Inventing the Child: Culture, Ideology, and the Story of Childhood (Children's Literature and Culture) - Hardcover

Zornado, John

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1138142050 ISBN 13: 9781138142053

Publisher: Routledge, 2016

Synopsis

Now in paperback, Inventing the Child is a highly entertaining, humorous, and at times acerbic account of what it means to be a child (and a parent) in America at the dawn of the new millennium. J. Zornado explores the history and development of the concept of childhood, starting with the works of Calvin, Freud, and Rousseau and culminating with the modern 'consumer' childhood of Dr. Spock and television. The volume discusses major media depictions of childhood and examines the ways in which parents use different forms of media to swaddle, educate, and entertain their children. Zornado argues that the stories we tell our children contain the ideologies of the dominant culture - which, more often than not, promote 'happiness' at all costs, materialism as the way to happiness, and above all, obedience to the dominant order.

About this title

About the Author:

John Zornado is Associate Professor of English at Rhode Island College .

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 1138142050
• ISBN 13: 9781138142053
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 256