Weekly Assignments/Readings
Part 1: Introduction
To begin, we come to terms with terms and examine the place of space in modern childhood.
Week 1: Wed., Jan 28: Introduction to the course
Assignment/class work: “Field trip”: to a study site near City College
Recommended reading:
- Gail Carson Levine, Dave At Night (New York, 1999), based on her father’s experiences at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
To begin, we come to terms with terms and examine the place of space in modern childhood.
Week 1: Wed., Jan 28: Introduction to the course
Assignment/class work: “Field trip”: to a study site near City College
Recommended reading:
- Gail Carson Levine, Dave At Night (New York, 1999), based on her father’s experiences at the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
Week 2 (Wed., Feb 4): Coming to Terms with Terms
Assignment/class work: Take a walk in Hamilton Heights, find another site related to kids, photograph it and bring your photographs to class. In class, we will relate the sites to issues raised in readings.
Study Questions: Who is a child? According to whom? How has the definition changed? How is it linked to place? To other social groups? Think about dependency and discipline; rights and nature; and a child’s multi-positioned identities.
Readings:
- Anna Davin, "When Is a Child Not a Child?" in Politics of Everyday Life: Continuity and Change in Work and Family, edited by
Helen Corr and Lynn Jamieson (New York, 1990), 37-61.
- Kim Rasmussen, “Places for Children, Children’s Places,” Childhood 11 no. 2 (May 2004): 155-74.
- Abigail A. Van Slyck, “Connecting with the Landscape: Campfires and Youth Culture at American Summer Camps, 1890-1950,”
in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 1.
- John Locke, “Inculcating Self-Discipline” and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Emile,” Childhood in America, edited by Paula S. Fass
and Mary Ann Mason (New York, 2000), chap. 54, 79 (extracts).
Suggested Readings:
- Peter N. Stearns, Childhood in World History (New York, 2006), skim chap. 1- 4 for background.
- Annmarie Adams and Abigail A. Van Slyck, "Children's Spaces," in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and
Society, edited by Paula S. Fass (New York, 2004), 187-94.
- Colin Ward, The Child in the City (London, 1978), chap. 3, “How the Child Sees the City.”
Assignment/class work: Take a walk in Hamilton Heights, find another site related to kids, photograph it and bring your photographs to class. In class, we will relate the sites to issues raised in readings.
Study Questions: Who is a child? According to whom? How has the definition changed? How is it linked to place? To other social groups? Think about dependency and discipline; rights and nature; and a child’s multi-positioned identities.
Readings:
- Anna Davin, "When Is a Child Not a Child?" in Politics of Everyday Life: Continuity and Change in Work and Family, edited by
Helen Corr and Lynn Jamieson (New York, 1990), 37-61.
- Kim Rasmussen, “Places for Children, Children’s Places,” Childhood 11 no. 2 (May 2004): 155-74.
- Abigail A. Van Slyck, “Connecting with the Landscape: Campfires and Youth Culture at American Summer Camps, 1890-1950,”
in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 1.
- John Locke, “Inculcating Self-Discipline” and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, “Emile,” Childhood in America, edited by Paula S. Fass
and Mary Ann Mason (New York, 2000), chap. 54, 79 (extracts).
Suggested Readings:
- Peter N. Stearns, Childhood in World History (New York, 2006), skim chap. 1- 4 for background.
- Annmarie Adams and Abigail A. Van Slyck, "Children's Spaces," in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and
Society, edited by Paula S. Fass (New York, 2004), 187-94.
- Colin Ward, The Child in the City (London, 1978), chap. 3, “How the Child Sees the City.”
Week 3 (Wed., Feb 11): Discovering (and Circumscribing) Urban Childhoods
Assignment/class work: Begin field research. Be prepared to share initial survey work and discuss in relation to readings. In class, we will compile a location map and select a site (or sites) for focused study.
Study Questions: What is the modern model of childhood? According to whom? Can you find evidence of the transformations, analyzed by these thinkers, in Hamilton Heights?
Guest speaker (to be confirmed): Marci Reaven, director of Place Matters
Readings:
- Philippe Ariès, “From Immodesty to Innocence,” in The Children's Culture Reader, edited by Henry Jenkins (New York, 1998),
chap. 1 (excerpt from longer work).
- Karin Calvert, "Children in the House, 1890 to 1930,” in American Home Life, 1880-1930: A Social History of Spaces and
Services, edited by Jessica H. Foy and Thomas J. Schlereth (Knoxville, 1992), chap. 3 (excerpt).
- Stephen Kline, “The Meaning of Children’s Culture,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 5 (excerpt).
- Viviana A. Zelizer, “From Useful to Useless: Moral Conflict over Child Labor,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 4 (excerpt).
Suggested Readings:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 5, “Debating Childhood in the Premodern West”; chap. 6, “Forces of Changes and the
Modern Model of Childhood.”
- Walter Benjamin, “A Berlin Chronicle,” in Reflections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, edited by Peter Demetz
(New York, 1978), 3-60.
- Carolyn Steedman, “The Tidy House,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 23 (excerpt).
- Ingeborg Weber-Kellerman, “A Cultural History of the Children’s Room,” in Kid Size: The Material World of Childhood, edited by
Alexander von Vegesak, Jutta Oldiges, and Lucy Bullivant (Milan, Italy and Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1997), 25-40.
Assignment/class work: Begin field research. Be prepared to share initial survey work and discuss in relation to readings. In class, we will compile a location map and select a site (or sites) for focused study.
Study Questions: What is the modern model of childhood? According to whom? Can you find evidence of the transformations, analyzed by these thinkers, in Hamilton Heights?
Guest speaker (to be confirmed): Marci Reaven, director of Place Matters
Readings:
- Philippe Ariès, “From Immodesty to Innocence,” in The Children's Culture Reader, edited by Henry Jenkins (New York, 1998),
chap. 1 (excerpt from longer work).
