Abstract
James Marten’s The History of Childhood is one of the newest offerings in the Oxford Very Short Introductions series. While the task of writing a pithy and accessible introduction to any of the topics in the series is no doubt a challenging one, Marten’s task of presenting a global overview of the history of childhood since antiquity is especially so. Marten tackles this assignment in five concise chapters written in a clear and accessible style. The book is organized chronologically and, reflecting the typical organization of world history texts, it offers more in-depth coverage of recent history, with two of the five chapters devoted to the twentieth century.
In a six-page Introduction, Marten introduces the concept of childhood as a social construction that has varied by time and place. He highlights important areas of historiographical discussion in the study of childhood, notably: the degree to which childhood and adolescence have been recognized as distinct phases of life in different cultures, and at what age young people transitioned from one stage to the next; the subject of emotional attachment between parents and children, especially in relation to child mortality; and work and play as important components of children’s lives. Marten synthesizes his argument as follows: “Despite vast differences through the ages and around the world in the lived experiences of children and the ways in which societies thought about children, both are united by three seemingly simple facts: that young humans have always enjoyed a period of ‘childhood,’ although the nature and length of that phase of life has varied widely; that all societies rely on children to carry on their traditions and values; and that children are intimately involved in virtually every stage of a society’s economic, social, and even political development” (p. 2).
Chapter 1, “Traditions,” addresses the ancient and medieval worlds. It highlights the diversity of attitudes toward children in different parts of the world, and among the major world religions, and distinctions in children’s experiences based on social status and gender. Chapter 2, “Revolutions,” deals with the early modern period and focuses on the Renaissance, Reformation, Enlightenment, and the impact of European colonialism on both settler and indigenous children. Chapter 3, “The Rise of ‘Modern’ Childhoods,” discusses the establishment of slavery in the New World as well as nineteenth-century colonialism and “the way children became deeply and inevitably mixed up with the imperial project and its aftermath” (p. 59). It also considers the Industrial Revolution and working-class children, the rise of educational institutions and mandatory school attendance, and the emergence of a new concept of childhood among the middle classes in the West emphasizing children’s innocence and vulnerability.
Chapter 4, “Creating a Worldview of Childhood,” considers childhood in the first half of the twentieth century, assessing the impact of child-saving social reform movements, the rise of child psychology, and the impact on, and the role of children in, the First and Second World Wars. In chapter 5, “The Century of the Child and Beyond,” Marten discusses the history of childhood in the second half of the twentieth century, juxtaposing an increasing global concern for children’s rights alongside ongoing injustices and exploitation of children, especially as victims of war and as workers. He highlights the rise of governmental and nongovernmental organizations concerned with children’s rights and well-being, as well as the agency of children in civil rights and peace movements, and children as consumers.
Marten offers a nuanced discussion of similarities and differences in childhood across time and space. In chapter 2, for example, he writes: “The lived experience of children in much of the world at the end of the medieval period was shaped by the importance of agriculture, a lack of privacy, a distinctive set of gender expectations, and pressure on children to sustain their families and their cultures into the future. But the precise form of these similarities differed greatly” (p. 27). Throughout the book, readers will find moments where they see parallels to contemporary childhoods in diverse times and places as well as marked dissimilarities. Early on, Marten cautions readers against assuming linear improvement in children’s lives over time (p. 2). Later, in a rejection of Philip Ariès’ interpretation, Marten asserts that “every culture treasured and indulged its children…spoil[ing], fawn[ing] over, and appreciate[ing them] in ways that would seem familiar to modern parents” (p. 28).
Marten references a variety of primary sources throughout the book: archeological, material artifacts, medical, legal, and literary texts, art, photographs, and memoirs. But he does not discuss the particular challenges of locating children, or children’s voices, in the archives. And given the breadth of material before him, primary source references are brief. For this reviewer, the lack of substantial engagement with primary sources is a serious shortcoming, not through any fault of Marten’s but as a feature of this type of text. I worry that so broad an overview may be too superficial to engage the students for whom this text is presumably intended, or that it may overwhelm students who lack sufficient historical knowledge to connect with it. For this reason, the affordability of the Very Short Introductions series is beneficial, enabling instructors to assign this text alongside other primary and secondary source selections that delve more deeply into some of the many important topics highlighted in Marten’s book.