Human Development in Context

3 Credits · Level: Graduate, Undergraduate

This course is designed to introduce graduate students to the theories and research about the contextual influences on human development. The study of human development generally, and systems/contextual influences specifically, is by nature an interdisciplinary enterprise. As such, most of our readings will come from psychology but we will also draw from sociology, policy, legal scholarship, and related disciplines. Students are encouraged to do the same in their own work for this course. The first part of the course will examine ecological, life course, and systems theories of development. Then, we consider many of the major developmental contexts highlighted by those theories, including those settings in which individuals have direct experience (e.g., neighborhoods, schools, child care settings) and macro-level influences that set the stage for daily life (e.g., culture, socioeconomic status, policy). Each of the topics we cover is complex and could be the source of semester-long study in and of itself. For that reason, my intent is to give you an overview of the constructs and some sense of the theoretical, empirical, and application issues. The examples and topics within each week are meant to be illustrative, not exhaustive. Throughout the course we will step back from the theories and data to consider the researcher in context as well – what are the issues in conducting research in context?