When the first edition of this seminal work appeared in 1990, the
sociology of childhood was only just beginning to emerge as a distinct
sub-discipline. Drawing together strands of existing sociological
writing about childhood and shaping them into a new paradigm, the
original edition of this Routledge Classic offered a potent blend of
ideas that informed, even inspired, many empirical studies of children's
lives because it provided a unique lens through which to think about
childhood. Featuring a collection of articles which summarised the
developments in the study of childhood across the social sciences,
including history, psychology, sociology, anthropology, feminist and
developmental studies, scholars and professionals from developed and
developing countries world-wide shared their knowledge of having worked
and of working with children.
Now with a new introduction from the editors to contextualise it into
the 21st century, this truly ground-breaking text which helped establish
childhood studies as a distinctive field of enquiry is being
republished.