Postman's The Disappearance Of Childhood
The concept of childhood has been around for many of our lives, but it wasn’t in the lives of some of our ancestors. Childhood as an idea is something that has progressed and changed over time. Rather than childhood be biologically based like infancy, it is instead a socially constructed idea. Postman, in his 1994 publication, The Disappearance of Childhood addresses where the origin of childhood came from and how it has developed over time and changed to adapt depending on the country and what kind of society exists at that point, along with many more factors. The idea of childhood was created by the Renaissance and was considered to be one of its greatest inventions, if not, the most humane. Postman recognised this and his book analyses how
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depending on the time and current situation the idea of childhood would become stronger and then fade again. He then goes on to discuss how childhood has come to exist in the present time. For childhood to exist as an idea the idea of adulthood must also exist. ‘Childhood appears in response to cultural changes in adult existence and consciousness.’ (Simms) The two together support each other and give reason and means of each concept’s existence.
Literacy can be viewed as a crucial part of the basis of childhood. It is well known that the Greeks invented the first schools, even the Spartan’s who weren’t primarily focused on the ability to read and write had built schools based on the neighbouring Greeks.. However, although the Greeks may have put schools into place this does not mean that they had an established concept of childhood, rather the opposite. The Greeks still seemed confused over the idea of childhood. Although they had schools in place to teach the young how to read and write, they didn’t understand how to discipline and treat them .Rather than treating them as children, they were treated as adults and therefore earning what Lloyd DeMause termed ‘battered children.’(DeMause, 1974) He also acknowledged the fact that the Greeks were not aware of how to empathise with children; neither mothers nor fathers had the psychic mechanism needed. Still to this day there are parents who ‘do not have the capacity to empathise with children.’ (Postman, 1994) Although the Greeks did not invent childhood, they provided a basis upon which childhood became established 2000 years later.
The Romans however, took the original idea from the Greeks, and improved on it.
Not only did they implement schools, but they also constructed a connection between children and the idea of shame. This was a key step in developing the concept of childhood. Essentially, ‘without a well-developed idea of shame, childhood cannot exist’. (Postman, 1994) Although the Romans were the ones to understand this point, not enough of them did. Many would still walk around broadcasting whatever they wanted when they pleased, if a child swore or said something they shouldn’t know about it became something of a comedy to the Romans. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire all ideas of childhood vanished. During the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, four key things happened which effected childhood. Not only did literacy and education disappear, but as did the idea of shame. As a result of this, childhood …show more content…
disappeared.
The question of why literacy disappeared is an ambiguous one; however, Eric Havelock came up with an explanation. During the Middle Ages, across Europe the alphabet began to be written in a number of alternative styles and as a result became disguised. The Europeans, as it would appear, seemed to forget that in order to be literate, word and letter recognition must be continuous rather than broken. Another reason for the loss of literacy could be that there was no longer a constant source of parchment as paper wasn’t made in Europe until the thirteenth century. As a consequence of this the ability to read and write vanished for almost one thousand years, with the most advanced of medieval readers having to spell words out slowly one by one. School and education were not completely abandoned in medieval times, however, the schools that were in existence were associated with the church, or they were private schools and these schools weren’t aimed directly at children, there would be a very wide age range in the schools. Postman’s main point about medieval times was that ‘it had no idea of education’ (Postman, 1994). Not only this, but to further explain the disappearance of childhood Postman also recognised that during the Middle Ages there was no concept of shame as it is known today. It could be said that a major difference between adulthood and childhood is knowledge about the facts of life – life, death, injury, tragedy and violence – factors such as they are not considered to be acceptable for children to know, and this is where it becomes shameful to openly discuss such topics indiscreetly in front of them. When looking at this in a more modern world, children are revealed the answers to these secrets as they grow older but this is only possible because the society that we live in already has an established and strong idea of the differences between childhood and adulthood.
