YC100 Chapter Notes - Chapter Chapter 5: Financial Independence, System On A Chip, Yanomami
1 May 2018
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YC100 – Anthropological Approaches to Childhood
Introduction
• Childhood studies is a wide-ranging and significant, subject area
• Interdisciplinary brought together by insights from psych, law, soc, childrens
rights, social policy, and anthro
o Diff disciplines have contributed to the discussion of what childhood
means in contemp societies & called for the critical re-examination of
categories such as the child, childhood, or children
• Anthro contributes hugely bc all those categories vary largely within and
between cultures
• The beginning and ending of childhood are highly dependent on local culture
Defining Childhood
• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Childhood (UNCRC) states that a
child is anyone under 18
• Specific age is meaningless to some ppl
o Millions of children have no way of knowing their age due to not
having birth registration documents
o For them marriage and having their own child is more of an indicator
of adulthood
• Anthro is less interested in chronological/biological markers of adulthood
• Jean La Fontaine argued childhood is always a matter of social definition
rather than physical maturity
• There is also social controversy over when childhood begins
o Catholics believe that childhood begins at contraception
o Islam & Buddhism believe it is when the first movement is felt in the
womb
o The more secular believe that childhood doesnt begin until the child
is able to survive outside the mothers womb (22-4 weeks gestation)
• Anthro looks at diff ways the beginnings of childhood are culturally
determined in specific societies
• Beth Conklin & Lynn Morgan argue:
o Society must determine how its youngest will come to achieve the
status of a person
o Ideologies of personhood are heightened during the transitional
movements of gestation, birth & infancy, when personhood is
imminent, but not assured
• Childhood of boys and girls are very diff and transition to adulthood at diff
times
o Socialized differently
o Diff roles and responsibilities
o Girls appear to be little women at a younger age than boys
• Childhood may be shortened by:
o Rapid social changed
find more resources at oneclass.com
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o Overpopulation
o Civil war
o Chronic poverty
o Death of parents
o Their own pregnancy (ex. Having a child at a young age forces you to
be mature and responsible)
• Becoming an adult in the West means:
o Making economic, social, and psychological transitions
o Financial independence
o Holding down a job
o Moving out and living independently
• Many young ppl find it difficult to grow up childhood as become longer
o Many young ppl find it hard to become economically independent,
especially for those who pursue further education have to rely on
their parents
An Ideal Childhood
• The modern west
o Mortality rates are low
o Child labour has almost vanished
o State provides education & welfare to those who need it
o Children who are born are usually wanted due to contraception
o Children are seen as innocent and worth protecting sheltered from
violence, hatred, or grief
• Life in the past
o Life was nasty, brutish, and very short
o If a child survived their earliest years (unlikely) they were socialized
through fear and force
o Lots of harsh discipline
▪ In England and Wales its still legal for parents to smack their
child as long as they dont leave a mark
o Many children were used for labor and contributed their wages to the
household
• During the 19th century there was a gradual shift from the economic to
emotional view children went from economically valuable to emotionally
priceless
o Children were transformed from producers to consumers
• Modern ideal of childhood protected, provided for, and sheltered from the
realties of the adult world
o Vision is not shared by all cultures doesnt mean that they dont
love their children
• Rural Thailand children are seen as moral debtors
o Permanently in debt to their parents for giving birth and raising them
o Obligated to perform lifelong duties to their parents
o Still wanted & loved, but their worth is judged differently
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Introduction: childhood studies is a wide-ranging and significant, subject area. Ennew be selfish, neglect their parents and responsibilities: ex. Cultural relativity: the anthropological attitude that a society(cid:495)s customs and ideas should be viewed within the context of that society(cid:495)s culture is called cultural relativity. Judging other cultures solely in terms of his or her own is ethnocentrism. Anthro approaches to childhood: heather montgomery, childhood has become a distinctive field of study. Defining childhood/child: childhood (cid:498)is always a matter of social definition rather than physical maturity(cid:499) jean la fontaine, uncrc 1989, anyone below 18 years is a child. Nancy-scheper-hughes northeast brazil: poorest mothers, canadian inupiat, adults get full status when have first child. Uncrc views: age, equal to adults, rights bearing citizens, active agents in their own rights, education. Immature beings in some societies they(cid:495)re less valued: not equal to adults, not seen as right bearing equals, lack reason.