- Karin Calvert, "Children in the House, 1890 to 1930,” in American Home Life, 1880-1930: A Social History of Spaces and
Services, edited by Jessica H. Foy and Thomas J. Schlereth (Knoxville, 1992), chap. 3 (excerpt).
- Stephen Kline, “The Meaning of Children’s Culture,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 5 (excerpt).
- Viviana A. Zelizer, “From Useful to Useless: Moral Conflict over Child Labor,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 4 (excerpt).
Suggested Readings:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 5, “Debating Childhood in the Premodern West”; chap. 6, “Forces of Changes and the
Modern Model of Childhood.”
- Walter Benjamin, “A Berlin Chronicle,” in Reflections: Essays, Aphorisms, Autobiographical Writings, edited by Peter Demetz
(New York, 1978), 3-60.
- Carolyn Steedman, “The Tidy House,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 23 (excerpt).
- Ingeborg Weber-Kellerman, “A Cultural History of the Children’s Room,” in Kid Size: The Material World of Childhood, edited by
Alexander von Vegesak, Jutta Oldiges, and Lucy Bullivant (Milan, Italy and Weil am Rhein, Germany, 1997), 25-40.
Part 2: Children in Public: Schools, Kindergartens, Playgrounds
In this section, we examine the differentiation of cities, as schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, and other special places are made for children. We focus on public institutions and places, as we probe the choreography of education and play and the relationship of space, power, and concepts of childhood.
Week 4 (Wed., Feb 18): Schools: Public Lives, Private Selves
Assignment/class work: Start to document your site. Bring Sanborn map and bibliography to class.
Study Questions: How does the design of a school project values of society and government? Architecture? Pedagogy? How does school design change? Think about the object, as seen from the exterior and interior space. Compare Panopticism with governmentality. Which model is useful? Why? Why is it important to condition (regulate) children’s bodies for schools? How is this goal accomplished?
Readings:
Ian Grosvenor and Catherine Burke, School (London, 2008), Introduction and chap. 1, “Beacons of Civilization.”
Catherine Burke, “Light: Metaphor and Materiality in the History of Schooling,” in Materialities of Schooling: Design, Technology, Objects, Routines, edited by Martin Lawn and Ian Grosvenor (London, 2005), 125-44.
Michel Foucault, “Panopticism” (extract) in Rethinking Architecture, edited by Neal Leach, 356-79 and “Governmentality,” in The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, edited by Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon, and Peter Miller (Chicago, 1991), chap. 4.
Nikolas Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self (New York, 1999), chap. 11, “The Young Citizen.”
Suggested Readings:
Jane McGregor, "Space, Power, and the Classroom," Forum 46, no. 1 (2004): 13-18.
Amy S. Weisser, "'Little Red Schoolhouse, What Now?': Two Centuries of American Public School Architecture," Journal of American Planning History 5, no. 3 (2006): 196-217.
More resources:
Ning de Coninck-Smith, "The Panopticon of Childhood: Harold E. Jones Child Study Center, Berkeley, California, 1946-1960," Paedagogica Historica 41, no. 4 and 5 (2005): 495-506.
William W. Cutler III, "Cathedral of Culture: The Schoolhouse in American Educational Thought and Practice since 1820," History of Education Quarterly 29, no. 1 (1989): 1-40.
Marta Gutman, "School Buildings and Architecture: United States," in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, 726-28.
Thomas A. Markus, Buildings and Power: Freedom and Control in the Origin of Modern Building Types (London, 1993), chap. 3, “Formation.”
Pedro L. Moreno Martínez, “History of School Desk Development in Terms of Hygiene and Pedagogy in Spain (1836-1936),” in Materialities of Schooling, 71-96.
Dell Upton, "Lancasterian Schools, Republican Citizenship, and the Spatial Imagination in Early Nineteenth-Century America," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 55, no. 3 (1996): 238-53.
In this section, we examine the differentiation of cities, as schools, kindergartens, playgrounds, and other special places are made for children. We focus on public institutions and places, as we probe the choreography of education and play and the relationship of space, power, and concepts of childhood.
Week 4 (Wed., Feb 18): Schools: Public Lives, Private Selves
Assignment/class work: Start to document your site. Bring Sanborn map and bibliography to class.
Study Questions: How does the design of a school project values of society and government? Architecture? Pedagogy? How does school design change? Think about the object, as seen from the exterior and interior space. Compare Panopticism with governmentality. Which model is useful? Why? Why is it important to condition (regulate) children’s bodies for schools? How is this goal accomplished?
Readings:
Ian Grosvenor and Catherine Burke, School (London, 2008), Introduction and chap. 1, “Beacons of Civilization.”
Catherine Burke, “Light: Metaphor and Materiality in the History of Schooling,” in Materialities of Schooling: Design, Technology, Objects, Routines, edited by Martin Lawn and Ian Grosvenor (London, 2005), 125-44.
Michel Foucault, “Panopticism” (extract) in Rethinking Architecture, edited by Neal Leach, 356-79 and “Governmentality,” in The Foucault Effect: Studies in Governmentality, edited by Graham Burchell, Colin Gordon, and Peter Miller (Chicago, 1991), chap. 4.
Nikolas Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self (New York, 1999), chap. 11, “The Young Citizen.”
Suggested Readings:
Jane McGregor, "Space, Power, and the Classroom," Forum 46, no. 1 (2004): 13-18.
Amy S. Weisser, "'Little Red Schoolhouse, What Now?': Two Centuries of American Public School Architecture," Journal of American Planning History 5, no. 3 (2006): 196-217.
More resources:
Ning de Coninck-Smith, "The Panopticon of Childhood: Harold E. Jones Child Study Center, Berkeley, California, 1946-1960," Paedagogica Historica 41, no. 4 and 5 (2005): 495-506.
William W. Cutler III, "Cathedral of Culture: The Schoolhouse in American Educational Thought and Practice since 1820," History of Education Quarterly 29, no. 1 (1989): 1-40.
Marta Gutman, "School Buildings and Architecture: United States," in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, 726-28.
