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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A 10 page analysis of Neil Postman's book, The Disappearance of Childhood. In this book, Postman argues passionately that we are taking childhood away from our children. He presents an argument that encompasses not only the recent evolution of our present attitudes towards children, but also the historical development of the conception of childhood during the Middle Ages. No additional sources cited.
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10 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_90child.rtf
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adults and children are becoming increasingly undistinguishable" (120). Postman builds upon to this statement, presenting an argument that encompasses not only the recent evolution of our present attitudes towards
children, but also the historical development of the conception of childhood during the Middle Ages. One of Postmans most salient concepts is that here in modern America, we are returning
to the pre-medieval concept of children as just smaller, less capable adults, pushing the conceptual paradigm pertaining to childhood back beyond the Dark Ages, so to speak. The book
is basically divided into two parts. The first section deals with the history of the concept of childhood and the second section deals with the problems inherent in contemporary society.
The history section is appropriately named "The Invention of Childhood" and begins with a discussion entitled "When there were no children." In this section, Postman outlines the way in
which children were perceived up until the concept of childhood began to emerge in the middle ages. Basically this view was that children were just small adults. Not as
capable as a full-grown adult, certainly, but fundamentally, they were seen as being no different. This attitude can be seen in paintings for centuries even after the concept of
childhood began to emerge. Children are pictured as small adults?dressed like adults. To a certain extent, one can see why this concept would prevail. The circumstances of life were such
that the labor of children was required for the survival of the family practically from the time they could walk. Certainly by the time a child was three or four
years old, they could do chores such as feeding chickens or collecting eggs. Because the family needed the labor of children, there was a natural tendency to encourage a child
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