In this subject students will engage in an exploration of what it means to be a child in a postmodern world and how different theoretical approaches influence ways of understanding children’s lives. Alongside questions of how gender, sexuality, ethnicity, 'race', language, class, ability and religion are constituted through a child’s identity, students will explore the notion of a child’s subjectivity. A child’s subjectivity is the conscious and unconscious thoughts and emotions of the child, their sense of self, their body and their way of understanding their relationship to the world. Building on this knowledge, students will also explore the four key child-environment identities of the physical child, the social child, the learning child and the natural child and by analysing a variety of scholarly and non-scholarly texts around childhood, children’s bodies and behaviour will reflect on a child’s individuality and emerging identity. This subject is included in the Foundation Phase of the Bachelor of Education.