Thomas A. Markus, Buildings and Power: Freedom and Control in the Origin of Modern Building Types (London, 1993), chap. 3, “Formation.”
Pedro L. Moreno Martínez, “History of School Desk Development in Terms of Hygiene and Pedagogy in Spain (1836-1936),” in Materialities of Schooling, 71-96.
Dell Upton, "Lancasterian Schools, Republican Citizenship, and the Spatial Imagination in Early Nineteenth-Century America," Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 55, no. 3 (1996): 238-53.
Week 5 (Wed., Feb 25): Kindergartens and Playgrounds: The Nature of Play
Assignment/class work: Start research. Bring historic Sanborn maps to class
Study Questions: What was the purpose of the kindergarten? How was it tied to ideals of nature? Play? Why and how, are outdoor sites set aside for urban children? What lessons do children learn through play? Are kindergartens and playgrounds conceptualized differently than graded public schools? Why? How are kids’ bodies conditioned (made modern) through play?
Readings:
Norman Brosterman, Inventing Kindergarten (New York, 1997), chap. 2, “Kindergarten”; chap. 4, “Success.”
Ning de Coninck-Smith, "Where Should Children Play? City Planning Seen from Knee-Height: Copenhagen, 1870-1920," Children's Environments Quarterly 7, no. 4 (1990): 54-61.
Susan Herrington, "Kindergarten: Garden Pedagogy from Romanticism to Reform," Landscape Journal 20, no. 1 (2001): 30-47.
Nikolas Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self (New York, 1999), chap. 14, “Maximizing the Mind.”
Suggested Readings:
Elizabeth A. Gagen, "Play the Part: Performing Gender in America's Playgrounds," in Children's Geographies: Playing, Living, Learning, edited by Sarah L. Holloway and Gill Valentine (London and New York, 2000), 213-29.
Mark Dudek, Kindergarten Architecture: Space for the Imagination (London, 1996).
More resources:
Ann Taylor Allen, "Spiritual Motherhood: German Feminists and the Kindergarten Movement, 1848-1911," History of Education Quarterly 22, no. 3 (1982): 319-39.
Dominick Cavallo, Muscles and Morals: Organized Playgrounds and Urban Reform (Philadelphia, 1981).
Howard P. Chudacoff, Children at Play: An American History (New York, 2007).
Roy Rosenzweig, Eight Hours for What We Will: Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1920 (New York, 1983).
Susan G. Solomon, American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space (Lebanon, N.H., 2005).
Roberta Wollons, ed. Kindergartens and Cultures: The Global Diffusion of an Idea (New Haven, 2000).
Assignment/class work: Start research. Bring historic Sanborn maps to class
Study Questions: What was the purpose of the kindergarten? How was it tied to ideals of nature? Play? Why and how, are outdoor sites set aside for urban children? What lessons do children learn through play? Are kindergartens and playgrounds conceptualized differently than graded public schools? Why? How are kids’ bodies conditioned (made modern) through play?
Readings:
Norman Brosterman, Inventing Kindergarten (New York, 1997), chap. 2, “Kindergarten”; chap. 4, “Success.”
Ning de Coninck-Smith, "Where Should Children Play? City Planning Seen from Knee-Height: Copenhagen, 1870-1920," Children's Environments Quarterly 7, no. 4 (1990): 54-61.
Susan Herrington, "Kindergarten: Garden Pedagogy from Romanticism to Reform," Landscape Journal 20, no. 1 (2001): 30-47.
Nikolas Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self (New York, 1999), chap. 14, “Maximizing the Mind.”
Suggested Readings:
Elizabeth A. Gagen, "Play the Part: Performing Gender in America's Playgrounds," in Children's Geographies: Playing, Living, Learning, edited by Sarah L. Holloway and Gill Valentine (London and New York, 2000), 213-29.
Mark Dudek, Kindergarten Architecture: Space for the Imagination (London, 1996).
More resources:
Ann Taylor Allen, "Spiritual Motherhood: German Feminists and the Kindergarten Movement, 1848-1911," History of Education Quarterly 22, no. 3 (1982): 319-39.
Dominick Cavallo, Muscles and Morals: Organized Playgrounds and Urban Reform (Philadelphia, 1981).
Howard P. Chudacoff, Children at Play: An American History (New York, 2007).
Roy Rosenzweig, Eight Hours for What We Will: Workers and Leisure in an Industrial City, 1870-1920 (New York, 1983).
Susan G. Solomon, American Playgrounds: Revitalizing Community Space (Lebanon, N.H., 2005).
Roberta Wollons, ed. Kindergartens and Cultures: The Global Diffusion of an Idea (New Haven, 2000).
Week 6 (Friday, March 6): Interdisciplinary Conference at NYIT: "Urban Childhoods"
Note: Class meeting time is changed from March 4th to March 6th.
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Conference Facility
16 West 61st Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue), 11th Floor
The conference is free and open to the public, but you must register online beforehand.
I will give the keynote address, time to be announced.
Note: Class meeting time is changed from March 4th to March 6th.
New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Conference Facility
16 West 61st Street (between Broadway and Amsterdam Avenue), 11th Floor
The conference is free and open to the public, but you must register online beforehand.
I will give the keynote address, time to be announced.
Week 7 (Wed., March 11): Childsaving, I: The School of Tomorrow, Fresh Air and Reform
Assignment/ class work: Continue research
Study Questions: What urban conditions prompted the child-saving movement? How are open-air schools an example of reform intentions? What are the design characteristics? Relationships to eugenics and concepts of racial purity? How do these ideas influence architects of the early modern movement? Later in the twentieth century? Who benefits? How would Dewey respond to schools discussed in these essays?
Guest speaker: Jean Arrington, Prof. of English, BMCC, expert on Charles B. Snyder, Superintendent School Buildings in New York City (early 20th century).
Readings:
- Brosterman, Inventing Kindergarten, chap. 6, “Architecture.”
- Anne-Marie Châtelet, “A Breath of Fresh-Air: Open-Air Schools in Europe,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 5.
