Childhood in World History (Themes in World History) - Softcover

Stearns, Peter N; Stearns, Peter N.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0415352339 ISBN 13: 9780415352338

Publisher: Routledge, 2005

Synopsis

Filling a gap in a field with very few teaching books available, Childhood in World History provides a much-needed historical overview. Studying childhood historically greatly advances our understanding of what childhood is about, and a world history focus permits broad questions to be asked.

Peter N. Stearns, an esteemed name in the field, focuses on childhood in several ways:

• childhood across change – the shift from hunting and gathering to an agricultural society, the impact of civilization, and the emergence of major religions
• new and old debates about the distinctive features of Western childhood, including child labour
• the emergence of a modern, industrial pattern of childhood in the West, Japan and communist societies, focusing on education and economic independence
• globalization and the spread of child-centred consumerism.

Highlighting the gains, the divisions, and the losses for children across the millennia, this fascinating book will appeal to students across the board, and will prove an excellent teaching resource.

About this title

Review:

'Reviewers praised the first edition of this book as a "primer in the field," and the same could be said of this updated edition, published five years later. Expanding his book to include more material on different parts of the world (Africa and South Asia, for example), Stearns (George Mason Univ.) has compressed an encyclopedic perspective on global childhood into a concise, readable 14 chapters. The book is organized more or less chronologically, moving from agricultural and classical civilizations through "modern" childhood, the colonial era, and the 20th century. Thus, the organization is traditional (and somewhat uninspired), as are the topics covered, though Stearns also takes an occasional foray into thematic topics, including a fascinating chapter on the history of children's happiness. The inclusion of a thorough selection of further readings enriches the book's value. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduate and general collections.' -- K. Dubinsky, Queen's University, CHOICE

'Stearns updates his earlier study of the global history of childhood with...a lucid analysis of new research and synthesis of previous secondary works in the field...Scholars researching the history of play and childhood will find Stearns’ work an interesting survey of how attitudes towards children and child rearing have evolved over time and very valuable to those who study the nature of play.' ―Ellen M. Tsagaris, Rock Island, IL

About the Author:

George Mason University, USA

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0415352339
• ISBN 13: 9780415352338
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160