Fantasies of Neglect

"Fantasies of Neglect has opened up a compelling and vital discussion about childhood freedoms and adult fantasies and fears that will inform and inspire, I believe, much scholarship to come. The dazzling breadth of its textual readings and the depth of its theoretical insights are sure to encourage many scholars to begin investigating not just the urban child, but representations and uses of childhood in a number of other contexts, along with the myriad of fantasies spurred by this enthralling, troubling figure." * H-Childhood *
"Theoretically rich and multifaceted, Fantasies of Neglect pulls the reader in and along for an entertaining and instructive ride. No film scholar that I know of has engaged as deeply with the history of childhood as Wojcik does here." -- Marah Gubar * author of Artful Dodgers: Reconceiving the Golden Age of Children’s Literature *
"Accessibly written and exploring a wide range of well chosen texts, Fantasies of Neglect examines a profound shift in parenting mores that has crucial implications for our society." -- Claudia Nelson * author of Precocious Children and Childish Adults *
"This charming and original work is unafraid to be polemical and provocative. Without a doubt, Fantasies of Neglect is an intensely stimulating and generous read." -- Karen Lury * University of Glasgow, author of The Child in Film: Tears, Fears, and Fairytales *
"Drawing upon a wide range of scholars from history, literature, film studies, and critical theory, Wojcik situates her valuable work in a deep dialogue with critics and... offers fascinating analyses of films that complicate and challenge the mainstream discourse" -- Dewar MacLeod, professor at William Paterson University * The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth *
"Wojcik’s single-authored study is a coherent and sustained argument demonstrating that, despite the dramatic restrictions of children’s actual mobility in the city over the twentieth century, the fantasy of urban children’s mobility endures in American culture, as that is expressed and produced through American filmic and fictional texts." * Jeunesse *
"This book makes valuable contributions to media studies, literary studies, urban studies, and spatial analysis." * The Velvet Light Trap *
"Fantasies of Neglect is an engaging and fascinating addition to multiple fields, written with such clarity and charisma that it would be well-assigned in qualitative methods course. Wojcik’s careful foregrounding of contexts and frameworks, her knowledge of history—both in terms of popular child-centered media and prevalent ideas and ideals about parenting in the United States—offer rich pedagogical examples of focused research and its clear application." * The Lion and the Unicorn *
"Fantasies of Neglect has opened up a compelling and vital discussion about childhood freedoms and adult fantasies and fears that will inform and inspire, I believe, much scholarship to come. The dazzling breadth of its textual readings and the depth of its theoretical insights are sure to encourage many scholars to begin investigating not just the urban child, but representations and uses of childhood in a number of other contexts, along with the myriad of fantasies spurred by this enthralling, troubling figure." * H-Childhood *
"Theoretically rich and multifaceted, Fantasies of Neglect pulls the reader in and along for an entertaining and instructive ride. No film scholar that I know of has engaged as deeply with the history of childhood as Wojcik does here." -- Marah Gubar * author of Artful Dodgers: Reconceiving the Golden Age of Children’s Literature *
"Accessibly written and exploring a wide range of well chosen texts, Fantasies of Neglect examines a profound shift in parenting mores that has crucial implications for our society." -- Claudia Nelson * author of Precocious Children and Childish Adults *
"This charming and original work is unafraid to be polemical and provocative. Without a doubt, Fantasies of Neglect is an intensely stimulating and generous read." -- Karen Lury * University of Glasgow, author of The Child in Film: Tears, Fears, and Fairytales *
"Drawing upon a wide range of scholars from history, literature, film studies, and critical theory, Wojcik situates her valuable work in a deep dialogue with critics and... offers fascinating analyses of films that complicate and challenge the mainstream discourse" -- Dewar MacLeod, professor at William Paterson University * The Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth *
"Wojcik’s single-authored study is a coherent and sustained argument demonstrating that, despite the dramatic restrictions of children’s actual mobility in the city over the twentieth century, the fantasy of urban children’s mobility endures in American culture, as that is expressed and produced through American filmic and fictional texts." * Jeunesse *
"This book makes valuable contributions to media studies, literary studies, urban studies, and spatial analysis." * The Velvet Light Trap *
"Fantasies of Neglect is an engaging and fascinating addition to multiple fields, written with such clarity and charisma that it would be well-assigned in qualitative methods course. Wojcik’s careful foregrounding of contexts and frameworks, her knowledge of history—both in terms of popular child-centered media and prevalent ideas and ideals about parenting in the United States—offer rich pedagogical examples of focused research and its clear application." * The Lion and the Unicorn *