- Grosvenor and Burke, School, chap. 2, “The School of Tomorrow.”
- Mary Hoffschwelle, “Children and the Rosenwald Schools of the American South,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 10.
- John Dewey, “The Child and the Curriculum,” in Childhood in America, chap. 83 (excerpt).
- James Marten, Childhood and Child Welfare in the Progressive Era: A Brief History with Documents (2005), Introduction: “The
Child in the City,” and chap. 14, “The School of Outdoor Life for Tuberculosis Children.”
Suggested Readings:
- Hugh Cunningham, Children and Childhood in Western Society Since 1500 (New York, 2005), chap. 6, “Saving the Children, 1830
1920.
- Jim Dwyer, "About New York: A Builder of Dreams, in Brick and Mortar," New York Times, October 17, 2008 (describes Prof.
Arrington’s project).
- Vedran Mimica and Kelly Shannon, “Utopia as Tradition,” in Kid Size: The Material World of Childhood, 163-74.
- Jutta Oldiges, Maria Montessori’s Concept of the Prepare Environment: ‘The Interior as a World of Learning,’’’ in Kid Size: The
Material World of Childhood, 175-84.
More resources:
- Anne-Marie Châtelet, Dominique Lerch, and Jean-Noël Luc, eds. Open-Air Schools: An Educational and Architectural Venture in
Twentieth-Century Europe (Paris, 2003).
- Marta Gutman, "Entre moyens de fortune et constructions spécifiques: les écoles de plein air aux États-Unis á l’époque
progressiste (1900-1920)," Histoire de l’éducation no. 102 (2004): 157-80.
- Christopher Wilk, “The Healthy Body Culture,” in Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914-1939, edited by Wilk (London: 2006),
chap. 7.
- Ken Worpole, Here Comes the Sun: Architecture and Public Space in Twentieth-Century European Culture (London, 2000), chap.
3, “ Live Outdoors as Much as You Can: The Architecture of Public Health.”
Assignment/ class work: Continue research
Study Questions: What urban conditions prompted the child-saving movement? How are open-air schools an example of reform intentions? What are the design characteristics? Relationships to eugenics and concepts of racial purity? How do these ideas influence architects of the early modern movement? Later in the twentieth century? Who benefits? How would Dewey respond to schools discussed in these essays?
Guest speaker: Jean Arrington, Prof. of English, BMCC, expert on Charles B. Snyder, Superintendent School Buildings in New York City (early 20th century).
Readings:
- Brosterman, Inventing Kindergarten, chap. 6, “Architecture.”
- Anne-Marie Châtelet, “A Breath of Fresh-Air: Open-Air Schools in Europe,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 5.
- Grosvenor and Burke, School, chap. 2, “The School of Tomorrow.”
- Mary Hoffschwelle, “Children and the Rosenwald Schools of the American South,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 10.
- John Dewey, “The Child and the Curriculum,” in Childhood in America, chap. 83 (excerpt).
- James Marten, Childhood and Child Welfare in the Progressive Era: A Brief History with Documents (2005), Introduction: “The
Child in the City,” and chap. 14, “The School of Outdoor Life for Tuberculosis Children.”
Suggested Readings:
- Hugh Cunningham, Children and Childhood in Western Society Since 1500 (New York, 2005), chap. 6, “Saving the Children, 1830
1920.
- Jim Dwyer, "About New York: A Builder of Dreams, in Brick and Mortar," New York Times, October 17, 2008 (describes Prof.
Arrington’s project).
- Vedran Mimica and Kelly Shannon, “Utopia as Tradition,” in Kid Size: The Material World of Childhood, 163-74.
- Jutta Oldiges, Maria Montessori’s Concept of the Prepare Environment: ‘The Interior as a World of Learning,’’’ in Kid Size: The
Material World of Childhood, 175-84.
More resources:
- Anne-Marie Châtelet, Dominique Lerch, and Jean-Noël Luc, eds. Open-Air Schools: An Educational and Architectural Venture in
Twentieth-Century Europe (Paris, 2003).
- Marta Gutman, "Entre moyens de fortune et constructions spécifiques: les écoles de plein air aux États-Unis á l’époque
progressiste (1900-1920)," Histoire de l’éducation no. 102 (2004): 157-80.
- Christopher Wilk, “The Healthy Body Culture,” in Modernism: Designing a New World, 1914-1939, edited by Wilk (London: 2006),
chap. 7.
- Ken Worpole, Here Comes the Sun: Architecture and Public Space in Twentieth-Century European Culture (London, 2000), chap.
3, “ Live Outdoors as Much as You Can: The Architecture of Public Health.”
Week 8 (Wed., March 18): Childsaving, II: Playgrounds and Summer Camps, Obliged to be Free
Assignment/class work: Brainstorm on digital strategies
Study Questions: How do ideals of childhood change after World War II? What impact does the war have on architecture? How, and why, are children obliged to be free? Compare playgrounds, schools, camps. Consider social relations, as well as material conditions and the effect on kids’ bodies, as well spaces.
Readings:
- Laura Downs, Childhood in the Promised Land: Working-Class Movements and the Colonies De Vacances in France, 1880
1960 (Durham, N.C., 2002), chap. 6, “Municipal Communism and the Politics of Childhood, Ivry-sur-Seine, 1925-1960.”
- Grosvenor and Burke, School, chap. 3, “The ‘Expanding Classroom and the ‘Exploding Classroom.’”
- Roy Kozlovsky, “Adventure Playgrounds and Postwar Reconstruction,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 8.
- Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self, chap. 16, “Obliged to be Free.”
- Barrie Thorne, “Boys and Girls Together ... But Mostly Apart,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 18 (excerpt).
Suggested:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 5, “Childhood and Communist Revolutions.”
More resources:
- Jonas Frykman, "In Motion: Body and Modernity in Sweden between the World Wars," Ethnologia Scandinavica 22 (1992): 36-51.
