Winter 2014/Fuller Online
MD575
Scott
MD575: CHILDHOOD: GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE. David H. Scott.
DESCRIPTION: This course is a survey of the recent interdisciplinary field of Childhood Studies as a source of greater understanding for mission and ministry. It presents ways to integrate insights from theology, history, sociology, and cross-cultural psychology in order to consider specific topics in ministry with children such as spiritual development, the relationship between globalization and children/youth, children’s rights, and the more extreme challenges that some children and youth face globally.
LEARNING OUTCOMES: Students will be able to: (1) analyze children and assess the social phenomenon of childhood in a given context using theological, anthropological, sociological, historical and cross-cultural psychological theories in an interdisciplinary fashion; (2) explain the contributions of a variety of notable Christian theologians throughout the history of the Church on contemporary theological understandings of children; and (3) make recommendations for enhancing ministry and mission effectiveness based on new insights.
COURSE FORMAT: This course will be conducted online on a ten-week schedule aligned with Fuller’s academic calendar. Students are required to interact with the material, with each other, and with the instructor regularly through online discussions, reading, and other assignments that promote active learning. As part of this course students will also conduct at least four hours of participatory observation with a child of a different ethnicity from their own.
REQUIRED READING: 1596 pages total.
Course Reader [150 pp.]
Corsaro, W. A. The Sociology of Childhood. 4th ed. SAGE, 2013. ISBN: 978-1452205441, Pub. Price $50.00 [472 pp. assigned].
Fine, Gary Alan and Kent L. Sandstrom. Knowing Children: Participant Observation with Minors. Sage Publications, 1988. ISBN: 978-0803933651, Pub. Price $25.00 [88 pp. assigned].
Hay, David and Rebecca Nye. The Spirit of the Child. Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2006. ISBN: 978-1843103714, Pub. Price $26.95 [172 pp. assigned].
LeVine, Robert Alan and Rebecca S. New Eds. Anthropology and Child Development: A Cross-Cultural Reader. Blackwell Pub., 2008. ISBN: 978-0631229766, Pub. Price $51.95 [200 pp. assigned].
Stearns, Peter N. Childhood in World History. Routledge, 2011. ISBN: 978-0415598095, Pub. Price $31.95 [179 pp. assigned].
Strange, W. A. Children in the Early Church: Children in the Ancient World, the New Testament and the Early Church. Wipf & Stock, 2004. ISBN: 978-1592446681, Pub. Price $17.00 [123 pp. assigned].
Wells, Karen. Childhood in a Global Perspective. Polity Press, 2009. ISBN: 978-0745638379, Pub. Price $24.95 [212 pp. assigned].
ASSIGNMENTS AND ASSESSMENT: 100-120 hours total class time
Weekly activities engaging with assigned reading and lesson presentations (25%). [6-7 hours reading/week, 4 hours activities/week] LO1-3
A 3,000 word interdisciplinary analysis of the child being studied based on at least 4 hours of observation (20%). [4 hours observation, 12 hours research and writing] LO1
A wiki to be developed and presented to the class as a group project focused on one historical theologian’s teaching about children (20%). [20 hours reading, research, and group work] LO2
A 3,000 word assessment of a ministry or mission with children that you have studied and/or with which you have experience that includes recommendations for enhancing their work with children based on insights from the course (20%). [12 hours writing] LO3
An exam on the class material and reading (15%). [4 hours preparation, 1 hour exam] LO1-2
PREREQUISITES: None.
RELATIONSHIP TO CURRICULUM: Required class for Children at Risk emphasis.
FINAL EXAMINATION:Yes. Administered online.