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Berghahn Books Raising Citizens in the Century of the Child The United States and German Central Europe in Comparative Perspective 2010 Edition by Dirk Schumann
The 20th century, declared at its start to be the "Century of the Child" by Swedish author Ellen Key, saw an unprecedented expansion of state activity in and expert knowledge on child-rearing on both sides of the Atlantic. Children were seen as a crucial national resource whose care could not be left to families alone. However, the exact scope and degree of state intervention and expert influence as well as the rights and roles of mothers and fathers remained subjects of heated debates throughout the century. While there is a growing scholarly interest in the history of childhood, research in the field remains focused on national narratives. This volume compares the impact of state intervention and expert influence on theories and practices of raising children in the U.S. and German Central Europe. In particular, the contributors focus on institutions such as kindergartens and schools where the private and the public spheres intersected, on notions of "race" and "ethnicity," "normality" and "deviance," and on the impact of wars and changes in political regimes. Table of contents :- Introduction: Child-Rearing and Citizenship in the Twentieth CenturyPART I: FOUNDATIONSChapter 1. Children and the National InterestSonya Michel (with Eszter Varsa)PART II: NEW BEGINNINGSChapter 2. Children's Future, Nation's Future: Race, Citizenship, and the U.S. Children's BureauKatherine BullardChapter 3. From Reform Pedagogy to War Pedagogy: Education Reform before 1914 and the Mobilization for War in GermanyAndrew DonsonChapter 4. 'Linked with the welfare of all peoples': The American Kindergarten, Americanization, and Internationalism in World War IEllen BergPART III: REDEFINING PARENTS' ROLESChapter 5. How Should We Raise Our Son Benjamin? Advice Literature for Mothers in Early Twentieth-Century GermanyCarolyn KayChapter 6. Debunking Mother Love: American Mothers and the Momism Critique in the Mid-Twentieth CenturyRebecca Jo PlantChapter 7. Paternity, Rechristianization, and the Quest for Democracy in Postwar West GermanyTill van RahdenPART IV: PARENTAL RIGHTS AND STATE DEMANDSChapter 8. Who Owns Children? Parents, Children, and the State in the United States SouthCharles A. IsraelChapter 9. 'Children Betray their Father and Mother': Collective Education, Nationalism, and Democracy in the Bohemian Lands, 1900-1948Tara ZahraChapter 10. Asserting Their 'Natural Right': Parents and Public Schooling in Post-1945 GermanyDirk SchumannChapter 11. 'Special Relationships': The State, Social Workers, and Abused Children in the United States, 1950-1990Lynne CurryNotes on ContributorsBibliographyIndex