- Amy F. Ogata, "Creative Playthings: Educational Toys and Postwar American Culture," Winterthur Portfolio 39, no. 23
(Summer/Fall 2004): 129-56.
- Amy F. Ogata, "Building for Learning in Postwar American Elementary Schools," Journal of the Society of Architectural
Historians 67, no. 4 (December 2008): 562-91.
- Andrew Saint, Towards a Social Architecture: The Role of School-Building in Post-War England (New Haven, 1987).
- Sharon Stephens, "Nationalism, Nuclear Policy, and Children in Cold War America," Childhood 4, no. 1 (1997): 103-23.
- Abigail A. Van Slyck, A Manufactured Wilderness: Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960 (Minneapolis,
2006).
Assignment/class work: Brainstorm on digital strategies
Study Questions: How do ideals of childhood change after World War II? What impact does the war have on architecture? How, and why, are children obliged to be free? Compare playgrounds, schools, camps. Consider social relations, as well as material conditions and the effect on kids’ bodies, as well spaces.
Readings:
- Laura Downs, Childhood in the Promised Land: Working-Class Movements and the Colonies De Vacances in France, 1880
1960 (Durham, N.C., 2002), chap. 6, “Municipal Communism and the Politics of Childhood, Ivry-sur-Seine, 1925-1960.”
- Grosvenor and Burke, School, chap. 3, “The ‘Expanding Classroom and the ‘Exploding Classroom.’”
- Roy Kozlovsky, “Adventure Playgrounds and Postwar Reconstruction,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 8.
- Rose, Governing the Soul: The Shaping of the Private Self, chap. 16, “Obliged to be Free.”
- Barrie Thorne, “Boys and Girls Together ... But Mostly Apart,” in Children's Culture Reader, chap. 18 (excerpt).
Suggested:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 5, “Childhood and Communist Revolutions.”
More resources:
- Jonas Frykman, "In Motion: Body and Modernity in Sweden between the World Wars," Ethnologia Scandinavica 22 (1992): 36-51.
- Amy F. Ogata, "Creative Playthings: Educational Toys and Postwar American Culture," Winterthur Portfolio 39, no. 23
(Summer/Fall 2004): 129-56.
- Amy F. Ogata, "Building for Learning in Postwar American Elementary Schools," Journal of the Society of Architectural
Historians 67, no. 4 (December 2008): 562-91.
- Andrew Saint, Towards a Social Architecture: The Role of School-Building in Post-War England (New Haven, 1987).
- Sharon Stephens, "Nationalism, Nuclear Policy, and Children in Cold War America," Childhood 4, no. 1 (1997): 103-23.
- Abigail A. Van Slyck, A Manufactured Wilderness: Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960 (Minneapolis,
2006).
Part 3: Modern Childhoods: Condition and Consciousness in Global Society
In this section, we examine everyday lives of children in relation to spaces and social conditions. We will continue to examine relations between space and power, in these examples raising the child’s perspective explicitly. In the end, we want to understand how kids react to rules and expectations, set by adults.
Week 9 (Wed., March 25): Orphanages: Discipline and Charity
Assignment/class work: Brainstorm on digital strategies
Study Questions: Who are orphans? How does the design of orphanages respond to changing definitions of modern childhood? Of charity and social welfare? Do the models, offered in Part 2, describe the experiences of kids discussed in the readings? What is a hidden transcript? How does it apply to childhood in an orphanage?
Readings:
- James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts (New Haven, 1990), chap. 1, “Behind the Official
Story”; chap. 5, “Making Social Space for a Dissident Subculture.”
- Sandra Enos, "The Emergence of Child Welfare at the State Home and School, Rhode Island's Public Orphanage," Rhode Island
History 65 (2007): 63-87.
- Karen Fog Olwig, "'Displaced' Children? Risks and Opportunities in a Caribbean Urban Environment," in Children in the City:
Home, Neighborhood, and Community, edited by Pia Christensen and Margaret O'Brien (London and New York, 2003), 46-65.
- Anzia Yezierska, “The Free Vacation House,” in Hungry Hearts and Other Stories (New York, 1920, reprinted 1985), 97-113.
Suggested Readings:
- Discussion of foster care and orphanages in Childhood in America, chap. 106, “Teenage Voices from Foster Care,” chap. 107,
“Foster Care and the Politics of Compassion,” and chap. 108, “Orphanage Revival Gains Ground” (excerpts).
More Resources:
- Sherri Broder, Tramps, Unfit Mothers, and Neglected Children: Negotiating the Family in Late Nineteenth-Century
Philadelphia(Philadelphia, 2002).
- Kenneth Cmiel, A Home of Another Kind: One Chicago Orphanage and the Tangle of Child Welfare (Chicago, 1995).
- Judith Dulberger, "Mother Donit Fore the Best": Correspondence of a Nineteenth-Century Orphan Asylum (Syracuse, 1996).
- Homer Folks, The Care of Destitute, Neglected, and Delinquent Children (New York, 1902).
- Marta Gutman, "Adopted Homes for Yesterday's Children: Intention and Experience in an Oakland Orphanage," Pacific Historical
Review73, no. 4 (2004): 541-618.
- Rachel G. Fuchs, Poor and Pregnant in Paris: Strategies for Survival in the Nineteenth Century (New Brunswick, N. J., 1992).
- Sonya Michel, Children's Interests/Mothers' Rights: The Shaping of America's Child Care Policy (New Haven, 1999).
- Lydia Murdoch, Imagined Orphans: Poor Families, Child Welfare, and Contested Citizenship in London (New Brunswick, N.J.,
2006).
- Nurith Zmora, Orphanages Reconsidered: Child Care Institutions in Progressive Era Baltimore (Baltimore, Md., 1994).
In this section, we examine everyday lives of children in relation to spaces and social conditions. We will continue to examine relations between space and power, in these examples raising the child’s perspective explicitly. In the end, we want to understand how kids react to rules and expectations, set by adults.
