The Acquisition of Culture: Social Processes in Cross-Cultural Perspective

The Acquisition of Culture: Social Processes in Cross-Cultural Perspective

HDEV 403 Section 2

Spring 2015

Thursday2:00-4:45

Classroom: LA5 347

Instructor: Dr. Christine El Ouardani

Office: LA3-200E

Email:

Office Hours: Tuesday 9:45-10:45 am; Thursday 5-6 pm

Course Description: In this course, we will explore how people acquire culture in a globalizing world context by examining how cultural practices and ideologies are transmitted, shaped, and transformed within and across generations. We will consider socialization processes as central to social reproduction, as well as sources of innovation and change. We will also emphasize individuals as active agents in these processes. Although studies of socialization often focus on early childhood, the development and socialization of the individual continues throughout the lifecourse. We will thus not only consider how young children acquire cultural competence, but will examine how socialization continues in adolescence and in adulthood. Using texts from the fields of anthropology, psychology, and sociology, we will examine socialization processes in a variety of historically-situated institutional settings—the family, school, the workplace, and religious and medical institutions.

Course Objectives:

Upon successful completion of the course students will:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of cultural acquisition processes throughout the lifecourse and

their importance in human development;

2. Develop a heightened understanding of how cultures are constructed, experienced, and

received around the globe;

3. Understand the methods employed in examining socialization processes across the disciplines

of anthropology, psychology, and sociology;

4. Demonstrate enhanced critical thinking and writing skills.

Required Texts:

Ralph, Lawrence. 2014. Renegade Dreams: Living Through Injury in Gangland Chicago. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Required books are available at the CSULB Campus Bookstore.

Additional require and recommended readings are available in digital format via the BeachBoard course website: beachboard.csulb.edu. These readings will be located in the HDEV 403 “Online Readings” module.

Course Assignments and Grading:

Final grades will be based on fulfilling the following requirements:

1. Class Attendance, Participation, and In-Class Assignments: (250 Points=25%)

Attendance is mandatory. Students should read all assigned texts and be prepared to engage in active discussions of these texts during class. Students are expected to engage in classroom discussions of readings and assignments and in small group activities. Throughout the semester, I will assign written work in-class that will need to be turned in at the end of class.

2. Reading Compliance Quizzes and Discussion Questions: (250 Points=25%)

This class is focused on the close reading and discussion of the texts assigned for class, rather than general lectures on particular topics. For that reason, it is imperative that you come to class having done the readings. Before coming to class each Thursday, you will be asked to complete a reading compliance quiz on Beachboard on the readings for the week. I will also ask you to propose 2-3 discussion questions to cover in class. Discussion questions should focus on something you found confusing, problematic, or interesting about the reading. They may also be designed to compare the texts in question to other texts we have read. These quizzes must be completed by 12:00 pm on Thursday.

3. 2Critical Response Paper Assignments: (300 points=30%)

For these two critical response papers (3-5 pages each), I will ask you to build upon insights that are derived from course readings and class discussions by critically engaging with one or more texts from the class. I will provide you with assignment guidelines for your critical response papers, along with a specific prompt for each paper. Detailed assignment instructions will be provided on Beachboard in advance of assignment deadlines (BeachBoard Assignments Module.)

Paper #1 Due: Thursday, February 26

Paper #2 Due: Thursday, April 9

4. Take-Home Final Assignment: (200 points=20%)

The final assignment will be an 8-10 page essay that is based upon course materials and that provides you with an opportunity to consolidate your mastery of the material we covered in this course. I will give you several different topics to choose from for the essay, or you can propose your own project. These papers will be due on Friday, May 15 at 12:00pm.

**All course assignments should be submitted via BeachBoard (Assignment Submission Dropbox.)

Course Policies

Attendance Policy:

All students are expected to attend all classes and I will take attendance during each class session. If you will be absent from class for an approved reason, let me know in advance. The university’s excused absence policy can be found here:

Withdrawal Policy:

Instructor will sign withdrawal forms upon request.

