Abstract
The examination of the modern construction of subject is not over yet. Although many thinkers have exhausted its conceptual ambiguities and practical consequences, its impact is far from fully understood without an analysis of the construction of childhood for the future subject. In this essay, I problematize five constructions of childhood that emerged in the modern time and scrutinize the impasses of logic or conceptual ambiguities within, along with the practical consequences thereof. I explore how the modern construction of childhood is problematic in and of itself, as well as the light it sheds on the deeply embedded ambiguities and aporia (Wagner in A sociology of modernity: liberty and discipline. Routledge, New York 1994; Zhao in Educ Theory 57(1):75–88 2007) in the construction of the modern subject. This paper will untangle the problems associated with each of these constructs and their respective implications for the making of the modern subject.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abrams, M. H. (1971). Natural supernaturalism: Tradition and revolution in romantic literature. New York: Norton.
Archard, D. (1998). John Locke’s children. In S. M. Turner & G. B. Matthews (Eds.), The philosopher’s child: Critical perspectives in the Western tradition (pp. 85–103). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Ariès, P. (1962). Centuries of childhood. New York: Vintage Books.
Baker, B. (1998). Child centered teaching, redemption, and educational identities: A history of the present. Educational Theory, 48(2), 155–174.
Broughton, J. M. (1987). Preface. In J. Broughton (Ed.), Critical theories of psychological development. New York: Plenum Press.
Cary, L. J. (2006). Curriculum spaces: Discourse, postmodern theory and educational research. New York: Peter Lang Publishing Group.
Crotty, M. (1998). The foundations of social research: Meaning and perspective in the research process. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Dewey, J. (1897). My pedagogic creed. Wikisource. http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/My_Pedagogic_Creed. Accessed 10 Nov 2010.
Dewey, J. (1902). The child and the curriculum. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Dewey, J. (1944). Democracy and education. New York: The Free Press.
Dewey, J. (1956/1899). The school and society. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Dunne, J. (2006). Childhood and citizenship: A conversation across modernity. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 14(1), 5–19.
Edwards, J. (1741). Sinners in the hands of an angry God. WJE. http://edwards.yale.edu. Accessed 10 Nov 2010.
Fine, M., & Weis, L. (2003). Silenced voices and extraordinary conversations: Reimagining schools. New York: Teachers College Press.
Foucault, M. (1988). Madness and civilization: A history of insanity in the age of reason. NY: Vintage.
Gould, S. J. (1977). Ontogeny and phylogeny. Cambridge: Belknap Press.
Hendrick, H. (1997). Constructions and reconstructions of British childhood: An interpretive survey, 1800 to the present. In A. James & A. Prout (Eds.), Constructing and reconstructing childhood: Contemporary issues in a sociological study of children (2nd ed., pp. 33–60). London: Falmer Press.
Heywood, C. (2001). A history of childhood: Children and childhood in the West from Medieval to modern times. London: Polity.
Hoffman, D. (2003). Childhood ideology in the United States: A comparative cultural view. International Review of Education, 49(1–2), 191–211.
Howard, G. R. (2006). We can’t teach what we don’t know. New York: Teachers College Press.
Hurley, K. D., Ingram, S., Czyz, J., Juliano, N., & Wilson, E. (2006). Treatment for youth in short-term care facilities: The impact of a comprehensive behavior management intervention. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(5), 617–632.
James, A. (2007). Giving voice to children’s voices: Practices and problems, pitfalls and potentials. American Anthropologist, 109(2), 261–272.
James, A., & Prout, A. (2007). Introduction. In A. James & A. Prout (Eds.), Constructing and reconstructing childhood: Contemporary issues in the sociological study of children (2nd ed., pp. 1–6). London: Falmer Press.
Karp, H. (2004). The happiest toddler on the block. New York: Bantam.
Kennedy, D. (2002). The child and postmodern subjectivity. Educational Theory, 52(2), 155–167.
