Title States of childhood : from the junior republic to the American republic, 1895-1945 / Jennifer S. Light

Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2020]

Click on the following:
MIT Press Open

Copies

Description 1 online resource (x, 468 pages) : illustrations Contents Introduction : child protection or child labor? -- Performing adulthood. The smallest republic in the world ; Stages of childhood -- The rhetoric and reality of child protection. Constructing youth, constructing youth-serving institutions ; The drama of the street -- From models and dramatizations to education and recreation. Serving community and nation ; Expanding and erasing the republic idea -- Conclusion : the legacies of William R. George ; Epilogue : what happened to junior republics? Summary "A number of curious communities sprang up across the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century: simulated cities, states, and nations in which children played the roles of legislators, police officers, bankers, journalists, shopkeepers, and other adults. They performed real work--passing laws, growing food, and constructing buildings, among other tasks--inside virtual worlds. In this book, Jennifer Light examines the phenomena of "junior republics" and argues that they marked the transition to a new kind of "sheltered" childhood for American youth. Banished from the labor force and public life, children inhabited worlds that mirrored the one they had left. Light describes the invention of junior republics as independent institutions and how they were later established at schools, on playgrounds, in housing projects, and on city streets, as public officials discovered children's role playing helped their bottom line. The junior republic movement aligned with cutting-edge developmental psychology and educational philosophy, and complemented the era's fascination with models and miniatures, shaping educational and recreational programs across the nation. Light's account of how earlier generations distinguished "real life" from role playing reveals a hidden history of child labor in America and offers insights into the deep roots of such contemporary concepts as gamification, play labor, and virtuality"--Publisher's description Analysis SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY & SOCIETY/General EDUCATION/Digital Media & Learning ECONOMICS/Labor Studies Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (ProQuest Ebook Central, viewed March 5, 2021) Subject George, William R. (William Reuben), 1866-1936. SUBJECT George, William R. (William Reuben), 1866-1936 fast Subject George Junior Republic (Freeville, N.Y.) SUBJECT George Junior Republic (Freeville, N.Y.) fast Subject Junior republics -- History Child welfare -- United States -- History Role playing in children -- Economic aspects -- United States -- History Role playing in children -- Political aspects -- United States -- History Youth -- United States -- Social conditions -- History Youth -- Political activity -- United States -- History Youth -- Employment -- United States -- History Youth -- United States -- Social conditions SOCIAL SCIENCE / Children's Studies. Child welfare Junior republics Youth -- Employment Youth -- Political activity Youth -- Social conditions United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book LC no. 2019039482 ISBN 9780262358613 0262358611 0262358603 9780262358606

  Permalink