Disabled Student Services:

It is the student’s responsibility to notify the instructor in advance of the need for accommodation of a university verified disability.

Scholastic Dishonesty:

I have a zero-tolerance policy towards plagiarism. Any student caught plagiarizing will receive an “F” on the assignment in question and a report will be filed with the campus Academic Integrity Committee. More than one instance of plagiarism will result in a final, failing grade for the course. If you have any questions as to the proper way to cite another person’s words or idea or whether something in your writing may constitute plagiarism, do not hesitate to contact me in advance of the assignment due date.

Cell Phones and Laptops:

The use of laptop computers and tablets is permissible for purposes of note-taking only. I reserve the right to ban or otherwise regulate laptops if there is excessive use of social media or non-course related activity in the classroom. I will especially ban laptops if I receive complaints from other students that they are distracted by this non-sanctioned activity.

The use of cell phones (including text messaging) is not permitted in class. In the event of an emergency, attend to any calls in the hallway.

Schedule

*This schedule is subject to change, based on the instructor’s assessment of student needs and interests.

Week 1: January 22

Introduction and Course Overview

Balmes, Thomas (Director and Producer) (2010.) Babies. United State: Focus Features. (In-class viewing.)

Week 2: January 29

What is Culture? What is Socialization?

Rogoff, Barbara. (2003). Orienting concepts and ways of understanding the cultural nature of

human development. In B. Rogoff (Ed.), The Cultural Nature of Human Development,

(pp. 3-36.) Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Gaskins, Suzanne. (1999). Children’s Daily Lives in a Mayan Village: A Case Study of

Culturally Constructed Roles and Activities. In ArtinGoncu (Ed.), Children’s Engagement in the World: Sociocultural Perspectives (pp. 25-61). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Week 3: February 5

Learning Through Explicit vs. Informal Instruction

Paradise, R. & B. Rogoff. 2009. Side by side: Learning by observing and pitching in. Ethos,

37, 102-138.

Hart, B. and Risley, T.R. 2003. The early catastrophe: The 30 million word gap by age 3.

American Educator: 4-9.

Blum, Susan D. and Kathleen C. Riley. 2014 Selling the Language Gap. Anthropology News,

55.

Week 4: February 12

Emotion Socialization: Anger and Aggression

Miller P. and Sperry L.L. (1987). The Socialization of Anger and Aggression. Merrill-Palmer

Quarterly, 33, 1-31.

Briggs, Jean. 1978. “The Origins of Nonviolence: Inuit Management of Aggression.” IN Learning Non-Aggression. Ashley Montague (ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. Pp. 54-93.

Trembaly, R.E. 2002. Prevention of by early socialization of aggressive behavior. Injury Prevention, 8: 17-21.

Week 5: February 19

Emotion Socialization: Guilt and Shame

Fung, Heidi. (1999). Becoming a moral child: The socialization of shame among young

Chinese children. Ethos, 27, 180-209.

Bambi Chapin. 2014. Childhood in a Sri Lankan Village: Shaping Hierarchy and Desire.

Chapter Three. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Chapter 3, “Socializing

Desire: Demanding Toddlers and Self-Restrained Children,” pp. 42-69.

Stuewig, Jeffrey and Laura A. McCloskey. 2005. The relation of child maltreatment to shame

and guilt among adolescents: Psychological routes to depression and dependency. Child

Maltreatment, 10: 324-336.

Week 6: February 26

Paper #1 Due

Socialization in Preschool

In class screening of Tobin, Joe (Director and Producer.) Preschool in Three Cultures: Revisited.

Week 7: March 5

School and Gender

Throne, Barrie. (1994). Gender Play: Girls and Boys in School. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Chapters 3-5, pp. 29-88.

Week 8: March 12

Work

Hochschild, Arlie Russell. (2012). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling.

Berkeley: University of California Press. Chapters 1, 2, and 3 pp. 3-55.

[Available as an E-Book through the online library catalog.]

Week 9, March 17

Religion

2004: ‘Metakinesis: how God becomes intimate in contemporary US Christianity.’American

Anthropologist. 106(3): 518-528.