King, P. O. (1998). Thomas Hobbes’s children. In S. M. Turner & G. B. Matthews (Eds.), The philosopher’s child: Critical perspectives in the Western tradition (pp. 65–83). Rochester, NY: University of Rochester Press.
Kitzinger, J. (1997). Who are you kidding? Children, power and the struggle against sexual Abuse. In A. James & A. Prout (Eds.), Constructing and reconstructing childhood: Contemporary issues in the sociological study of children (2nd ed., pp. 161–186). London: Falmer Press.
Kozol, J. (2007). Still separate, still unequal: American’s educational apartheid. In P. S. Rothenberg (Ed.), Race, class, and gender in the United States: An integrated study (7th ed., pp. 644–658). NY: Worth Publishers.
Lesko, N. (1996). Past, present, and future conceptions of adolescence. Educational Theory, 46(4), 453–472.
Locke, J. (1964/1693). Some thoughts concerning education. In F. W. Garforth (Ed.), With introduction and commentary. London: Heinemann.
Locke, J. (1986/1690). The second treatise on civil government. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
Loewen, J. W. (1995). Lies my teacher told me: Everything your American history textbook got wrong. New York: Simon and Schuster.
Mead, G. H. (1962/1934). In C. W. Morris (Ed.), Mind, self, and society: From the standpoint of a social behaviorism. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
Odem, M. (1995). Delinquent daughters: Protecting and policing adolescent female sexuality in the United States, 1885–1920. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North Carolina Press.
Pinar, W. F., Reynolds, W. M., Slattery, P., & Taubman, P. M. (2004). Understanding curriculum: An introduction to the study of historical and contemporary curriculum discourses. New York: Peter Lang.
Popkewitz, T. P. (1987). The formation of school subjects and the political context of schooling. In T. P. Popkewitz (Ed.), The formation of school subjects: The struggle for creating an American institution. New York: The Falmer Press.
Popkewitz, T. P. (1998). The culture of redemption and the administration of freedom as research. Review of Educational Research, 68(1), 1–34.
Rose, N. (1999). Powers of freedom, reforming political thought. Cambridge: The University Press.
Rousseau, J. J. (1762/2007). Emile, or on education. Sioux Falls, SD: NuVision Publications.
Shanahan, S. (2007). Lost and found: The sociological ambivalence toward childhood. Annual Review of Sociology, 33(1), 407–428.
Stasiulis, D. (2002). The active child citizen: Lessons from Canadian policy and the children’s Movement. Citizenship Studies, 6(4), 507–538.
Synnott, A. (1983). Little angel, little devils: A sociology of children. Canadian Review of Sociology and Anthropology, 20(1), 79–95.
Tobin, J. (1995). Post-structural research in early childhood education. In J. A. Hatch (Ed.), Qualitative research in early childhood settings (pp. 223–244). Westport, CT: Praeger.
Ullman, S. R. (1997). Sex seen: The emergence of modern sexuality in America. London: University of California Press.
Wagner, P. (1994). A sociology of modernity: Liberty and discipline. New York: Routledge.
Whitman, D. (2008). An appeal to authority: The new paternalism in urban schools. Education Next. http://educationnext.org/an-appeal-to-authority/. Accessed 10 Nov 2010.
Wong, H., & Wong, R. (1998). The first days of school: How to be an effective teacher. Mountain View, CA: Harry K. Wong Publications.
Zhao, G. (2005). “Governing the soul” through remolding the self—The American approach. American Journal of Education, 111(2), 245–266.
Zhao, G. (2007). The making of the modern subject: A cross-cultural analysis. Educational Theory, 57(1), 75–88.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Robin Fuxa for her valuable contribution, especially in the writing of the fourth construction, Childhood as a Time for Redemption. I appreciate the time and effort she spent in helping me make this paper a better piece. I would also like to thank Cicely Fanning for her comments and feedback.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhao, G. The Modern Construction of Childhood: What Does It Do to the Paradox of Modernity?. Stud Philos Educ 30, 241–256 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-010-9213-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11217-010-9213-8