Rituals
and Patterns in Children's Lives
Edited by Kathy Merlock Jackson
Popular Press
A Ray and
Pat Browne Book
"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 Jackson
- 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.
Kathy Merlock Jackson is Batten Professor and coordinator of communications
at Virginia Wesleyan College. She coedits the Journal of American
Culture.
Media & bookseller inquiries regarding review copies, events, and interviews can be directed to the publicity department at publicity@uwpress.wisc.edu or (608) 263-0734. (If you want to examine a book for possible course use, please see our Course Books page. If you want to examine a book for possible rights licensing, please see Rights & Permissions.) |
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Spring 2005
LC: 2004025632 GT
296 pp. 6 x 9
9 b/w photos, 8 b/w line drawings
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