebrities and Adoption, Analysis of adoption in literature,
film or TV, Teenage Pregnancy, Ageing Out, Surrogacy, Costs of Adoption, Biological Family, Adoptive
family, Reunions, International Adoption in a particular country, Siblings and adoption, Indigenous
communities, Orphanages, Interracial adoption, Adoption Resources, Home Children, Law, Child
Development, Stepparent adoption.
This assignment has three stages to help develop your writing and research:
On October 2, you will submit a 2-3 page proposal, double spaced (5%). This includes a rationale for the
proposed topic, a list of three research questions, a preliminary thesis statement and an annotated
bibliography for the minimum number of sources.
On October 30, you will submit a 1-2 page draft, double spaced, which includes your introduction, your
thesis, and an outline of the rest of the essay (5%).
On November 20, the 12 page, double spaced, essay will be submitted (30%).
C. Journal – 30% 7 entries worth 5% each
On December 4 you will submit a journal that includes 7 entries: 1 on Fostering Nation, 1 on Somebody’s
Child, 1 on a film we watched in class, and 4 on weekly readings of your choosing. When selecting which
weekly readings to reflect on, you may only write on one reading from each weekly topic. Each entry will
be 3 doubled spaced pages for a total of 21 pages. The purpose of these entries is to demonstrate your
comprehension of the course material and share your thoughts on how they contributed to your
understanding of adoption.
Each entry should include the following:
A. Identify Argument and Main Themes – What was the author’s main argument? What themes did
they use to explore their argument? (For the fiction readings, films and Somebody’s Child – there
is no academic argument, so just focus on main purpose and themes.)
B. Methodology –What evidence did the author use to construct the arguments? What are the
strengths and weaknesses of their research methods? (For the fiction readings, films, and
Somebody’s Child – there is no academic research, but you should consider how these stories
came to be.)
C. Relevant comparisons – Relate the book to our other course material, current events, films or
class discussions.
D. What did you find most interesting about the reading?
E. How did the reading contribute to your understanding of adoption and other course themes?
It is recommended that you complete your entries soon after you finish reading each article, rather than
complete all the entries just before the deadline.
When quoting or referencing a specific section from any of the printed sources, please use citations.
D. Bonus (2%)
During office hours (or make an appointment), come by the instructor’s office at least once for a visit
before week 6 to ask a question about the course, get feedback on an assignment or talk about
something related to the university or post-Laurier goals. This helps both you and the instructor get to
know each other.
5. Course and University Policies:
Etiquette: All students are expected to arrive on time. Electronic equipment is to be used for course
related activities only. Cell phones, iPods and the usage of laptops for non-course related purposes are
prohibited.
Assignment Style: The written assignments should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman
font, with 1 inch margins. All written assignments require citations when using a direct quote or when
paraphrasing another author’s work. You may use MLA, APA or Chicago style for your citations and
bibliography.
Academic Integrity: Wilfrid Laurier University uses software that can check for plagiarism. Students
will be required to submit their written work in electronic form and have it checked for plagiarism through
Turnitin.com. For a more detailed explanation on Academic Integrity, see “What is Academic Integrity?”
(http://www.wlu.ca/academicintegrity.)
Assignment Submission and Late Policy: Assignments for this course are submitted electronically
through My Learning Space. They are due by 11:59 pm on the due date. Assignments submitted after
midnight will be considered late. Please leave enough time to not only finish your assignment, but to
submit it electronically. Late assignments are penalized at the rate of 3% per weekday and 6% per
weekend. Unless there is a university wide service notice of problems with Laurier’s My Learning Space
site, technical difficulties will not be considered valid reasons for avoiding a late penalty.
Extensions: The instructor will consider a request for an extension up until 1 week before an
assignment is due. After that, extensions are only issued under special circumstances and official
documentation must be provided.
Accessible Learning: Students with special needs are advised to contact Laurier’s Accessible
Learning Office for information regarding its services and resources. They are also encouraged to review
the Calendar for information regarding all services available on campus.
6. Topics and Weekly Readings
Week 1 – September 11
Introduction
Week 2 – September 18
The Orphan: Representations and Realities
Fostering Nation, Chapter 1
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables, (Toronto: Seal Books, 1908) 1-30.
Karen Dubinsky, “Babies Without Borders: Rescue, Kidnap, and the Symbolic Child,” Journal of Women's
History 19 (1) 2007:142-150.
Week 3 – September 25
Solution I: Institutional Care
Fostering Nation, Chapter 2
Charlotte Neff, “The Role of the Toronto Girls’ Home, 1863—1910,” Journal of Family History. 36(3) 2011:
286-315.
Mike Reid, “At Last a Practical Man Got a Gun: The Masculinity of Children's Aid, 1893-1912" Ontario
History; 103(2) 2011:150-168.
Week 4 – October 2
Solution II: Fostering
Fostering Nation, Chapters 3-6
Somebody’s Child, “Enduring the Goodness-of-Fit” 85-96.
Film: Wards of the Crown (2006) 42 mins
Week 5 – October 9
Solution III: Adoption
Patti Phillips, “"Financially Irresponsible and Obviously Neurotic Need Not Apply": Social Work, Parental
Fitness, and the Production of Adoptive Families in Ontario, 1940-1965,” Social History/Histoire Sociale
39 (78) Nov 2006: 329-361.
Jennifer E. Potter, “Adopting Commodities: A Burkean Cluster Analysis of Adoption Rhetoric,” Adoption
Quarterly, 16 2013:108–127,
Charlene E. Miall & Karen March, “Social Support for Changes in Adoption Practice: Gay Adoption, Open
Adoption, Birth Reunions, and the Release of Confidential Identifying Information,” Families in Society:
The Journal of Contemporary Social Services 86(1) 2005: 83-92.
