IE 471 Children and Youth in Global Context

Overview of Course

Experiences during childhood and adolescence vary dramatically around the globe. What drives these differences? And what is our collective obligation to do something about them?
Hundreds of millions of children around the world live in poverty, labor in unsafe conditions, are denied education, and remain vulnerable to exploitation. Yet millions more show extraordinary strength and resilience – families, communities, and governments are finding ways to help them thrive. This course lives in that tension.
We will use the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals as our roadmap – a framework for exploring the full landscape of children’s lives across the globe. Together we will dig into some of the most pressing issues: health and survival, education, child labor, child marriage, child soldiers, substitute care, and systems designed to protect and uplift children.
Using a risk and resilience framework, we will examine global, cultural, and social influences that shape children’s lives – with special attention to the countries we visit. Every port is an opportunity to move from theory to reality.
Students will have direct opportunities to observe and interact with children and youth from diverse cultures during field experiences. Classes will be engaging and full of hands-on activities.
The world’s children are watching. This course asks: what will you do with what you learn?