Fall 2009 Doctoral Seminars

J670 History of Curriculum Thought in the United States

Instructor: Professor Keith Barton
When: Tuesdays, 1-3:45pm

This course will examine conflicting ideas about the nature and purpose of elementary and secondary school curricula over the past 150 years. We will focus on relationships and struggles among the works of leading theorists, enacted curricula in schools, and larger social and political contexts—including ideas about race, class, gender, and national identity. Readings will include primary and secondary works on topics such as bilingual education and the assimilation of immigrants, vocational vs. academic curricula, conservative and “radical” curricula, education of girls, and the evolution of school subjects. Students will become familiar with current trends and research methods in the field of curriculum history and will complete an original, guided research project into a topic of their choosing.