The sociology of childhood / William A. Corsaro, Indiana University, Bloomington.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Machine generated contents note: 1. Social Theories of Childhood -- Sociology's Rediscovery of Childhood -- Traditional Theories: Socialization -- The Deterministic Model: Society Appropriates the Child -- The Constructivist Model: The Child Appropriates Society -- Understanding of Conservation of Mass -- Interpretive Reproduction: Children Collectively Participate in Society -- From Individual Progression to Collective Reproductions -- The Orb Web Model -- Children's Two Cultures -- Summary -- 2. The Structure of Childhood and Children's Interpretive Reproductions -- Assumptions of the Structural Perspective -- Childhood as a Structural Form -- Effects of Societal Forces on Childhood -- Children's Activities and Contributions to Society -- Childhood, Children's Activities, and Interpretive Reproduction in Peer Culture -- Three Kinds of Collective Action -- Summary -- 3. Studying Children and Childhood -- Macrolevel Methods -- Demographic Studies -- Large-Scale Surveys --

Contents note continued: Historical Methods -- Microlevel Methods -- Individual and Group Interviews -- Ethnography and Sociolinguistic Analysis -- Nontraditional Methods in Studying Children -- Ethical Issues in Researching Children's Lives -- Summary -- 4. Historical Views of Childhood and Children -- Philippe Ariès's Centuries of Childhood -- The Debate Regarding Grand-Stage Theories of the Family and Childhood -- The New History of Childhood -- Barbara Hanawalt's Growing Up in Medieval London -- Slave Children in the Pre-Civil War South -- American Pioneer and Immigrant Children at the Turn of the 20th Century -- Summary -- 5. Social Change, Families, and Children -- Examining Changes in Families From the Children's Perspective -- Children's Everyday Lives in Families -- Studies of Families in Western Societies -- Studies of Families in Non-Western Societies -- The Effects of Recent Socioeconomic Changes on Families, Children, and Childhood in Western Societies --

Contents note continued: The Rapid Decline of Two-Parent Farm Families and Rise of Father Worker-Mother Homemaker Families -- The Decline in Family Size -- The Rise in Mothers' Labor Force Participation -- The Rise in Single-Parent Families -- Changing Perspectives of the American Family -- Racial and Ethnic Diversity of the Population of Children and Youth -- The Lives of Immigrant Children -- The Effects of Recent Socioeconomic Changes on Children and Childhood in Developing Societies -- Summary -- 6. Children's Peer Cultures and Interpretive Reproduction -- Examining Peer Culture From Children's Perspective -- Central Importance of Peer Culture in Interpretive Reproduction -- Parental Versus Peer Effects on Children's Development -- Children's Transition to Initial Peer Cultures -- Symbolic Aspects of Children's Cultures -- The Media -- Literature and Fairy Tales -- Mythical Figures and Legends -- Material Aspects of Children's Cultures --

Contents note continued: Historical Studies of Children's Material Culture -- Marketing Studies of Children's Material Culture -- Children, Parents, and Consumer Culture -- Summary -- 7. Sharing and Control in Initial Peer Cultures -- Central Themes in Children's Initial Peer Cultures -- Friendship, Sharing, and Social Participation -- Play Routines Among Toddlers -- The Protection of Interactive Space and Children's Early Friendships -- Language, Sharing Routines, and Rituals -- Autonomy and Control in Peer Culture -- Sociodramatic Role-Play -- Challenging Adult Authority -- Confronting Confusions, Fears, and Conflicts in Fantasy Play -- Summary -- 8. Conflict and Differentiation in the Initial Peer Culture -- Conflict and Peer Relations -- Discussion, Debate, and Peace in Italian Preschools -- Oppositional Talk in a Head Start Center -- Conflict and Friendship in an American Upper-Middle-Class Preschool -- The Contextual Nature of Conflict and Community --

Contents note continued: Social Differentiation in Initial Peer Cultures -- Gender Differentiation -- Race and Race Differentiation -- Status Differentiation -- Summary -- 9. Preadolescent Peer Cultures -- Peer Cultures in Preadolescence -- Friendship Processes in Preadolescent Peer Cultures -- Social Participation and Friendships -- Social Differentiation and Friendships -- Social Differentiation, Friendships, Gender, Race, and Ethnicity -- Autonomy and Identity in Preadolescent Peer Cultures -- Verbal Routines, Games, and Heterosexual Relations -- Disputes, Conflict, Friendships, and Gender -- Verbal Disputes and Conflict in Peer Relations -- Borderwork in Cross-Gender Relations -- Challenging Adult Authority and Norms -- Generation M: Electronic Media in the Lives of Preadolescents and Adolescents -- Patterns in Media Use -- Effects and Process of Media Use in the Lives of Preadolescents and Adolescents -- Summary -- 10. Children, Social Problems, and the Family --

Contents note continued: Changing Family Structures and Children's Lives -- Work, Families, and Childhood -- Working Mothers and Young Children -- Social Policy Regarding Maternity and Family Leave -- Social Policy Regarding Child Care and Early Childhood Education -- Divorce and Its Effects on Children -- Patterns in Divorce and Economic Consequences for Women and Children -- Social and Psychological Effects of Divorce on Children -- Child Abuse in the Family -- Summary -- 11. Children, Social Problems, and Society -- Poverty and the Quality of Children's Lives -- Problems and Progress in Developing Countries -- Poverty and Child Labor in Developing Countries -- Child Poverty in Industrialized Countries -- Variations in Child Poverty and Quality of Life in Industrialized Countries -- The Human Faces of Poverty: The Story of Nicholas -- Teen Pregnancy and Nonmarital Births -- The Rise in Teen Nonmarital Births -- Possible Causes of Trends in Teen Nonmarital Births --

Contents note continued: Consequences for Teen Parents and Their Children -- Violence, Victimization, and the Loss of Childhood -- Summary -- 12. The Future of Childhood -- The Major Challenges -- Confronting Child Poverty in the United States -- Combating Child Poverty in Developing Countries -- Some More Modest Proposals to Enrich Children's Lives -- Enhancing the Lives of Families and Children -- Supporting Families and Children at Risk -- Acting Right Now -- Conclusion.

Text in English.