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Children's Studies Program & CenterDirector: Lenzer, GertrudLocation: 3602 James Hall Phone: 718-951-3192 Fax: 718-677-6154 
The innovative interdisciplinary field of children's studies was founded in 1991 at Brooklyn College. Called "pioneering" by The New York Times, it was soon emulated by other colleges. Brooklyn College children's studies faculty draw on the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, education, medicine, and the law. Although individual disciplines deal with the experience of childhood and youth, children's studies considers the different perspectives of these disciplines on children and youth as the main focus of inquiry. It provides students with a holistic and comprehensive understanding of the propensities and aptitudes of children, from birth to age 18, in their formal and informal contexts, both historical and contemporary. At the same time, children's studies advances the rights of children, who often cannot advocate for themselves. Every year since its inception, children's studies has attracted more and more students at Brooklyn College. The Children's Studies Center was established in 1997 to expand the scope of the academic courses and to promote teaching, research, and community outreach and advocacy. A student-organized ChildrenFirst Club is now chartered, with a blog by the same name. Children's studies offers a concentration for education majors in the early childhood education teacher program (birth-grade 2) and the childhood education teacher program (grades 1-6), a liberal arts minor, and an area of concentration for students in the CUNY Baccalaureate program. The concentrations and minor include such topics as the history of childhood; human rights of children; autobiography as an inquiry into the child's self; the child's imagination; child development and health; the child in family, school, and community contexts; applied research methodologies; social, economic, and educational policies affecting children and youth; children and disability; and advocacy and policy research in the areas of child welfare and juvenile justice. The Internship in Applied Children's Studies places students in demanding professional settings. Students benefit in numerous ways from the minor, concentrations, and courses offered by Brooklyn College children's studies. These offerings enrich the student's liberal arts education and complement the major area of study. Children's studies provides training in traditional, contemporary, and evolving research methodologies for studying the well-being of the whole child. Children's studies promotes an awareness of child-related issues for students in their present or future roles as parents, citizens, and professionals and equips students for future careers in professions and occupations related to children and youth.
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