Bachelor of Arts (Honours) - Childhood and Youth and Politics (LL92)

Childhood & Youth is an exciting, multidisciplinary subject in which students will explore a range of issues and challenges faced by children and young people in contemporary society, both here in the UK and on a global level. Drawing on key ideas from sociology, politics, history, social policy and cultural studies, the degree examines important questions about children and young people and the social contexts in which they live.

Topics studied include: how children and young people’s place in society has changed over time; how social class, poverty, gender, ethnicity, disability, social policy and so on impact children and young people’s lives; the role of risk and risk-taking in children and young people’s everyday lives and; how children and young people make sense of and help to shape their social worlds. In exploring such issues students will also look at various political debates and policy initiatives, as well as learning about various ways of researching with children and young people that aim to help them overcome the many challenges that they face.

With its strong emphasis on social justice and welfare, the degree will enable students to develop as critical social scientists who value their role within the academic community at Hope and who, as graduates, will be able to use their skills and knowledge to the benefit of their local community and society more broadly.

In this program of study, students will explore key ideas, institutions and politics in an international, national and local context. They will be taught by staff who are experts in their fields, who will teach them to engage with political research and develop the capacity to be an independent, critically-minded scholar. The course also aims to equip students with transferable skills to take into the world of work.