MA Childhood Studies

University of Essex

This module draws predominantly on psychosocial studies, sociology, and childhood studies and aims to explore and respond to debates at the forefront of childhood studies and of the experience of being a child. The historical development of both childhood studies and the concept of `children` and `childhood` are outlined and you are introduced to core disciplines including developmental psychology, psychoanalysis and sociology. You will be encouraged to reflect upon the position of certain bodies of knowledge within the field of childhood studies. This includes analysing the figure of the child embodied within each disciplinary approach and interrogating how this is manifest in theory and in children`s everyday lives. The module will use this foundation to go on to discuss core aspects of the conceptual frameworks which guide or govern childhood studies including agency, subjects, actors, relationality, and generation. Included crucially here are approaches to the rights, voices and participation of children.

This module introduces students to the philosophies and practical tools which characterise research with children to enable students to undertake primary research in their dissertations and future professions. The module considers a range of methodological approaches to both quantitative and qualitative research. Specific tools such as surveys and questionnaires, observation, interviews, focus groups, ethnographic approaches, and virtual approaches, are examined and practiced. You will critically consider ethical issues in research with children, adult and child power relations, and spaces and places of research with children and young people, including schools, children's homes and the therapeutic space.

The study of emotions in the social sciences was a once relatively neglected field and now is one burgeoning with a huge diversity of different perspectives, approaches, and priorities. This module will explore how such understandings of emotions as social, developmental, individual, unconscious, discursive, and collective are applied to the study of childhood and to children's experiences. Within this module you will be introduced to the historical study of emotions in sociology and consider how children`s emotional development is framed in developmental psychology, psychoanalytic studies and neuroscience perspectives. The module will explicitly propose and consider the benefits of a psychosocial approach to understanding children's emotions and apply such perspectives to a range of topical issues in relation to children`s emotional experiences, wellbeing, and mental health.

This module `Geographies of Children and Youth` will critically examine the diverse experiences of children and young people across time and space and consider how the discursive and material construction of childhood is shaped by these geographical concepts. Theoretical frameworks such as post-structuralism, post-colonialism, and critical race theory will be deployed to examine core issues in childhood studies such as home and homelessness, institutions and the institutionalisation of childhood, the street, cultural and community participation, and nation and nationhood. A critical approach to children`s rights is adopted throughout, taking a rights-respecting approach while evaluating the articulation and application of rights to diverse childhoods and children`s lived experiences.

The sociology of childhood emerged in the latter part of the twentieth century, developing the well- established paradigm of the social construction of childhood to examine the active construction of children`s lives, the lives of those around them and of the societies in which they live. This module on `Relational Childhoods` will critically explore the dominant theoretical assumptions that lie behind the social construction of childhood, developing an interdisciplinary perspective that can integrate the relational aspects of three related disciplines, sociology, developmental psychology and psychoanalysis. Relational concepts such as `habitus`, `love and learning` and `interdependencies` will be used to examine core issues in childhood studies such as parenting in families and educational institutions.

This module provides the framework for students to complete their dissertation projects. Dissertations are an important and represent an intellectual journey where students can apply the knowledge gained and use this in a creative way to deepen understanding of themes and issues they are interested in. Time and energy can be devoted, in a supported environment, to demonstrate something significant about your insights and understanding. It can be thought of as the culmination of your course. Although you should be thinking and working on dissertations by developing ideas and exploring literature throughout the year it will be mainly written over the summer term and summer vacation period. Throughout this time you will be supported by your dissertation supervisor.