HDFS 254NReading Our Lives: Understanding Diversity and Human Development through Memoirs

3 credits · Human Development and Family Studies · Penn State

Students will explore the way people and their environments interact to influence human development through the integration of memoirs and other personal narratives, humanist themes and methods of inquiry, and social science theory and research. The personal narratives will expose students to the diversity of human experience including differences in gender, race, socioeconomic status, cultural and historical contexts. To frame and inform discussions of each memoir, students will examine relevant social science theories and research. The social science material will include key developmental frameworks such as lifespan development and ecological systems theory, and micro- and maco-level contextual factors influencing development, such as interpersonal relationships, cultural norms, and structural constraints. Students will also examine core humanist themes relevant to each memoir, such as values, cultural relativism vs. universalism, narratives and objective facts, structure and agency. Students will learn to read, interpret, and integrate information from the humanities and social sciences. They will learn to critically reflect on their own experiences, perceptions, and values, while developing an understanding of other people's experiences, perceptions, and values. Students will also learn to engage in compassionate, informed, and knowledge-generating discussions to understand the complexity of human experiences.