Course Description
Integration of theoretical and research literature as it pertains to study of human development over the life span with an emphasis on contextual-systemic approaches to family and individual development.
Athena Title
LIFE-SPAN HUM DEV
Equivalent Courses
Not open to students with credit in CHFD 8710
Prerequisite
CHFD 8700
Semester Course Offered
Offered fall
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
This course is the core seminar and is an intensive analysis of the foundations of Human Development and Family Science. The course covers a variety of different theoretical approaches to the study of Human Development over the life-span, with an emphasis on the systemic-contextual metaphor for individual and family development. The overall objective of the course is to challenge the student's thinking, reading and writing about the subject matter of child and family development.
Topical Outline
1. A general orientation to models of development including the mechanistic and organismic world views of science and the logic of studying lives over time. 2. An in-depth examination of the Ecological Model of Human Development with a special emphasis on the theorizing of Bronfenbrenner and his students. 3. An examination of the biological and genetic bases of development 4. An in-depth examination of the Life Span and Life Course Principles with a special focus on both the psychological and sociological perspectives on development. 5. An examination of the research literature that illustrates the life span and/or ecological approach to development with a discussion of their relevance to a science that integrates both individual and contextual approaches to change over the life course. Special focus on the family will be emphasized in both theory and method.
Syllabus