Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies
(Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences)
Childhood and Youth Studies (CHST) Courses
Introduction to Childhood and Youth Studies
An introduction to multiple approaches to studying childhood and youth through a diverse range of historical periods and cultural contexts. Students will apply an interdisciplinary lens to explore the ways that children and youth have been discussed, researched, and understood.
Lecture and discussion groups three hours a week.
Experiential Learning in Childhood and Youth Studies
An examination of the philosophies, purposes, methods, techniques, and issues of childhood and youth studies through engagement with children and youth in campus and community settings. Students will make connections to theoretical and curriculum frameworks and current debates and perspectives.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Lecture and discussion three hours a week.
Introduction to Research Methods in Childhood and Youth Studies
An introduction to the foundations of research involving children and youth. Students will learn research paradigms and strategies for designing and conducting research with children and young people. Ethical considerations and the involvement of children as co-researchers will be emphasized.
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Lectures and discussion groups three hours a week.
Children's Literature
Introduction to the critical study of children’s literature.
Precludes additional credit for ENGL 2006 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): second-year standing or permission of the department.
Lectures three hours a week.
Conceptualizing Adolescence in Childhood and Youth Studies
A comprehensive interdisciplinary overview of key issues, research, and theoretical developments in the study of childhood and youth. Students will explore the different and often conflicting conceptualizations of adolescence and examine youth theories and their implications.
Lectures three hours a week.
Special Topics in Child Studies
Analysis of selected topics relevant to theory, research, and practice involving children and youth. The choice of topics will vary from year to year. Students should consult with the Institute regarding the topic offered.
Lectures three hours a week.
Research Seminar
This seminar is designed for students who wish to complete an Honours research project in their 4th year. Students will select a topic of study, investigate methodological and ethical considerations, and implement the key steps involved in designing rigorous research projects in diverse settings.
Prerequisite(s): CHST 2003 and third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Seminar three hours a week.
Critical Approaches to Child Development
A critical examination of philosophical, ideological, and discursive perspectives on childhood and youth. Students will analyze normative constructs reproduced in developmental discourses and research, particularly concerning gender, racism, disability, and oppressive practices.
Prerequisite(s): Third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Lecture three hours a week.
Children's Knowledges, Cultures, and Representations
An analysis of the ways children construct social relations through cultures and systems of representations. Students will investigate how children’s knowledges and identities are constructed through their relationships with the world and develop theoretical and practical approaches for working with children from diverse cultures.
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Seminar three hours a week.
Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education and Care
A study of historical, contemporary, global, and local conversations about the professional field of early childhood education and care and its diverse practices and contexts. Topics may include reconciliation, anti-racist pedagogies, asset-based practices, inclusiveness, caring in context, and critical reflection.
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Lecture and discussion groups three hours a week.
Youth Culture and Activism
An exploration of youth cultures and participation in local, national, and global contexts. Students will examine youth engagement and advocacy, including definitions of citizenship, theories of resistance, the construction of “youth” as a social category, and the impact of technology and social media.
Seminar three hours a week.
Literary Representations of Childhood and Youth
An examination of the ways in which childhood, children, and youth have been represented in creative literature (fiction, poetry, drama, and/or creative nonfiction).
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing, or permission of the department.
Seminar three hours a week.
Race, Childhood, and Youth
An examination of historical and contemporary issues, debates, and methodologies pertaining to the studies of race, ethnicities, and racialization in childhood and youth studies. Students will also theorize the intersectionality of race, racism, racialization, racial and ethnic formations, nationalism, and colonialism in a contemporary context.
Seminar three hours a week.
Children, Policy, and Practice
An introduction to the concepts of policy and practice and how these are influenced by history, economy, geography, and culture. Topics may include provincial, national, and international economic, social, and educational policies concerning children and youth.
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Lecture three hours a week.
Children’s Rights
This course examines children’s rights from a range of historical, cultural, and global perspectives. Topics may include the rights for Indigenous children, children with disabilities, female, trans and queer children, children in armed conflict and refugees in Canada and transnational contexts.
