The Sociology of Childhood

This book provides a succinct and clear review of childhood studies. The book begins with a criticism of the popular psychological and cognitive science approaches that have dominated academic studies of children in the U.S. Childhood studies attacks and diverges from these traditions by showing the ways in which understandings about, and the lived experiences of, childhood are socially and historically produced. Corsaro reviews debates about the historical changes to childhood in the industrialized west over the past several hundred years and positions these changes alongside changes to the economy and children's role as workers, the rise of compulsory schooling, changes in the organization of the family, the increase of motherís in the paid labor force, the growing importance of peer cultures, and many other broad sociological and cultural developments. Once these broader factors are considered, many of the ìnaturalî and ìuniversalî characteristics attributed to children of different age-chunks fall away. In addition to emphasizing the broader social and historical context in which children live their lives, Corsaro argues for seeing children as social actors in their own right. Children are not just adults in the making but, rather, have a rich understandings, values, and practices amongst each other, many of which have no direct connection with the interests of adults, nor with processes of becoming adults. If anything, much of childrenís day-to-day knowledge is made purposely inaccessible to adults, a barrier valued and erected by children often in alliance with media and products produced and marketed for children. This book is a starting point for researchers looking for alternatives to developmental approaches to studying children. It is an excellent resource for getting acclimated to the emerging field of childhood studies, written by one of the fieldís founding scholars.

(Christo Sims)