The Anthropology of Childhood: Cherubs, Chattel, Changelings
by David F. Lancy
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Description
How are children raised in different cultures? What is the role of children in society? How are families and communities structured around them? Now available in a revised edition, this book sets out to answer these questions, and argues that our common understandings about children are narrowly culture-bound. Enriched with anecdotes from ethnography and the daily media, the book examines family structure, reproduction, profiles of children's caretakers within the family or community, their show more treatment at different ages, their play, work, schooling, and transition to adulthood. The result is a nuanced and credible picture of childhood in different cultures, past and present. Organised developmentally, moving from infancy through to adolescence and early adulthood, this new edition reviews and catalogues the findings of over 100 years of anthropological scholarship dealing with childhood and adolescence, drawing on over 750 newly added sources, and engaging with newly emerging issues relevant to the world of childhood today. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
(...)
Its thoroughness is the only critique I can muster, as sometimes this book is very detailed, chock-full of examples from across the globe. Mind you, it might be detailed, but it’s always readable, also for those not initiated in anthropology – this could easily serve as an introductory textbook. Lancy does a great job explaining everything, and each chapter can stand on its own. As a result, there is some repetition and overlap.
These minor issues are easily remedied by the reader: if some part is of less interest to you, or if you already get the gist, skimming parts of a chapter is no problem. Lancy does a fantastic job structuring: his chapters and subchapters follow a logical trajectory, with good introductions and show more summaries, and also the paragraphs are structured clearly and consistently. It truly is topnotch academic writing. This allows you to skim a part in confidence, without the fear you might miss something you don’t want to miss.
But all that is mainly form. What about the content?
(...)
Please read the full review on Weighing A Pig show less
Its thoroughness is the only critique I can muster, as sometimes this book is very detailed, chock-full of examples from across the globe. Mind you, it might be detailed, but it’s always readable, also for those not initiated in anthropology – this could easily serve as an introductory textbook. Lancy does a great job explaining everything, and each chapter can stand on its own. As a result, there is some repetition and overlap.
These minor issues are easily remedied by the reader: if some part is of less interest to you, or if you already get the gist, skimming parts of a chapter is no problem. Lancy does a fantastic job structuring: his chapters and subchapters follow a logical trajectory, with good introductions and show more summaries, and also the paragraphs are structured clearly and consistently. It truly is topnotch academic writing. This allows you to skim a part in confidence, without the fear you might miss something you don’t want to miss.
But all that is mainly form. What about the content?
(...)
Please read the full review on Weighing A Pig show less
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Published Reviews
ThingScore 100
"an ethnographic antidote to the ubiquity of developmental psychologists"
"through factoids and analysis, he demonstrates something that American parents desperately need to hear: Children are raised in all sorts of ways, and they all turn out just fine."
"Perhaps the most surprising thing about “The Anthropology of Childhood” was how it taught me to value things that, in a cross-cultural show more perspective, might suddenly seem arbitrary" show less
"through factoids and analysis, he demonstrates something that American parents desperately need to hear: Children are raised in all sorts of ways, and they all turn out just fine."
"Perhaps the most surprising thing about “The Anthropology of Childhood” was how it taught me to value things that, in a cross-cultural show more perspective, might suddenly seem arbitrary" show less
added by jodi
Lists
Books Cited in Blueprint by Nicholas Christakis
261 works; 1 member
Author Information
7 Works 148 Members
David F. Lancy is Professor of Anthropology in the Department of Sociology, Social Work, and Anthropology, Utah State University.
Classifications
- Genres
- Anthropology, Nonfiction, General Nonfiction, Science & Nature
- DDC/MDS
- 305.23 — Society, government, & culture Social sciences, sociology & anthropology Social group - Age, Gender, Ethnicity Age groups Young people up to 20
- LCC
- GN482 .L36 — Geography, Anthropology and Recreation Anthropology Anthropology Ethnology. Social and cultural anthropology Cultural traits, customs, and institutions Social organization
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 107
- Popularity
- 301,163
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.38)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 10
- UPCs
- 2
- ASINs
- 1