Week 9 (Wed., March 25): Orphanages: Discipline and Charity
Assignment/class work: Brainstorm on digital strategies
Study Questions: Who are orphans? How does the design of orphanages respond to changing definitions of modern childhood? Of charity and social welfare? Do the models, offered in Part 2, describe the experiences of kids discussed in the readings? What is a hidden transcript? How does it apply to childhood in an orphanage?
Readings:
- James C. Scott, Domination and the Arts of Resistance: Hidden Transcripts (New Haven, 1990), chap. 1, “Behind the Official
Story”; chap. 5, “Making Social Space for a Dissident Subculture.”
- Sandra Enos, "The Emergence of Child Welfare at the State Home and School, Rhode Island's Public Orphanage," Rhode Island
History 65 (2007): 63-87.
- Karen Fog Olwig, "'Displaced' Children? Risks and Opportunities in a Caribbean Urban Environment," in Children in the City:
Home, Neighborhood, and Community, edited by Pia Christensen and Margaret O'Brien (London and New York, 2003), 46-65.
- Anzia Yezierska, “The Free Vacation House,” in Hungry Hearts and Other Stories (New York, 1920, reprinted 1985), 97-113.
Suggested Readings:
- Discussion of foster care and orphanages in Childhood in America, chap. 106, “Teenage Voices from Foster Care,” chap. 107,
“Foster Care and the Politics of Compassion,” and chap. 108, “Orphanage Revival Gains Ground” (excerpts).
More Resources:
- Sherri Broder, Tramps, Unfit Mothers, and Neglected Children: Negotiating the Family in Late Nineteenth-Century
Philadelphia(Philadelphia, 2002).
- Kenneth Cmiel, A Home of Another Kind: One Chicago Orphanage and the Tangle of Child Welfare (Chicago, 1995).
- Judith Dulberger, "Mother Donit Fore the Best": Correspondence of a Nineteenth-Century Orphan Asylum (Syracuse, 1996).
- Homer Folks, The Care of Destitute, Neglected, and Delinquent Children (New York, 1902).
- Marta Gutman, "Adopted Homes for Yesterday's Children: Intention and Experience in an Oakland Orphanage," Pacific Historical
Review73, no. 4 (2004): 541-618.
- Rachel G. Fuchs, Poor and Pregnant in Paris: Strategies for Survival in the Nineteenth Century (New Brunswick, N. J., 1992).
- Sonya Michel, Children's Interests/Mothers' Rights: The Shaping of America's Child Care Policy (New Haven, 1999).
- Lydia Murdoch, Imagined Orphans: Poor Families, Child Welfare, and Contested Citizenship in London (New Brunswick, N.J.,
2006).
- Nurith Zmora, Orphanages Reconsidered: Child Care Institutions in Progressive Era Baltimore (Baltimore, Md., 1994).
Week 10 (Wed., April 1): Streets: Work and Play
Assignment/ class work: Test guidelines with maps
Study Questions: How do kids use streets? Are kids, who use streets, useless? Useful? Should work be part of a child’s life? Where? When? Should kids play on streets? Why or not? Consider social class, gender and sexuality.
Readings:
- Harriot Beazley, “The Geographies and Identities of Street Girls in Indonesia,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 11.
- Paula S. Fass, "Children in Global Migrations," Journal of Social History 38, no. 4 (Summer 2005): 937-53.
- Hugh Matthews, Melanie Limb, and Mark Taylor, "The 'Street as Thirdspace'," in Children's Geographies, 56-68.
- Karen Sánchez-Eppler, Dependent States: The Child's Part in Nineteenth-Century American Culture (Chicago, 2005), chap. 4,
“Playing at Class.”
- New York Street Games: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3M2WNu23U
Suggested Readings:
- Hugh Cunningham, "Work and Poverty," in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, 892-99.
More Resources:
- Ning de Coninck-Smith, Bengt Sandin, and Ellen Schrumpf, eds. Industrious Children: Work and Childhood in the Nordic
Countries, 1850-1990 (Odense, 1997).
- Anna Davin, Growing up Poor: Home, School, and Street in London, 1870-1914 (London, 1996).
- Timothy J Gilfoyle, "Street-Rats and Gutter-Snipes: Child Pickpockets and Street Culture in New York City, 1850-1900," Journal
of Social History 37, no. 4 (Summer 2004): 853-82.
- David Nasaw, Children of the City: At Work and at Play (Garden City, N. Y., 1985).
- Donna Jo Napoli, King of Mulberry Street (New York, 2006).
- Eric Schneider, Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings: Youth Gangs in Postwar New York (Princeton. 1999).
- Bella Cohen Spewack, Streets: A Memoir of the Lower East Side (New York, 1995).
- Christine Stansell, "Women, Children, and the Uses of the Streets: Class and Gender Conflict in New York City, 1850
1860." Feminist Studies 8, no. 2 (1982): 309-36.
Assignment/ class work: Test guidelines with maps
Study Questions: How do kids use streets? Are kids, who use streets, useless? Useful? Should work be part of a child’s life? Where? When? Should kids play on streets? Why or not? Consider social class, gender and sexuality.
Readings:
- Harriot Beazley, “The Geographies and Identities of Street Girls in Indonesia,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 11.
- Paula S. Fass, "Children in Global Migrations," Journal of Social History 38, no. 4 (Summer 2005): 937-53.
- Hugh Matthews, Melanie Limb, and Mark Taylor, "The 'Street as Thirdspace'," in Children's Geographies, 56-68.
- Karen Sánchez-Eppler, Dependent States: The Child's Part in Nineteenth-Century American Culture (Chicago, 2005), chap. 4,
“Playing at Class.”
- New York Street Games: http://il.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3M2WNu23U
Suggested Readings:
- Hugh Cunningham, "Work and Poverty," in Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood in History and Society, 892-99.
More Resources:
- Ning de Coninck-Smith, Bengt Sandin, and Ellen Schrumpf, eds. Industrious Children: Work and Childhood in the Nordic
Countries, 1850-1990 (Odense, 1997).
