Childhood and Innocence in American Culture: Heartaches and Nightmares

The romanticized conflation of "childhood" and "innocence" in American culture has declined since the 1960s, due to postmodern critiques and examples of children's literature and culture that defy traditional notions. This analysis reinforces the idea that the notion is a cultural construction that bears little resemblance to the actual lived experience of American children.

Format: Hardback
Length: 182 pages
Publication date: 15 August 2023
Publisher: Lexington Books

The romanticized conflation of "childhood" and "innocence" in American culture has been on a steady decline since the 1960s, largely due to postmodern critiques of overarching narratives involving both "the child" and the "innocence" of childhood. This collection highlights and analyzes examples of children's literature and culture throughout the 20th and 21st centuries that defy traditional, idealized notions of "childhood." Such an analysis serves to reiterate the idea that the romanticized notion of "childhood" that has pervaded American culture for over two centuries is little more than a cultural construction that bears little to no resemblance to the actual, lived experience of American children.

The romanticized conflation of "childhood" and "innocence" in American culture has been on a steady decline since the 1960s, largely due to postmodern critiques of overarching narratives involving both "the child" and the "innocence" of childhood. This collection highlights and analyzes examples of children's literature and culture throughout the 20th and 21st centuries that defy traditional, idealized notions of "childhood." Such an analysis serves to reiterate the idea that the romanticized notion of "childhood" that has pervaded American culture for over two centuries is little more than a cultural construction that bears little to no resemblance to the actual, lived experience of American children.

Weight: 463g
Dimension: 237 x 157 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666940251