The History of Youth and Childhood (chapter 1) Flashcards
How long ago was the modern concept of childhood introduced?
100 - 75 years ago
What is Neil Postman’s most popular book?
“Amusing ourselves to death
What is at the foundation of western civilization?
Greek antiquity
Which empire deeply influenced how we view childhood?
Ancient Greece
In Ancient Greece, what was the term that was NOT tied to biological age but rather associated with “learning”, “reasoning”, and “intellectual growth”?
Youth or youthfulness
Which empire had a more defined/refined sense of childhood?
Roman’s empire
Which empire had a high literacy rate AND why?
- Roman’s
- Had a huge empire, needed bureaucrats and other ppl who knew how to write orders
TRUE or FALSE
— Roman’s had a lot of people/children who were being educated at any given time.
TRUE
Which empire had the closest notion of childhood in antiquity that relates to our era?
Roman’s
TRUE or FALSE
— Roman’s believed that children are just like adults. In that, there is NOTHING you can’t talk about around children (like politics, finances, sex)
FALSE
— There are certain affairs adults shouldn’t talk about around children. (it is considered impolite)
Did Romans treat their citizens and their slaves equally?
No, Roman’s viewed slaves as lower beings. As they were not Roman citizens, they used them as they wished.
What does Postman define childhood as?
A social construct
During the middle ages, was there any sense of privacy or individualism?
No, people in that time lived in close quarters with no sense of personal or private life.
TRUE or FALSE
— In the middle ages, children were shielded from the adult world.
FALSE
— Children were exposed to all sorts of things as they lived close together with their families
How does the invention of the printing press change the social positions of children and adults?
- Children must be put aside to learn how to function in a printing culture.
- Education became an important social goal
What was the first industrial nation?
England (US surpasses it sometimes in the 19th century)
What were Postman’s 3 condition for childhood?
- Shame
- Literacy
- School
What is an economic agent
An entity engaging in an economic activity (children were treated as adults in almost every sense — put on the field to learn skills like cobbler or blacksmith)
What term was used when referring to children going from being miniature adults to “unformed adults”
Economic agent
How were children taught when the education system became sequential and hierarchal?
System was set up in a way where a child is initialized through simple concepts and eventually worked up to more complex concepts (a skill must be learnt prior to moving to the next level)
TRUE or FALSE
As far as the education system goes, people first got separated into classes according to ability, then later was revamped to biological age.
TRUE
— Children were first grouped according to their abilities but then later were classed according to their biological age in school.
What brought about different forms of youth culture to start emerging?
The separation of people into classes according to their biological age
Where was the first place that the modern (nuclear) family started to emerge?
England (really big merchant class emerged)
