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Part-Time, Distance & Continuing Education

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Youth and Children’s Studies

1911-2011 | Wilfrid Laurier University

1911-2011 | Wilfrid Laurier University

What is a child? What is a youth? And what does it mean to be a

child or a youth in the contemporary world? Laurier Brantford’s new Honours program in Youth and Children’s Studies uses these questions as the basis for an exploration into the worlds and issues of children and youth. In order to truly understand children and youth in the 21st century, we need to examine the many worlds they inhabit: school, home, cultural and religious groups, peer groups, neighbourhoods, media communities, and even “brand tribes.” This program looks at children and youth from many different perspectives, using tools from psychology, criminology, media studies, indigenous studies, health

studies, literature, and history. The program

looks at children and youth not just as objects of academic inquiry, but as subjects and agents in their own right,

who engage with and impact the wider world around them.

Students will graduate with a deep and rigorous understanding of issues relating to children and youth now and in the past, and will have a range of skills that will help them approach contemporary social, cultural, educational, legal and health issues that face children, and those who work with them, today. Graduates of the program will be well positioned for a career in education, either with further study in a Faculty of Education program or in other areas that are growing due to the provincial government’s new emphasis on early child development in Ontario. Youth and Children’s Studies also provides an excellent basis for future study and work in social work, family law, social services, and children’s advocacy.

The Honours Youth and Children’s Studies programThe Honours Youth and Children’s Studies program is structured around a “spine” of courses that are designed to synthesize the material students learn in a range of disciplines. This spine includes an inter-

disciplinary introduction to the study of children and youth, a history of children and youth, a Community Service-Learning placement, and a 400-level senior seminar. In addition to the spine, students take courses in three different areas: youth and children in society, youth and child cultures, and child and youth development.

About the programYouth and Children’s Studies is offered as an Honours Bachelor of Arts. Normally taken over four years, it consists of 20 credits, of which a minimum of 9.5 are in Youth and Children’s Studies. Require-ments for Contemporary Studies will also be completed.

Contemporary StudiesLaurier Brantford’s curriculum includes Contemporary Studies, an innovative program designed to provide students with an understanding of the issues, opportu-nities and problems of the 21st century. The program emphasizes an innovative approach to learning that is problem-centred, interdisciplinary and emphasizes the basic skills necessary for success in any field.

Youth and Children’s Studies

Beginning in 1950 and up until very recently, North American children went door-to-door Trick or Treating for UNICEF every Halloween. Dr. Tarah Brookfield is a historian who studies the history of childhood and family, with a specialty in child welfare during wartime.

“UNICEF’s Halloween campaign was one of many programs dedicated to improving children’s health and safety after the Second World War,” says Brookfield.

“It represented a new international commitment to child rights and is part of a long tradition of using children to inspire charitable giving.”

Brookfield is interested in understanding how war affects children’s lives and the definition of childhood, a concept that has fluctuated over the centuries. Students in Brookfield’s course, Children and Youth Through the Ages, will be asked to compare

and contrast what it meant to grow up in Ancient Rome, Medieval Europe, Colonial America and present day Canada.

“Of course, growing up as a Roman boy from a noble family in the 5th century BC was very different than being an enslaved African American girl during the US Civil War,”

Brookfield explains. “Yet in both cases there would be a shared experience of being treated differently than an adult because of their age and size.”

Maximize your options Options are collections of courses that allow you to incorporate an accompanying area of study with your honours degree courses. An Option can be a strong addi-tion to your degree, providing additional skills and a broad knowledge base that appeals to prospective employers. Laurier Brantford offers a diverse collection of Options, many offered only at the Brantford campus, including the Management Option, Environment and Society Option, Indigenous Studies Option, International Development Option, Media Studies Option and the Public Relations Option.

Environment and Society OptionThe Environment and Society Option provides students with the skills to develop a background on the current state we find our world in, and investigate the links between our values and behaviour, and the challenges that lie ahead.

Indigenous Studies OptionThe Indigenous Studies Option takes a holistic approach and explores various issues and topics from a variety of perspec-tives to foster a greater understanding of indigenous peoples, their history and their place in the contemporary world.

International Development OptionThe International Development Option provides students with a firm grasp of development, global governance and the institutions of the global economy, enhancing their capacity to implement programs and policies in NGOs, public organizations, education avenues and international organizations.

Management Option The Management Option provides students with an understanding of the core prin-ciples in the world of business, including accounting, marketing, management, operations and finance. Combining an arts degree with knowledge of the fundamen-tals of business is one way to significantly enhance your future job prospects.

Options to enhance your degreeYouth and Children’s Studies

ADMISSIOn InfORMATIOn

for the most up-to-date information about admission to Laurier Brantford, go to www.wlu.ca/admissions.

Not many professors can include playing Pokémon as part of their job description, but for Dr. Lisa Wood it’s all in a day’s work. Dr. Wood completed her PhD in English Literature, with a focus on didactic fiction written after the French Revolution, and now specializes in children’s toys and media.

It’s not as big a shift as it seems, she explains. “The didactic fiction I studied aimed to teach moral and social lessons to the ‘rising generation’ of youth through stories. Games like Pokémon transmit messages about the world to children while entertaining them.”

In Dr. Wood’s course, Children, Toys and Media, students explore how the global children’s media and toy industries influence children, and also how children participate in and sometimes resist consumer culture.

“Since children spend more time using media than in any other activity, it’s important for anyone working with children to have a thorough understanding of children’s use of television, video games, and the internet.”

Dr. Wood is very excited about the new Youth and Children’s Studies program, which she was instrumental in developing. “Children and youth inhabit many different worlds, not just the family and the classroom. If we really want to understand their experiences, we need to look at all these different contexts using a broad range of approaches.”

Children and youth inhabit many different worlds, not just the family and the classroom.

Your future starts here

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While every effort has been made to ensure this publication is accurate at time of printing, the information contained herein is subject to change without notice. LIAS

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Your future starts hereMedia Studies OptionThe Media Studies Option is designed to develop increased media literacy, including critical thinking about the validity of information available through technology. The program will provide a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms from print and video to online content, in a world where “wikis” and user-generated content allow for a collaborative approach to infor-mation creation and distribution.

Public Relations OptionThe Public Relations Option provides students with a unique opportunity to take courses in journalism, leadership and business in order to develop a broad understanding of organizational life and the critical written and oral communication skills needed by those working in public relations.

Youth and Children’s Studies Sample CoursesStudying Youth and Children: An Introduction

Youth and Children Through the Ages

Youth and Children’s Studies Community Service- Learning

Senior Seminar in Youth and Children’s Studies

Children’s Rights

Children and Music

Children, Toys and Media

Youth Culture in Film

Children’s Health

Developmental Psychology I: Infancy and Childhood

Developmental Psychology II: Adolescence and Young Adulthood