Childhood and Innocence in American Culture

This collection argues that the romanticized conflation of childhood and innocence in American culture has been on a steady decline at least since the 1960s--largely due to postmodern critiques of overarching narratives involving both the child and the innocence of childhood. Additionally, this collection highlights and analyzes examples of childrens literature and culture throughout the 20th century (and into the 21st) which pointedly defy traditional, idealized notions of childhood. Such an analysis serves to reiterate the idea that the romanticized notion of childhood which has pervaded American culture for over two centuries is little more than a cultural construction that bears little to no resemblance to the actual, lived experience of American children.