Due to the absence of literacy, education and shame during the Middle Ages childhood ceased to exist. French historian Philippe Aries agreed with Postman, famously saying that ‘in medieval society the idea of childhood did not exist’ (Aries, 1962) However, it is worth mentioning that in correlation with this, the mortality rate of what is now considered to be children was high, and life was hard during the medieval times. As a result of this, adults didn’t have the ability to grow attached to their children like they do now, it was expected that during adulthood, you would have a few children, but only say half would survive. This is not to say that children were not loved by their parents, or were neglected, it just meant that parents couldn’t form such an intense emotional bond with their children. ‘Most children now have more friendly and intimate relationships with their parents’ (Hendrick, 1992). Until around the fourteenth century, children were very rarely seen in wills and testaments. In addition to this, it was a common occurrence for the sex of children who were deceased not to be recorded.
Postman then identifies that the idea of childhood was finally properly established after the Renaissance and the invention of the Press.
After the Renaissance, came the growth of the enlightened man. This was an adult who thought rationally about the world he lived in. The focus was taken away from religion in part, and the enlightened man could focus on what was going on in the world, beyond his small community. Elizabeth Eisenstein also recognised the press as a means for change, and suggested that as a result of the press, it gave the adult a new sense of entitlement, their words were being frozen and recorded indefinitely, thus giving the individual the idea of ‘selfhood’. With the invention of the press and books, newspapers and journals became more readily available. With books being so readily available it pushed more and more adults to learn to read, they would fall behind in society if they did not. As people were able to own their own books, and sit and read them in their own homes, the demand for literacy grew once more. It gave the adult a sense of individualism and an empowerment. But as Postman suggested ‘individualism alone could not have produced childhood’ (Postman, 1994). The press strongly aided the creation of the modern man. The printing press had such a large impact on the formation of childhood, as it provided a way to separate the population by age. It was this ‘knowledge gap’ (Postman, 1994), that aided individualism and the modern man, in creating
what has become the irreversible feature of childhood. Adults were able to learn more new things constantly, this resulted in a gap forming between those who could read, and those who couldn’t, the children. The constant need and want for more knowledge was transferred to schools, where it was implemented into the way children would learn. With literacy being such a high demand, schools arose across the world.
As demonstrated, the idea of childhood was not established until after the Renaissance. Although the very foundations of some main contributing factors toward the establishment of what is considered to be childhood were laid during by the Greeks and during the Roman Empire. It was not until after the Renaissance and the invention of the press that childhood was finally formed. This is also shown by the way that after the fall of the Roman Empire, childhood disappeared for a thousand years. Furthermore, as Postman claims that childhood is retracting once again, this is not as rapidly or to the extent of what it did during the Middle Ages.
depending on the time and current situation the idea of childhood would become stronger and then fade again. He then goes on to discuss how childhood has come to exist in the present time. For childhood to exist as an idea the idea of adulthood must also exist. ‘Childhood appears in response to cultural changes in adult existence and consciousness.’ (Simms) The two together support each other and give reason and means of each concept’s existence.
Literacy can be viewed as a crucial part of the basis of childhood. It is well known that the Greeks invented the first schools, even the Spartan’s who weren’t primarily focused on the ability to read and write had built schools based on the neighbouring Greeks.. However, although the Greeks may have put schools into place this does not mean that they had an established concept of childhood, rather the opposite. The Greeks still seemed confused over the idea of childhood. Although they had schools in place to teach the young how to read and write, they didn’t understand how to discipline and treat them .Rather than treating them as children, they were treated as adults and therefore earning what Lloyd DeMause termed ‘battered children.’(DeMause, 1974) He also acknowledged the fact that the Greeks were not aware of how to empathise with children; neither mothers nor fathers had the psychic mechanism needed. Still to this day there are parents who ‘do not have the capacity to empathise with children.’ (Postman, 1994) Although the Greeks did not invent childhood, they provided a basis upon which childhood became established 2000 years later.
The Romans however, took the original idea from the Greeks, and improved on it.
Not only did they implement schools, but they also constructed a connection between children and the idea of shame. This was a key step in developing the concept of childhood. Essentially, ‘without a well-developed idea of shame, childhood cannot exist’. (Postman, 1994) Although the Romans were the ones to understand this point, not enough of them did. Many would still walk around broadcasting whatever they wanted when they pleased, if a child swore or said something they shouldn’t know about it became something of a comedy to the Romans. However, after the fall of the Roman Empire all ideas of childhood vanished. During the collapse of the Roman Empire and the Middle Ages, four key things happened which effected childhood. Not only did literacy and education disappear, but as did the idea of shame. As a result of this, childhood …show more content…
disappeared.
