UNIT THREE: PHILIPPE ARIES AND THE HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD

• Basic Plan for unit three: In the next three weeks we will:
    

  --Discuss the work of Philippe Aries from his work CENTURIES OF CHILDHOOD
  --Consider the notion of "nature" as it relates to the child
  --Consider the concept of "childhood" and what it assumes about children
  --Specifically consider the moral dimensions of our factual beliefs
  --Glance at the emerging field of the history of childhood

• Corbett's general introduction to Aries

• Required Readings from Philippe Aries' CENTURIES OF CHILDHOOD
  • Introduction to the book.  (2 pages)
  • The Ages of Life  This is from part I, pages 15-32.
  • The Discover of Childhood.  This is from part I, pages 33-49.
  • From Immodesty to Innocence.  (Pages 100-127) and the conclusion: Two Concepts of Childhood. (Pages 128-133).
  • The Roughness of Childhood.  (Pages 315-336) This reading, which would have been fairly shocking for readers in 1962, begins with the claim that children were armed in the ancien regime. Sometimes history comes full circle.

• Assignments for this unit   Please note and respect the due dates.

• Follow-up comments on student assignments 3a-3c.

• SILENCING THE PAST: A REVIEW  This is a book review which Corbett wrote on a book about history. This review will help you get a handle on some of the issues of historical method which Philippe Aries addresses in his book. I recommend you read this, however it is an optional read, not part of the required readings of the course.

• FOR THE PEOPLE FOR A CHANGE  This is an optional, but recommended reading about contempory "childhood" in rural Haiti. These children live in a world in which childhood and school are known, yet the form of life is much more like the agricultural world of the medieval period than our modern world.

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