Cross Cultural Human Development

BSPY220 - Cross Cultural Human Development

Credits: 3

This course examines human development from conception through late adulthood, with attention to how culture shapes physical, cognitive, emotional, and social change across the lifespan. Students study major developmental theories, landmark studies from each life stage, and the research designs used to investigate developmental change. Identity serves as a central focus, as students consider how racial, ethnic, gender, and class identities form within cultural contexts and how practices such as play, rites of passage, and gender roles vary across communities. Drawing on psychological, sociological, and anthropological research, students analyze how privilege, power, and oppression shape prejudice and social stratification in a diverse society.