HIST 3320: The History of Childhood

Week 15: The world of Native American Children  

Student Presentation 

Tuesday, Dec. 3^rd:

• Joseph Bruchac & John Smelcer, “The Boarding School Experience in American Indian

Literature”

https://docplayer.net/12465273-The-boarding-school-experience-in-american-indian-literature.html

• The Native American Child 

"Impressions of an Indian Childhood" by Zitkala-Sa [aka Gertrude Simmons Bonnin] (1876-1938) 

http://xroads.virginia.edu/~Hyper/INCORP/Native/childhood.html

Publication: American Indian Stories by Zitkala-Sa. Washington: Hayworth Publishing House, 1921. pp. 7-45. 

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/zitkala-sa/stories/impressions.html

Discussion Questions: 

• What role does the state play in managing the lives of children? Consider the various areas in which state has power over family lives (marriage; legitimacy; illegitimacy; property; inheritance; education).
• Discuss the different instances from Latin America, Africa, and the US in which the state makes major interventions in children’s lives. How do they affect children in specific scenarios? 
• How did the experiences of Native American children differ from the experiences of most American children from the time that we are familiar with? What do their experiences tell you about the role of state in children’s lives? What insights did you gain from their stories? 

Thursday, Dec. 5^th: Children in the Margins

• Oishik Sircar and Debolina Datta, “Beyond Compassion: Children of Sex Workers in Kolkata’s Sonagachhi,” Childhood 18, No. 3 (2011): 333-349.
• Gilda Charrier, Edna Hernandez Gonzales and Jean-Marc Serme, “Childhoods and Inequalities in America” in IdeAs. Idées d'Amériques, Issue 22, 2023

https://journals.openedition.org/ideas/16679?lang=en

• Film: Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids. Director Zana Briski. 2004 Documentary

                       https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWmB_nYkknw

Final Paper Outline due in class and as an Assignment on BB on Dec. 5^th.

• Is Stearns’ description of the state of modern children in affluent and developing societies convincing to you? What are the strengths and weaknesses of his analysis? 
• How would you remedy Stearns’ shortcomings in your method analysis? 
• What is eugenics? How has eugenics been connected to national and social identity of children and women? Draw examples from post-revolutionary Mexico and colonial India.

Discussion Board (DB) #8 (250-300 words) due on Blackboard.

• Develop a critique of Stearns’ Chapters 9 and 10. A critique involves discussion of both strength and weakness. Do you agree with his views and the evidence he presents for the chapters? Draw on the readings and discussions of the class and offer some suggestions to strengthen Stearns’ analysis.