Humanities Forums on Contemporary Issues is presented in partnership with the Madison Public Library.
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Humanities Now: A roundtable discussion |
The goal of the HUMANITIES NOW series is to bring thoughtful, in-depth, and interdisciplinary examination of current topics through the expertise of UW-Madison faculty.
Panelists:
Madison Public Library blog: Book Recommendations
View/Download the poster
Recording of the first talk
Harry Brighouse's lecture notes
Harry Brighouse's powerpoint slides
Sally Schrag's talk
Brighouse's slides recapping the 1st part of the series & laying groundwork for the 2nd
The text of Anne Lundin's talk
Powerpoint slides from Carole Trone's presentation
Unfortunately, we had some technical difficulties recording the lectures and discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 13, so we cannot provide an mp3 file of that night.
Do school, family and society help children flourish? Or is childhood disappearing? Topics will include: school & home; work & play; marketing to kids; the history of childhood; and more.
We all care about children, and making sure that they have flourishing lives and good childhoods. But do we do a good job? And what is a good childhood anyway? There is widespread agreement about what counts as good physical and cognitive development, there's abundant controversy about emotional and moral development and flourishing in childhood itself. Are we exposing our children to too much stress? Does our culture introduce them too early to sexuality? Why is it controversial whether the law should prevent parents from beating their children, but not that it should prevent adults beating each other? Should schools resist the culture of materialism and how far should they go in teaching morality to children?
The Good Childhood will explore all these questions and more. The panelists include a historian, a philosopher, an expert on children's literature, and a child development expert. But we hope the audience will bring their own expertise to bear on exploring the important questions of what a good childhood is and what we can do to promote it.
Panelists:
Harry Brighouse is a Professor of Philosophy and Affiliate Professor of Educational Policy Studies at University of Wisconsin , Madison . His main project within education is an exploration of a number of school reform ideas such as school choice, democratic schools, and small schools, in the light of an egalitarian theory of educational justice. His most recent book, On Education (Routledge, 2006), addresses topics directly related to this series of talks and he is currently writing a book with Adam Swift called Family Values: Liberal Equality, Parents, and Children.
Anne Lundin is Professor, School of Library and Information Studies, UW-Madison, where she has taught courses in children's literature and storytelling for 14 years. Her research interests are in the cultural history of children's literature and children's librarianship. Her most recent book, Constructing the Canon of Children's Literature: Beyond Library Walls and Ivory Towers (Routledge, 2004), is a social critique of the classics.
Sally Schrag helped develop and was one of the instructors in the MATC Early Childhood Program for many years. Before that, she supervised preschool student teachers at the UW. She has an abiding interest in all aspects of the lives of young children and their parents.
Carole Trone earned a Ph.D. in Educational Policy Studies with a concentration in educational history in 2005 from UW-Madison. She has written, presented and taught on the history of education and childhood. Currently, Carole is President of the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY), a statewide non-profit educational organization headquartered in Madison.
If interested in participating in the continuation of this conversation, you can sign up for the Good Childhood mailing list by sending an e-mail with your contact information to center@humanities.wisc.edu.
