
Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives
Kathy Jackson(Editor)
University of Wisconsin Press
Published on 26. December 2005
Book
Hardback
272 pages
978-0-299-20830-1 (ISBN)
Description
Trick-or-treating. Flower girls. Bedtime stories. Bar and bat mitzvah. In a nation of increasing ethnic, familial, and technological complexity, the patterns of children's lives both persist and evolve. This book considers how such events shape identity and transmit cultural norms, asking such questions as: How do immigrant families negotiate between old traditions and new? What does it mean when children engage in ritual insults and sick jokes? How does playing with dolls reflect and construct feelings of racial identity? What does it mean for a child to be ""flower-girl material""? How does that role cement a girl's bond to her family and initiate her into society? What is the function of masks and costumes, and why do children yearn for these accoutrements of disguise? Rituals and Patterns in Children's Lives suggests the manifold ways in which America's children come to know their society and themselves.
Reviews / Votes
While some speculate that ritual in American society is waning, nothing could be further from the truth. Rituals are in flux, reflecting... changing trends and the power of American mass culture. - Kathy Merlock JacksonMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Wisconsin
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Paper over boards
Illustrations
9 b/w photographs, 8 b/w line drawings
Dimensions
Height: 236 mm
Width: 172 mm
Thickness: 22 mm
Weight
531 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-299-20830-1 (9780299208301)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
Kathy Merlock Jackson is Batten Professor and coordinator of communications at Virginia Wesleyan College. She coedits the Journal of American Culture.