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This course is intended to place current debates about childhood and children's
media technologies within their larger historical, social and technological
contexts. Students will examine children's culture (and the myths adults
construct for and about children) from psychological, sociological, anthropological,
historical, critical, pedagogical and technological perspectives. We will
also critically engage with key examples of books, films, television programs,
and digital media artifacts aimed at children. Our goal is to gain insights
into the nature of children's lives, their culture, their relationship
to the media, and the social institutions they confront. An intrinsic
part of the course will be to reflect on (and engage with) the problems
of creating new media for children, and recurrent efforts by adults to
regulate children's culture and play.
Format: 2 discussion/lecture periods; a weekly lab session which
combines screenings (film, TV, Web, etc.), hands-on interaction with children's
artifacts (toys, games, videogames, etc.) and discussion.
Required Books:
For your shopping convenience, we have made links to all necessary books
(except the Course Reader) on Amazon.com.
Henry Jenkins (Ed.) The
Children's Culture Reader
Justine Cassell and Henry Jenkins (Ed.) From
Barbie to Mortal Kombat: Gender and Computer Games
J.K. Rowling, Harry
Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Neal Stephenson, The
Diamond Age
Sigmund Freud, Three
Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
Carlo Collodi, The
Adventures of Pinnochio
Course Reader
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