THE CULTURE AND CULTURAL WORLDS OF CHILDREN
EXPLORED IN UH CONFERENCE
New York Times Writer Peter Applebome to Address National Experts
HOUSTON, January 27, 2006—Adoption, video games and preschool
are a few of the topics that child experts from around the country
will tackle at the University of Houston’s “Children’s
Cultures and Children’s Cultural Worlds—An Interdisciplinary
Workshop” planned for Feb. 2-4.
“The goal of the workshop is to promote dialogue among historians,
anthropologists, psychologists and sociologists about issues relating
to the cultures that children create,” said Steven Mintz,
UH John and Rebecca Moores Professor of History and National Co-Chair
of the Council on Contemporary Families. “We want to talk
about children as active social beings and their experiences and
perceptions.”
Mintz is the author of the prize-winning history of American childhood,
“Huck’s Raft: A History of American Childhood,”
which details the experiences, treatment and perception of children
beginning with the colonial period.
Among the featured speakers are New York Times columnist Peter
Applebome and former Washington Post reporter Linda Perlstein. Applebome
recently released the book “Scouts Honor: A Father’s
Unlikely Foray into the Woods” detailing his experiences scouting
with his son. Perlstein’s account of children’s middle
school years was acclaimed in her book “Not Much, Just Chillin’.”
The workshop participants are some of the country’s leading
authorities on various aspects of children’s issues such as:
children’s play, children and media, children and videogames,
children in preschools, children in primary and secondary schools,
and children in families. Facilitators include Paula S. Fass, history
professor at the University of California-Berkeley and President-elect
of the Society for the History of Children and Youth; Michael Grossberg,
professor of history and adjunct professor of law at Indiana University,
and past editor of American Historical Review; and Signithia Fordham,
Susan B. Anthony professor of gender and women’s studies at
University of Rochester.
“While there are many conferences and many anthologies on
childhood, I don't think there has been anything quite like the
intensive, cross-disciplinary approach that we have adopted,”
Mintz said. “Our goal is to truly enhance the national conversation
about children's everyday lives, growth and needs.”
The workshop is the second of three that Mintz and three other
professors from other institutions are organizing. The first workshop,
at the University of California-Berkeley, dealt with new research
on child development. The next is planned for the spring at the
University of Maryland, Baltimore County, and will focus on law
and public policy. The information and ideas from these interdisciplinary
workshops will culminate in a book that will serve as a guide to
the latest thinking about childhood.
For a schedule of activities for the “Children’s Cultures
and Children’s Cultural Worlds—An Interdisciplinary
Workshop,” please visit http://www.class.uh.edu/mintz/workshop.htm
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston, Texas’ premier metropolitan research
and teaching institution, is home to more than 40 research centers
and institutes and sponsors more than 300 partnerships with corporate,
civic and governmental entities. UH, the most diverse research university
in the country, stands at the forefront of education, research and
service with more than 35,000 students.
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