Preview

Summary Of The Disappearance Of Childhood

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
323 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Summary Of The Disappearance Of Childhood
Yenfu Lu
March 5 2012
The Disappearance of Childhood

In The Disappearance of Childhood, Postman uses historical perspectives to convey the notion of childhood. Postman argues that the notion of childhood is a modern phenomenon and childhood is a social construct that has disappeared and reappeared throughout the history. Postman argues that childhood is disappearing and gives an example that the game “hide and seek” was widely played among the children two hundred years ago, however it is hardly played among children nowadays. Also, the line of physical appearance between adults and children is now getting ambiguous.When Erasmus suggested that children and adults should dress differently in eighteenth century, the idea was widely accepted.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Childhood and Young People
    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Childhood and Young People

    3.2 Explain how a solution focused approach will encourage children and young people to have a positive outlook on their lives.…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Unit 1 Specimen Paper
    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Unit 1 Specimen Paper

    Total for this Section: 60 marks Ideas about the nature of children have changed over time. The modern view is that children are fundamentally different from adults – innocent, inexperienced and vulnerable. Thus modern childhood involves segregation: children’s vulnerability means they need to be shielded from the dangers and responsibilities of the adult world. Childhood has become a specially protected and privileged time of life. Yet children were not always viewed in this way. Until the 17th century, childhood was regarded as a brief period (up to the age of about 7), after which the individual was ready to enter the wider world. Some sociologists argue that we are now witnessing a further change in the nature of childhood, and that the differences between childhood and adulthood are once…

    • 1602 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Similarities Between Stone And Plumb
    • 3947 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Similarities Between Stone And Plumb

    The history of childhood is a subject of controversy. Since serious historical investigation began into this area in the late 1960s, historians have increasingly divided into two contrasting camps of opinion, those advocating "continuity" in child rearing practices, and those emphasising "change". As there is little evidence of what childhood was really like in the past, it is incredibly difficult for historians to reconstruct the life of a child, much more the "experience" of being a child. In so many ways, the history of childhood is a history that slips through our fingers. Few Parents have left written records of how they reared their children, and fewer still children have left us their story. It is largely because of this lack of evidence,…

    • 3947 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    18th Century American Education Dbq Analysis
    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages

    18th Century American Education Dbq Analysis

    The 18th century in Europe was a dynamic center for changes in daily life. The prior centuries saw the decline in the social status of women and Renaissance ideals hoping to keep them in the home. It also was witness to the church’s dominion in education and the social gap between the privileged children who could afford an education and the mainly illiterate masses. The denial that childhood was a distinct period in a person’s life, the lack of hands-on parenting and concern for children, and the proclivity of wet nurses also were an integral part of how this sector of culture was viewed in this time period. However, in the 18th century, the education system experienced changes in patronage and attitudes toward children changed, while the…

    • 977 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Assess sociological explanations of cha
    • 1798 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Assess sociological explanations of cha

    “Aries describes a medieval world in which, if children were not actually the equals of adults, they nevertheless mixed freely with adults in both work and leisure” this was identified by item A. Item A suggests that industrialisation brought major changes to the position of children. This was suggested by Aries who said that the elements of the modern notion of childhood gradually began to emerge from the 13th century onwards; schools was one of them previously adults attended as well became to specialise purely in the education of the young. This reflected the influence of the church, which increasing saw children as fragile “creatures of God” in need of discipline and protection from worldly evils. Another one of them was the growing distinction between children’s and adults clothing. By the 17th century an upper class boy would be dressed in an outfit reserved for his own age group, which set him apart from adults. Lastly Aries identified that by the end of 18th century, handbooks on childrearing were widely available a sign of the growing child-centeredness of family…

    • 1798 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    discuss wheather childhood is a social construction
    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages

    discuss wheather childhood is a social construction

    What lessons might the UK learn from American attempts to prevent crime and reduce ‘disorder’ in public space through new policing powers and methods?…

    • 1289 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Summary: Unequal Childhoods
    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Summary: Unequal Childhoods

    When it comes to raising a child, families fall into the category of either emphasizing concerted cultivation or accomplishment of natural growth. In Annette Lareau’s first chapter of, “Unequal Childhoods: Class, Race, and Family Life,” she talks a bit about the different families she researched and the various methods the parents are categorizing in about raising their child. Through her observations of these families, she noticed middle-class families practice a particular parenting style known as concerted cultivation, where the parents believe they must promote the growth and development of their child’s abilities and skills. These types of parents often push their kids to join a variety of activities and are very active in their child’s…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Assess Sociological Explanations For Changes In The Status Of Childhood
    • 1069 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Assess Sociological Explanations For Changes In The Status Of Childhood

    In this essay I will be talking about the reasons and beliefs on how the status of childhood has changed. Something that is socially constructed is created and designed by society. Differences in childhood can be seen across different times, places and cultures. How society influences what is right and wrong to help develop your child correctly this can be through the form of TV and books. Different cultures have different opinions on how children are viewed and ultimately treated.…