The question of why literacy disappeared is an ambiguous one; however, Eric Havelock came up with an explanation. During the Middle Ages, across Europe the alphabet began to be written in a number of alternative styles and as a result became disguised. The Europeans, as it would appear, seemed to forget that in order to be literate, word and letter recognition must be continuous rather than broken. Another reason for the loss of literacy could be that there was no longer a constant source of parchment as paper wasn’t made in Europe until the thirteenth century. As a consequence of this the ability to read and write vanished for almost one thousand years, with the most advanced of medieval readers having to spell words out slowly one by one. School and education were not completely abandoned in medieval times, however, the schools that were in existence were associated with the church, or they were private schools and these schools weren’t aimed directly at children, there would be a very wide age range in the schools. Postman’s main point about medieval times was that ‘it had no idea of education’ (Postman, 1994). Not only this, but to further explain the disappearance of childhood Postman also recognised that during the Middle Ages there was no concept of shame as it is known today. It could be said that a major difference between adulthood and childhood is knowledge about the facts of life – life, death, injury, tragedy and violence – factors such as they are not considered to be acceptable for children to know, and this is where it becomes shameful to openly discuss such topics indiscreetly in front of them. When looking at this in a more modern world, children are revealed the answers to these secrets as they grow older but this is only possible because the society that we live in already has an established and strong idea of the differences between childhood and adulthood.
Due to the absence of literacy, education and shame during the Middle Ages childhood ceased to exist. French historian Philippe Aries agreed with Postman, famously saying that ‘in medieval society the idea of childhood did not exist’ (Aries, 1962) However, it is worth mentioning that in correlation with this, the mortality rate of what is now considered to be children was high, and life was hard during the medieval times. As a result of this, adults didn’t have the ability to grow attached to their children like they do now, it was expected that during adulthood, you would have a few children, but only say half would survive. This is not to say that children were not loved by their parents, or were neglected, it just meant that parents couldn’t form such an intense emotional bond with their children. ‘Most children now have more friendly and intimate relationships with their parents’ (Hendrick, 1992). Until around the fourteenth century, children were very rarely seen in wills and testaments. In addition to this, it was a common occurrence for the sex of children who were deceased not to be recorded.
Postman then identifies that the idea of childhood was finally properly established after the Renaissance and the invention of the Press.
After the Renaissance, came the growth of the enlightened man. This was an adult who thought rationally about the world he lived in. The focus was taken away from religion in part, and the enlightened man could focus on what was going on in the world, beyond his small community. Elizabeth Eisenstein also recognised the press as a means for change, and suggested that as a result of the press, it gave the adult a new sense of entitlement, their words were being frozen and recorded indefinitely, thus giving the individual the idea of ‘selfhood’. With the invention of the press and books, newspapers and journals became more readily available. With books being so readily available it pushed more and more adults to learn to read, they would fall behind in society if they did not. As people were able to own their own books, and sit and read them in their own homes, the demand for literacy grew once more. It gave the adult a sense of individualism and an empowerment. But as Postman suggested ‘individualism alone could not have produced childhood’ (Postman, 1994). The press strongly aided the creation of the modern man. The printing press had such a large impact on the formation of childhood, as it provided a way to separate the population by age. It was this ‘knowledge gap’ (Postman, 1994), that aided individualism and the modern man, in creating
what has become the irreversible feature of childhood. Adults were able to learn more new things constantly, this resulted in a gap forming between those who could read, and those who couldn’t, the children. The constant need and want for more knowledge was transferred to schools, where it was implemented into the way children would learn. With literacy being such a high demand, schools arose across the world.
As demonstrated, the idea of childhood was not established until after the Renaissance. Although the very foundations of some main contributing factors toward the establishment of what is considered to be childhood were laid during by the Greeks and during the Roman Empire. It was not until after the Renaissance and the invention of the press that childhood was finally formed. This is also shown by the way that after the fall of the Roman Empire, childhood disappeared for a thousand years. Furthermore, as Postman claims that childhood is retracting once again, this is not as rapidly or to the extent of what it did during the Middle Ages.