As a historian in a relatively new field, Mary Jo Maynes\u2019 work reiterates the notions discussed in Stearn and Mintz although with a feminist angle. Maynes narrows her focus down to the history of females, but again (and more importantly), discreetly points to the lack of direct (children\u2019s) historical evidence in this newly developing history. Maynes directly notes this when she writes, \u201clife stories provide a unique perspective on the intersection of individual, collective, institutional, and societal evolution as captured in narratives\u201d (119). This points to the haze surrounding the history of childhood because children aren\u2019t generally known to write narratives about their early lives. Maynes\u2019 piece as a whole compliments Mintz\u2019s work because both works shed light on the marginalized position of the discipline that is the history of childhood.<\/p>\n
Pascoe\u2019s and Wilson\u2019s works focus on impacts on children are in severely impact their respective histories, and thus the historiography of the history of children. Generally speaking, both works focus on interactions with<\/i> children versus first-person documentation. For example, Pascoe delves into the history of children in relation to welfare institutions. Her delving contributes to the notion that it is incredibly difficult to find a base for teaching children\u2019s history because most histories are written from experiences or from viewing documents that are either written or drawn. In Wilson\u2019s work, examining Aries, this same notion of lack of sources (on children\u2019s history) is present. In his evaluation, Wilson preaches the same idea (through Aries) \u2013 the only real children\u2019s historical evidence we have is from the top down. Aries implied that \u2018apprenticeship was universal\u2019 in his work, and this is pertinent to children\u2019s history because since an apprenticeship involves the interaction between adults and children.<\/p>\n
Similar to Maynes, Davin also focuses on the history of female children in her work. Davin also alludes to the lack of sources present to study the history of childhood, delving into how poverty affects the history of childhood. Rhodes\u2019 work was very compelling to read as she focuses her work on the period of time that is childhood rather than the historical process of documenting the history of childhood. Rhodes makes the point that, for the most part, people have a general idea of what \u2018childhood\u2019 is supposed to be. Rhodes writes, \u201cAs a society then, we tend to both idealize<\/i> and mythologize<\/i> children and childhood\u201d (Rhodes 121). Everybody\u2019s life is different, and thus, everybody\u2019s childhoods are different, despite a common perception of childhood. Because the \u2018relics\u2019 and \u2018artifacts\u2019 would be objects that were given to<\/i> children, and even if these objects were made by children \u2013 there is only so much the said child-worker would be able to divulge about the artifact that supposedly possesses information about the said child\u2019s childhood. It\u2019s confusing. The biggest question I have honestly is why are people putting so much time into forming a history of childhood? Is it the challenge of<\/i> the history and historiography of childhood that is appealing to the historian? How much do<\/i> children reflect adults?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
As a historian in a relatively new field, Mary Jo Maynes\u2019 work reiterates the notions discussed in Stearn and Mintz although with a feminist angle. Maynes narrows her focus down to the history of females, but again (and more importantly), … Continue reading