    • 1069 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    The Disappearance Of Childhood Analysis
    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Disappearance Of Childhood Analysis

    In American society, advancement in education has proven to be a major force in narrowing the gap of disparity between men and women, whites and minorities, the rich and the poor, and now, childhood and adulthood. The Disappearance of Childhood by Neil Postman stresses the concept that childhood and adulthood have been separate stages in one’s lifespan; though, the similarities between the two are so parallel that they are emerging into one. Throughout history, literacy has been the determining factor whether one would fall into the category of a child or of an adult. In a once illiterate society, an adult was one who was only able to communicate fully verbally and have command over his or her…

    • 1412 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Childhood and Young People
    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Childhood and Young People

    MU 2.9 1.1 Explain why working in partnership with others is important for children and young people…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Childhood and Young People
    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages

    Childhood and Young People

    Outcome1 Understand the impact of current legislation that underpins the safeguarding of children and young people.…

    • 1512 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    A Childhood's End
    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A Childhood's End

    In the book Childhood’s End the character Rikki Stormgren faces a private passion that conflicts with his responsibility. Stormgren is the Secretary-General of the United Nations. It is his job to maintain a strong relationship with Karellen, the Overlord of the world. The only problem is no one ever saw Karellen before. Stormgren only talks to Karellen on his ship that hovers above earth but they communicate through a screen between two rooms. Stormgren’s private passion is to see what Karellen looks like. His responsibility as Secretary-General though is to keep a good relationship with Karellen. Stormgren knows attempting to see Karellen will ruin their relationship.…

    • 362 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    TMA01
    • 1118 Words
    • 3 Pages

    TMA01

    Childhood studies has a major impact of the lives of children, studies shown from the sixteenth century to date allow us to understand the changes that have been put into place to support and guide the lives of children today. Historical evidence from the sixteenth century provides us with ideas about the nature of children and how they were seen as sinners even whilst in the womb. This was known as the 'Puritan' view, historian childhood studies showed this to be in the form of whipping, canning and other forms of punishment. Further to this view came the 'Romantic' view, that showed children to be seen as innocence and goodness when seperated from the adult world. The 18th century Jean-Jacques Rausseau (1712-1778) published a treatise 'Emile, or on education' (1762) 'where he argued that children should be allowed to develop at their own rate in natural surroundings shielded from civilisation and the adult authority that corrupted then an turned good into bad' - (An introduction to childhood studies and child psychology chapter 1 -p11). The legal definition of a child is anyone under the age of 18 and the difference between an adult and children is differentiated by children being smaller, biologically and psychologically more immature.…

    • 1118 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Feet from Reading in the Dark: Exploring the Concept of Childhood

    • 1994 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Feet from Reading in the Dark: Exploring the Concept of Childhood

    The extract ‘Feet’ taken from Reading in the Dark (1996) explores the concept of childhood, an excelled level of maturity, neglect, fear as a dominant mood and the significance of “feet”- using it as a synecdoche to represent people. The writer conveys his message further through the use of imagery and many literary features namely: metaphors, repetition and personification. The extract tells of a child (who is the narrator) who is hiding under a table witnessing the ultimate fate of his younger sister, who is being taken to the hospital, and will probably die. “Feet” becomes a consistent motif throughout the extract as a means of anonymizing the characters. Deane uses this anonymity to extract emotion from the situation. “The plastic tablecloth hung so far down that I [the child] could only see their feet,” this opening sentence portrays the location of the narrator (under the table). This conveys a message of fear and nervousness the child may be experiencing and shows that the child has found ‘solace from the storm,’ from the danger, for the child does not have to face what lies beyond the surrounding tablecloth; all that lies beyond the hideout (which are lethal diseases that result in the death of a loved one-his younger sister Una). The reality of these threats that lie beyond the table cloth are emphasized by the boy’s keen observations. Already in the first paragraph we can visualize the table cloth and hear the voices of the adults.…

    • 1994 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Lost Childhood
    • 2931 Words
    • 12 Pages

    The Lost Childhood

    The lost childhood: Slave Youth, was written by Wilma King in 1995, and as the title of the book indicates, it is a detailed study of the experiences shared by slave children during the 19th century. This book takes a much closer look at the lives of slaves all over the Unites States. Although I was skeptical about this assignment, I was astonished at some of the things that I learned in this book The author does not take her information from outside sources only, but actually gets stories directly from the slaves themselves. This book has opened my eyes to the horrifying situations that slaves had to endure during the 19th century. There were certain parts of the book that drew me more than others, such as the chapters about slave infancies, and the chapters about leisure, and labor. Wilma King takes on a personal role I interviewing former slaves herself, as well as using certain documents as proof, and assessing information from former slave autobiographies. Wilma King made a huge contribution to the understanding of slave history.…

    • 2931 Words
    • 12 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More

Related Topics