Week 6 – October 16
Interracial & International Adoption: Origins
Karen Balcom, “"Phony Mothers" and Border-Crossing Adoptions: The Montreal-to-New York Black
Market in Babies in the 1950s” Journal of Women's History 19(1) Spring 2007:107-116.
Tarah Brookfield, “Maverick Mothers and Mercy Flights: Canada’s Controversial Introduction to
International Adoption,” Journal of the Canadian Historical Association 19(1) 2008: 307-330.
Karen Dubinsky: “A Haven From Racism? Interracial Adoption in the Canadian Imagination Since the
1950s" Mona Gleason, Tamara Myers, Leslie Paris and Veronica Strong Boag (eds.) Lost Kids:
Vulnerable Children and Youth in Canada, the United States, and Australia (UBC Press, 2011):15-32.
Somebody’s Child, “Abandoned but Loved” 59-64, “Adoptionland” 97-103, “Sisters at Last” 151-158,
”Meetings” 167-177.
Week 7 – October 23
Triad - Biological Parents: Secrecy & Stigma
Lori Chambers, “Adoption, Unwed Mothers and the Powers of the Children's Aid Society in Ontario, 19211969,” Ontario History 98 (2) Autumn 2006: 161-182.
Lori Chambers, “Newborn Adoption: Birth Mothers, Genetic Fathers, and Reproductive Autonomy,”
Canadian Journal of Family Law 26(2) 2010:339-393.
Somebody’s Child “The Letter” 17-26, “What It Is: The Unending Incompleteness of Life” 65-72, “The
Right Not to Know” 105-115, “Finding Sheila” 143-150, “A Mother Out of Time” 179-187, “More People to
Love” 199-205, “When Everything Goes Right: A Love Story, 227-236; Somebody’s Child, “The Adoption:
Helen’s Story” 159-166.
Film: A Girl Like Her (2011) 47 mins.
Week 8 – October 30
Triad - Adoptees: Vulnerability, Identity & Agency
Elsbeth Neil, “Making Sense of Adoption: Integration and Differentiation from the Perspective of Adoptive
Children in Middle Childhood,” Children and Youth Services Review 34(2012):409-416.
Maria Wydra, Karen M O’Brien and Erica S. Merson, “In Their Own Words: Adopted Persons’
Experiences of Adoption Disclosure and Discussion in Their Families,” Journal of Family Social Work
15(1) January 2012:62-77.
Somebody’s Child, “Edges” 9-16, “A Familiar Face” 27-33, “Sick Sisters” 73-83, “Overcoming Adoption:
from Genesis to Revelations” 117-129, “How I Met My Mother”, 137-142, Instead 207-217.
Film: Finding Christa (1992) 55 mins.
Week 9 – November 6
Triad – Adoptive Families: New Parents and Siblings
Lori E. Ross, Rachel Epstein, Scott Anderson and Allison Eady, “Policy, Practice, and Personal
Narratives: Experiences of LGBTQ People with Adoption in Ontario, Canada,” Adoption Quarterly, 12
(2009): 272–293.
Deborah H Siegal, “Open Adoption of Infants: Adoptive Parents’ Feelings Seven Years Later,” Social
Work 48(3) 2003:409-19
Kristen M. Norwood and Leslie A. Baxter, “Dear Birth Mother”: Addressivity and Meaning-Making in
Online Adoption-Seeking Letters,” Journal of Family Communication, 11 2011: 198–217.
Somebody’s Child, “These Foreign Places We Call Home” 35-45, “My Little Sister” 47-58, “Becoming
Real” 131-136, “Voices from a Family” 189-197.
Guest Speaker: Stacey Wilson-Forsberg
Week 10 – November 13
Indigenous Children, Colonialism & Child Welfare
Wendy Crichlow, “Western Colonization as Disease: Native Adoption and Cultural Genocide,” Canadian
Social Work 5(1) 2003: 88-107
Allyson Stevenson, “Vibrations Across a Continent, “The 1978 Indian Child Welfare Act and the
Politicization of First Nations Leaders in Saskatchewan,” American Indian Quarterly 37(1/2) Winter/Spring
2013: 218-236.
Simon Nutthens, “Stories of Aboriginal Transracial Adoption,” The Qualitative Report 18(3) 2013: 1-17.
Film: Foster Child (1987) 43 mins.
Week 11 – November 20 International Adoption Reconsidered
Peter Selman, “The Rise and Fall of Intercountry Adoption in the 21st Century,” International Social Work
(September 2009), 52 (5): 575-594.
Laura Briggs,” Feminism and Transnational adoption: Poverty, Precarity, and the Politics of Raising (other
people’s?) Children, Feminist Theory 13(1) 2012: 81-100.
Pamela Quiroz, “Cultural Tourism in Transnational Adoption: “Staged Authenticity” and Its Implications for
Adopted Children,” Journal of Family Issues 33 (4) April 2012: 527-555.
Somebody’s Child, “A Grandfather’s Perspective” 219-226, “Lost and Found” 237-247
Film: Art Star and the Sudanese Twins (2008)
Week 12 – November 27
21st Century Frontiers
Fostering Nation, Chapter 7
Philip Burge and Jean Haase, “Disclosure Issues in Donor-Assisted Conception: Can Adoption Point the
Way?” Canadian Social Work 5(1) Fall 2003: 29-42.
“How The Internet Is Revolutionizing The Adoption Process,” Talk of the Nation Washington, D.C.:
National Public Radio. (Dec 19, 2012) Link to Radio Show and Transcript
http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=5&prgDate=12-19-2012