HIST301 — The History of Childhood
HIST 301 - The History of Childhood HIST 301 - The History of Childhood (3 credits) This course explores the history of childhood and youth in the Americas (Latin America, the United States, the Caribbean, and Canada) from roughly 1500 to the present. Organized thematically, the course examines how children and young people experienced and shaped major historical transformations, including encounters between Indigenous peoples and Europeans, colonization, revolution, nation-building, Progressive reform, the post-World War II baby boom, the social movements of the 1960s and 1970s, and the contemporary era. Across regions and time periods, students analyze age as a social, cultural, and legal category and examine how societies constructed and contested the meanings of “childhood” and “youth.” By centering young people as historical actors, the course highlights how ideas about dependency, innocence, labor, education, and citizenship influenced broader patterns of power, reform, and social change. Students engage with historical scholarship and primary sources to develop comparative perspectives and strengthen their skills in historical analysis and interpretation. Grade or P/NC. alternate years (usually fall semester). Course Registration