Precludes additional credit for CHST 3901 (no longer offered).
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies.
Lecture three hours a week.
Disability and Childhood: Transnational Perspectives
Drawing on theory and research in disabled children’s childhood studies, sociology of childhood, disability studies, and girlhood studies, this course examines the discursive and material constructions of disabled youth and childhood in transnational contexts in relation to emerging neo-colonial, neo-imperialist, and neo-liberal ideologies.
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies or Disability Studies, or permission of the department.
Lecture three hours a week.
Childhood and Youth in Indigenous Contexts
An introduction to indigenous perspectives and contexts, both historical and contemporary, in relation to practice with Indigenous children, youth, families, and communities. Students will explore critical theory and necessary protocols for respectful entry into child and youth care practice within Indigenous contexts.
Prerequisite(s): third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies or Indigenous Studies, or permission of the department.
Seminar three hours a week.
Nature, Childhood and Youth
In this course, students will learn about the different ways in which human-nature relationships have been conceptualized in the interdisciplinary literature; the evidence base pointing to the power of nature as teacher of foundational life-skills; and current approaches to nature-based learning.
Prerequisite(s): Third-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies, or permission of the department.
Lectures three hours a week.
Service-Learning in Community Settings
Students will learn to apply their knowledge pertaining to children and youth to a policy- or practice-oriented work environment. Students will complete a term paper and other assignments documenting gains in experiential knowledge. Graded SAT/UNS.
Prerequisite(s): students with third- or fourth-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies may apply to the Undergraduate Advisor for permission.
Field placement six hours per week in a community setting, and regular class forum.
Advanced Topics in Child Studies
In-depth analysis of theoretical, empirical, and applied topics related to children and youth in Canada and/or internationally. Topics may include poverty and social inequality, child and youth health, social media and social change. This course is repeatable when the topic changes.
Seminar three hours a week.
History of 'The African Child'
Students will analyze the history of the figure of ‘the African child’ using a range of visual, sources from colonial officials, anthropologists, historians, advertisers, charity and development workers, and African children themselves.
Also listed as AFRI 4003.
Precludes additional credit for CHST 4001 if taken in 2014-15.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year standing.
Seminar three hours a week.
Theories of Inclusion in Childhood and Youth Education
An examination of the ways that educational discourses construct and perpetuate marginalization of disadvantaged individuals across historical, political, and educational contexts. Students will explore inclusive and exclusive approaches to education and care and how these discursive and material conditions shape the learning experiences of children.
Seminar three hours a week.
Children, Youth, and Popular Culture
A critical examination how popular culture, including consumer culture and digital media, mediates the identities, aspirations, and experiences of children and youth. Students will engage in critical dialogue about media culture and ideology and use cultural production to explore counter-narratives to problematic media representations.
Seminar three hours a week.
Queer and Trans Youth
An examination of the ways that queer and trans youth have been conceptualized in research, media, literature, policy, and education. A range of multimedia sources will be used to explore the ways queer and trans youth are using language to render themselves intelligible.
Seminar three hours a week.
Independent Study
A reading or research course for students who wish to investigate a particular topic of interest within Childhood and Youth Studies. Students may not take more than one credit of Independent Study in their total program.
Prerequisite(s): fourth-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies and IIS Co-Director approval.
Honours Research Project
Interdisciplinary research project for students in the Honours Research Project stream. Projects will be completed under the supervision of a CHST faculty member. Students must contact the CHST Program Advisor to request approval to register in this course.
Prerequisite(s): CHST 3101, fourth-year standing in Childhood and Youth Studies with a Major CGPA of 10.0 or higher, and permission of the CHST Program Advisor.
Note: Not all courses listed are offered in a given year. For an up-to-date statement of course offerings for the current session and to determine the term of offering, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca.
Summer session: some of the courses listed in this Calendar are offered during the summer. Hours and scheduling for summer session courses will differ significantly from those reported in the fall/winter Calendar. To determine the scheduling and hours for summer session classes, consult the class schedule at central.carleton.ca