A social and cultural theory of child development
The cultural critique of psychology and human biology, particulary in relation to parenthood and child development, based on evidence from diverse human populations such as those of Africa and Japan, but also including those within Europe. This is a major area of my writing and teaching, as I developed an approach to human development grounded in global evidence and designed to replace the culture-bound understandings that claim scientific authority. In this case the critique is formulated in terms central issues in the psychological study of child development and deals with the nature-culture problem as it arises in that field.
My aim is to develop a social and cultural theory of child development which is sophisticated enough in the psychobiological approaches and the quantitative methods used to construct a social science alternative to what I see as a deeply flawed 'rush to biology'.
Professor of Education and Human Development and Professor of Anthropology, Harvard University.
Neuere Publikationen: Infant environments in psychoanalysis: A cross-cultural view. In: R. Shweder a.o. (eds.), Culture and Human Development (New York, 1990), Warnen s schooling and child care in the demographic transition: A Mexican case study. (Co-Autor), In: Population and Development Review, 17. ( 1991 ), Schooling and survival: The impact of education on reproduction and health in the Third World. (Co-Autor), In: A. Kleinman a.o. (eds.), Health and Social Change. (New York 1993).