Adult Development

This course explores adulthood—the latter two-thirds to three-quarters of our lives—not as a single, last phase of human development but as itself an evolutionary expanse involving importantly different eras and transformations. We consider a variety of theoretical and practical questions, including the following: What are the implications of various theories of adulthood for how we define "development," "maturity," and "wisdom"? Are there common features of the adult trajectory that apply across the diversities of gender, class, and ethnicity? What are adults' actual developmental capacities, and how do they square with the mental demands of modern life? What do these theories mean for adults in the contexts of work, schooling, staff development, conflict resolution, and counseling? Can we, and should we, foster development in adulthood? The recorded lectures are from the 2012 Harvard Graduate School of Education course T-006. (4 credits)