- Anna Davin, Growing up Poor: Home, School, and Street in London, 1870-1914 (London, 1996).
- Timothy J Gilfoyle, "Street-Rats and Gutter-Snipes: Child Pickpockets and Street Culture in New York City, 1850-1900," Journal
of Social History 37, no. 4 (Summer 2004): 853-82.
- David Nasaw, Children of the City: At Work and at Play (Garden City, N. Y., 1985).
- Donna Jo Napoli, King of Mulberry Street (New York, 2006).
- Eric Schneider, Vampires, Dragons, and Egyptian Kings: Youth Gangs in Postwar New York (Princeton. 1999).
- Bella Cohen Spewack, Streets: A Memoir of the Lower East Side (New York, 1995).
- Christine Stansell, "Women, Children, and the Uses of the Streets: Class and Gender Conflict in New York City, 1850
1860." Feminist Studies 8, no. 2 (1982): 309-36.
Week 11 (Wed., April 8): No class, Spring Recess
Week 12 (Wed., April 15): No class, Spring Recess
Week 12 (Wed., April 15): No class, Spring Recess
Week 13 (Wed., April 22): Race and Space
Assignment/class work: Start to stitch maps together
Study Questions: How is space used to teach children about race and ethnicity? Who uses it and why? Does condition mean consciousness? What are/were the pressures of colonialism on children? How is architecture involved? Compare houses and schools.
Guest speaker (to be confirmed): W. Garrison McNeil, Prof. of Architecture, Emeritus, City College/CUNY
Readings:
- Rebecca Ginsburg, “The View from the Back Step: White Children Learn About Race in Johannesburg’s Suburban Homes,”
in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 9.
- Kym Ragusa, The Skin between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging (New York, 2006), Prologue, chap. 1, chap. 8.
- Ann Laura Stoler, Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule (Berkeley, 2002), chap. 5, “A
Sentimental Education: Children on the Imperial Divide."
Suggested Readings:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 7, “Alongside the Modern Model: The Pressures of Colonialism.”
- Wilma King, African American Childhoods: Historical Perspectives from Slavery to Civil Rights (New York, 2005), chap. 8, “The
Long Way from the Gold Dust Twins to the Williams Sisters: Images of African American Children in Selected Nineteenth- and
Twentieth-Century Print Media.”
More Resources:
- Marta Gutman, "Race, Place, and Play: Robert Moses and the WPA Swimming Pools in New York City," Journal of the Society
of Architectural Historians 67, no. 4 (December 2008): 532-61.
- Kristine Juul, “Nomadic Schools in Senegal: Manifestations of Integration or Ritual Performance?” in Designing Modern
Childhoods,” chap. 7.
- Dell Upton, "White and Black Landscapes in Eighteenth-Century Virginia," in Material Life in America, 1600-1860, edited by
Robert B. St. George (Boston, 1988), 357-69.
Assignment/class work: Start to stitch maps together
Study Questions: How is space used to teach children about race and ethnicity? Who uses it and why? Does condition mean consciousness? What are/were the pressures of colonialism on children? How is architecture involved? Compare houses and schools.
Guest speaker (to be confirmed): W. Garrison McNeil, Prof. of Architecture, Emeritus, City College/CUNY
Readings:
- Rebecca Ginsburg, “The View from the Back Step: White Children Learn About Race in Johannesburg’s Suburban Homes,”
in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 9.
- Kym Ragusa, The Skin between Us: A Memoir of Race, Beauty, and Belonging (New York, 2006), Prologue, chap. 1, chap. 8.
- Ann Laura Stoler, Carnal Knowledge and Imperial Power: Race and the Intimate in Colonial Rule (Berkeley, 2002), chap. 5, “A
Sentimental Education: Children on the Imperial Divide."
Suggested Readings:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 7, “Alongside the Modern Model: The Pressures of Colonialism.”
- Wilma King, African American Childhoods: Historical Perspectives from Slavery to Civil Rights (New York, 2005), chap. 8, “The
Long Way from the Gold Dust Twins to the Williams Sisters: Images of African American Children in Selected Nineteenth- and
Twentieth-Century Print Media.”
More Resources:
- Marta Gutman, "Race, Place, and Play: Robert Moses and the WPA Swimming Pools in New York City," Journal of the Society
of Architectural Historians 67, no. 4 (December 2008): 532-61.
- Kristine Juul, “Nomadic Schools in Senegal: Manifestations of Integration or Ritual Performance?” in Designing Modern
Childhoods,” chap. 7.
- Dell Upton, "White and Black Landscapes in Eighteenth-Century Virginia," in Material Life in America, 1600-1860, edited by
Robert B. St. George (Boston, 1988), 357-69.
Week 14 (Wed., April 29): Performing Adolescence
Assignment/class work: review entries, maps
Study Questions: What is adolescence? How do teenagers use public space? Of what sorts? For what purposes? Do they engage in performative critiques of urbanism? Or succumb to pressures to consume? How does the pressure “to be free” shape spaces used by older kids? Condition their experiences of them?
Guest speaker: Sarah E. Chinn, Prof. of English, Hunter College/CUNY
Readings:
- Iain Borden, “A Performative Critique of the City: The Urban Practice of Skateboarding,” 1958-98,” in City Cultures Reader (2004):
291-297 (excerpt).
- Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land (New York, 1965), in Childhood in America, chap. 49.
- Sarah E. Chinn, Inventing Modern Adolescence: The Children of Immigrants in Turn-of-the-Century America (New Brunswick,
N.J, 2008), chap. 4, “Youth Demands Amusement: Dancing, Dance Halls, and the Exercise of Adolescent Freedom.”
- Olav Christensen, “‘Board with the World’: Youthful Approaches to Landscapes and Mediascapes,” in Designing Modern
Childhoods, chap. 14.
- Hugh Matthews, Mark Taylor, Barry Percy-Smith, and Melanie Limb, "The Unacceptable Flaneur: The Shopping Mall as a
Teenage Hangout," Childhood 7, no. 3 (2000): 279-94.
