How Old Are You? Age Consciousness in American Culture

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chudacoff, Howard P.

Language:

Undetermined

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 232 pages)

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton Univ. Press, 1989.

Summary:

Most Americans take it for granted that a thirteen-year-old in the fifth grade is "behind schedule," that "teenagers who marry "too early" are in for trouble, and that a seventy-five-year-old will be pleased at being told, "You look young for your age." Did an awareness of age always dominate American life? Howard Chudacoff reveals that our intense age consciousness has developed only gradually since the late nineteenth century. In so doing, he explores a wide range of topics, including demographic change, the development of pediatrics and psychological testing, and popular music from the early 1800s until now. "Throughout our lifetimes American society has been age-conscious. But this has not always been the case. Until the mid-nineteenth century, Americans showed little concern with age. The one-room schoolhouse was filled with students of varied ages, and children worked alongside adults. [This is] a lively picture of the development of age consciousness in urban middle-class culture." --Robert H. Binstock, The New York Times Book Review "A fresh perspective on a century of social and cultural development."--Michael R. Dahlin, American Historical Review

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1. BLURRED AGE DISTINCTIONS: AMERICAN SOCIETY BEFORE 1850

CHAPTER 2. ORIGINS OF AGE GRADING: EDUCATION AND MEDICINE

CHAPTER 3. AGE NORMS AND SCHEDULING: THE 1890S

CHAPTER 4. INTENSIFICATION OF AGE NORMS: 1900-1920

CHAPTER 5. EMERGENCE OF A PEER SOCIETY

CHAPTER 6. ACT YOUR AGE: THE CULTURE OF AGE, 1900-1935

CHAPTER 7. AGE CONSCIOUSNESS IN AMERICAN POPULAR MUSIC

CHAPTER 8. CONTINUITIES AND CHANGES IN THE RECENT PAST

CONCLUSION

NOTES

INDEX

Notes:

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691221267

069122126X

OCLC:

1273305827