Childhood, Culture and Society

In a Global Context

This book is indeed an exciting read! Written with clarity and thoroughly argued, Wyness confirms his place as one of the key authors within contemporary social science writing on children and childhood. The book provides an insightful account of the important shift from a modernist 20th century version of childhood, with its emphasis on child protection, development and independence to a post-modern 21st  century conception of childhood, with its focus on children’s voice, agency and participation in the families, communities and societies where they grow up. Childhood, Culture and Society is a formidable exploration of the nature of contemporary childhood in globally disparate regions. Running through the book is not only a committed scholarly voice, but also the recognition of an inevitable political dimension to childhood in the discussion of an array of empirical themes and concerns. 

This is an excellent introduction to the subject, wide-ranging, authoritative and accessible. The presentation of key concepts in the understanding of contemporary childhood, followed by a series of thematic explorations, makes for an effective combination of breadth and depth. I would recommend it to students in particular.

Childhood, Culture and Society is a comprehensive, timely, and highly readable text with many informative case studies.  Michael Wyness offers new and innovate insights especially in the areas of children’s rights, global childhood, and intergenerational relations.  A major contribution to childhood studies!