- Gill Valentine, "Transforming Cyberspace: Children's Interventions in the New Public Sphere," in Children's Geographies, 156-73.
Suggested Readings:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 10, “Childhood in the Affluent Societies, Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries”; chap.
12, “Globalization and Childhoods.”
- G. Stanley Hall, “The Physiology and Psychology of Adolescence,” in Childhood in America, 139-41 (excerpt).
More Resources:
- Gail Bederman, Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (Chicago,
1995), chap. 3, “‘Teaching Our Sons to Do What We Have Been Teaching the Savages to Avoid’: G. Stanley Hall, Racial
Recapitulation, and the Neurasthenic Paradox.”
- John Gillis, Youth and History: Tradition and Change in European Age Relations, 1770 to the Present (New York, 1974).
Assignment/class work: review entries, maps
Study Questions: What is adolescence? How do teenagers use public space? Of what sorts? For what purposes? Do they engage in performative critiques of urbanism? Or succumb to pressures to consume? How does the pressure “to be free” shape spaces used by older kids? Condition their experiences of them?
Guest speaker: Sarah E. Chinn, Prof. of English, Hunter College/CUNY
Readings:
- Iain Borden, “A Performative Critique of the City: The Urban Practice of Skateboarding,” 1958-98,” in City Cultures Reader (2004):
291-297 (excerpt).
- Claude Brown, Manchild in the Promised Land (New York, 1965), in Childhood in America, chap. 49.
- Sarah E. Chinn, Inventing Modern Adolescence: The Children of Immigrants in Turn-of-the-Century America (New Brunswick,
N.J, 2008), chap. 4, “Youth Demands Amusement: Dancing, Dance Halls, and the Exercise of Adolescent Freedom.”
- Olav Christensen, “‘Board with the World’: Youthful Approaches to Landscapes and Mediascapes,” in Designing Modern
Childhoods, chap. 14.
- Hugh Matthews, Mark Taylor, Barry Percy-Smith, and Melanie Limb, "The Unacceptable Flaneur: The Shopping Mall as a
Teenage Hangout," Childhood 7, no. 3 (2000): 279-94.
- Gill Valentine, "Transforming Cyberspace: Children's Interventions in the New Public Sphere," in Children's Geographies, 156-73.
Suggested Readings:
- Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 10, “Childhood in the Affluent Societies, Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries”; chap.
12, “Globalization and Childhoods.”
- G. Stanley Hall, “The Physiology and Psychology of Adolescence,” in Childhood in America, 139-41 (excerpt).
More Resources:
- Gail Bederman, Manliness and Civilization: A Cultural History of Gender and Race in the United States, 1880-1917 (Chicago,
1995), chap. 3, “‘Teaching Our Sons to Do What We Have Been Teaching the Savages to Avoid’: G. Stanley Hall, Racial
Recapitulation, and the Neurasthenic Paradox.”
- John Gillis, Youth and History: Tradition and Change in European Age Relations, 1770 to the Present (New York, 1974).
Week 15 (Wed., May 6): Wrap up: Rights to the City/Rights of the Child
Assignment/class work: review maps and entries
Study Questions: What models do we have for the future? How does looking at the past offer routes for more democratic futures--for kids (and adults)? How are the rights of children defined? What is the place of space and architecture?
Readings:
- Grosvenor and Burke, School, chap. 4, “Aligning Architecture and Education: Building Schools ‘That Fit’” and Conclusion.
- Susan Herrington, “The Sustainable Landscape,” in Children's Spaces, edited by Mark Dudek (Amsterdam and Boston, 2005),
chap. 11.
- Mimi Ito, “Migrating Media: Anime Media Mixes and the Childhood Imagination,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 15.
- Cindi Katz, "Power, Space, and Terror: Social Reproduction and the Public Environment," in The Politics of Public Space, edited
by Setha Low and Neil Smith (New York, 2006), 105-22.
- “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” in Childhood in America, chap. 156 (excerpt).
Suggested:
Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 11, “Dislocations in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: Children Face War and Violence”; Conclusion: “Childhoods from Past Toward Future.”
More resources:
"Globalization and Childhood (Special Issue)." Journal of Social History 38, no. 4 (Summer 2005).
- Mark Dudek, Kindergarten Architecture: Space for the Imagination (London, 1996).———. Architecture of Schools: New Learning Environments. Oxford and Boston, 200).
Week 16 (Wed., May 13): No class, studio reviews. Due dates for paper and maps TBA
Assignment/class work: review maps and entries
Study Questions: What models do we have for the future? How does looking at the past offer routes for more democratic futures--for kids (and adults)? How are the rights of children defined? What is the place of space and architecture?
Readings:
- Grosvenor and Burke, School, chap. 4, “Aligning Architecture and Education: Building Schools ‘That Fit’” and Conclusion.
- Susan Herrington, “The Sustainable Landscape,” in Children's Spaces, edited by Mark Dudek (Amsterdam and Boston, 2005),
chap. 11.
- Mimi Ito, “Migrating Media: Anime Media Mixes and the Childhood Imagination,” in Designing Modern Childhoods, chap. 15.
- Cindi Katz, "Power, Space, and Terror: Social Reproduction and the Public Environment," in The Politics of Public Space, edited
by Setha Low and Neil Smith (New York, 2006), 105-22.
- “United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child” in Childhood in America, chap. 156 (excerpt).
Suggested:
Stearns, Childhood in World History, chap. 11, “Dislocations in the Twentieth and Twenty-first Centuries: Children Face War and Violence”; Conclusion: “Childhoods from Past Toward Future.”
More resources:
"Globalization and Childhood (Special Issue)." Journal of Social History 38, no. 4 (Summer 2005).
- Mark Dudek, Kindergarten Architecture: Space for the Imagination (London, 1996).———. Architecture of Schools: New Learning Environments. Oxford and Boston, 200).
Week 16 (Wed., May 13): No class, studio reviews. Due dates for paper and maps TBA
