Sounds of Childhood
This innovative course combines the academic study of childhood with the skills of sound production. Students will produce short sound pieces that explore the course’s main theme: the social construction of childhood. Childhood is an invented concept: prior to the 16th century, the idea of “child” as distinct from “adult” did not exist. Since that time, literature, history, sociology and psychology have helped to articulate the now distinct category “child.” We will read histories of childhood and literature from the 19th -21st centuries that represents childhood’s developing articulation in fiction. We will explore the sociology of childhood, including its raced, classed, and gendered dimensions, to see the variety of childhoods that simultaneously exist. We will engage with psychology to examine the inner life and emotional constructions of young people as they navigate the institutions that structure their life experiences. These academic explorations will culminate in an original research-oriented sound piece that explores historical or contemporary constructions of childhood and a public listening event that will showcase student work. Professor Tiger will assist with course planning and will periodically attend class sessions.