Exuberance, excitement, social expansion, risk-taking, experimentation, breaking away, testing limits. Anxiety, peer pressure, competition, parental pressure, work and school, drugs and alcohol, test scores. These are some of the challenges that make adolescence one of the most intriguing and disturbing stages of life. But adolescence is only one stage on a continuum of human development that begins in infancy and extends into old age. At each stage, we have hurdles to climb over, tasks to complete, experiences to absorb, lessons to learn. Yet in contemporary society the extended period between childhood and adulthood seems to capture all the attention. Why? This class on human development takes a close look at one of the most confusing, exciting, and critical phases of development, the pre-teen and teen years. Using literature, TV and film, as well as articles and books from the field of human development, the course will explore how children grow into teenagers, how they survive the challenges of adolescence, and how they become productive adults. Note: This course fulfills the Human Behavior (GB) requirement for students under GenEd and the Individual & Society (IN) requirement for students under Core.
Students cannot receive credit for this course if they have successfully completed Education 0919.