Social and Cultural Dynamics of Development and Socialization

Course goals

Content

Development and socialization of children, adolescents, and young adults take place in social and cultural contexts that shape and interact with developmental trajectories. A variety of ecological models of development have been introduced to do justice to these complexities. In addition to the proximal social contexts in the family (parents, siblings) and among peers (social networks, friends) that have been addressed in previous courses, in this course, we will examine how youth development and socialization are affected by larger social and cultural contexts, including social and physical environmental systems (e.g., neighborhoods, schools, countries). Over time, these systems evolve and influence each other. To understand development from adolescence to adulthood, this course recognizes not only contextual influences at multiple levels (micro to macro), but also their embeddedness within each other.
 
In this course, we will first examine the underlying mechanisms of these fundamental processes; in particular the way personal characteristics interact with the social and cultural context. We will then apply the knowledge of these mechanisms to important societal and global changes and dynamics (e.g., the digitalization of the social world, the growing health inequalities in Western countries), taking into account recent scientific studies and insights with respect to youth issues and outcomes. In extension to this, we will discuss the way research findings can and may be translated for a broad audience of professionals working in the field of youth development, for policymakers, and for laypeople.