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Lecture Notes SC311 (whole module)
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Detailed notes on each lecture of the module, including detailed annotations of the key readings.
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SC311 – CHILDHOOD INNOCENCE AND DEVIENCE (REVISION)WEEK 16 – THE INVENTION OF CHILDHOOD
Phillippe Aries Thesis
- pre modern society had different/no concept of age.
- Childhood was seen as categorically different to adulthood to
some extent
- What proof is there that there was no distinction between the
adult and child?
- Clothes
- Games
- Art
Examples of differences between adulthood and childhood in pre modern times:
- In the 12th century, the catholic church treated children under the
age as innocent and allowed them not to confess.
- Some minors were given legal concessions
- Medical treatment was different
- Mourning was seen to be more emotional towards children
- Some argue these perceptions have not changed
- “Adults are human beings while children are only human
becomings” (Lee, 2001)
- Aries’s thesis is still influential as he suggested childhood is
constructed differently from one society to another
19th century as a turning point in understanding childhood today
- Major reduction in child morality
- Child labour was abolished in many countries
- State funded schooling system began getting introduced
- Ashis Nandy – 1984
Reading – RECONSTRUCTING CHILDHOOD: A CRITIQUE OF THE IDEOLOGY OF
ADULTHOOD (ASHIS NANDY, 1984)
Notes
- “Childhood is culturally defined and created” (P359)
- In the modern world, the idea of childhood is the development
and growth to adulthood
,- Referring to children in this way creates a negative concept that
the child is an inferior version of the adult
- CHILDLIKENESS = approved by society/ CHILDISHNESS =
disapproved by society (childhood split into two categories)
- Adulthood is the end product of growth and development (360)
- Childhood seen as a transitional state to adulthood
- COLONIALISM = links to key reading by Margaret D, Jacobs
- Adults relive their lost childhood through the childhood of others (
361)
- 19th century – childhood as a jurisdiction for exploitation (an
excuse)
- The child was seen as weak compared to adults
- Children were seen as “the chosen species of God” so closer to
nature which called for use of them, economically, socially, and
psychologically (362)
- Talks on Phillipe Aries (links to other topics in module)
- Childhood as we know it is a modern creation (362)
- Some argue that the modern world is far kinder to children than
previous generations
- Child care was traditionally neglect and torture
- Parental care and education have been a cover for child neglect
(362)
- Institutional violence
- Child abuse is caused by the fact people see children as intrusions
(363)
- The child is viewed as inferior and weak but useful (363)
- Adults reflect themselves onto children (364)
- Parents may try to realise their own ambitions through the child
(364)
- Parents may use the child as a shield and society supports this
- The modern world uses childhood as an excuse/cause/reason for
many issues e.g., mental health, abnormality, underdevelopment
etc. (365)
- The idea of childhood as a lost utopia (365)
- Childhood is a battleground for cultures (366) e.g., urban parents
send their children through western education
- Childrens early work becomes instruments of parents driven by
competition and status
- Modern parents see children as sources of economic security etc.
(367)
, - Historically, the main reason for illness of treatment is loss of self-
esteem in adults and then wanting to seek that through their
children (373)
- Violated men and women produce violated children (373)
- This opinion can also be looked at in the other way (more
positively). Children see through adults and positive adults create
positive children
- “Our most liberating bonds can be with our under socialized
children” – not constantly sticking with the modern society can
create positive childhood (373)
WEEK 16 PART 2 – THE SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF CHILDHOOD
Existing frameworks of children and childhood
- Biological models: the biological unfinished nature of the child’s
body.
- Psychological models: the linear nature of children’s development.
Critiques: biological model
- Reductionist: social and physical abilities can still vary in children
of the same age
- Immaturity is considered biological however, culture can impact
this
- Biological facts in relation to children’s needs can be differently
interpreted
Critiques: psychological model
- Rooted in the idea of natural growth
- Assumes that full human status comes with passage to adulthood
- Assumes children are incompetent, immature, and irrational and
adults are none of these (instead rational and mature)
- These ideas are western and middle class dominant
Sociological models
- Social aspects of personhood are emphasised
- Focuses on the meanings of institutions for children
- Focuses on the meanings children also bring to institutions
Social construction of childhood
- Childhood is not solely a descriptor of a biological stage
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