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Childhood and Innocence in American Culture

Heartaches and Nightmares

James M Curtis editor

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Lexington Books

Published:1st Aug '23

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Childhood and Innocence in American Culture cover

This collection argues that the romanticized conflation of “childhood” and “innocence” in American culture has been on a steady decline at least since the 1960s--largely due to postmodern critiques of overarching narratives involving both “the child” and the “innocence” of childhood. Additionally, this collection highlights and analyzes examples of children’s literature and culture throughout the 20th century (and into the 21st) which pointedly defy traditional, idealized notions of “childhood”. Such an analysis serves to reiterate the idea that the romanticized notion of “childhood” which has pervaded American culture for over two centuries is little more than a cultural construction that bears little to no resemblance to the actual, lived experience of American children.

ISBN: 9781666940251

Dimensions: 237mm x 157mm x 20mm

Weight: 463g

182 pages