Childhood and Society [Paperback]

Erik H. Erikson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 17, 1993

The landmark work on the social significance of childhood.

The original and vastly influential ideas of Erik H. Erikson underlie much of our understanding of human development. His insights into the interdependence of the individuals' growth and historical change, his now-famous concepts of identity, growth, and the life cycle, have changed the way we perceive ourselves and society. Widely read and cited, his works have won numerous awards including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.

Combining the insights of clinical psychoanalysis with a new approach to cultural anthropology, Childhood and Society deals with the relationships between childhood training and cultural accomplishment, analyzing the infantile and the mature, the modern and the archaic elements in human motivation. It was hailed upon its first publication as "a rare and living combination of European and American thought in the human sciences" (Margaret Mead, The American Scholar). Translated into numerous foreign languages, it has gone on to become a classic in the study of the social significance of childhood.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

A winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, Erik H. Erikson was renowned worldwide as teacher, clinician, and theorist in the field of psychoanalysis and human development.

Product Details

• Paperback: 445 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (September 17, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039331068X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393310689
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #38,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #66 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Mental Health > Compulsive Behavior

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 84 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic and food for thought, April 2, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Childhood and Society (Paperback)

Read it just because it's a classic or read it because it has interesting things to say for today. Read it because it's so well written. The narrative just flows, and before you know it you've absorbed some pretty important concepts.

Erikson addresses nothing less than the role of psychology in the world, and the role of childhood in our social worlds. It's a combination of the clinical, the social, and the developmental, a combination of psychology and history. Case studies are presented and large themes are addressed.

"...we are also forced to recognize a universal blind spot in the makers and interpreters of history," writes Erikson, "... they ignore the fateful function of childhood in the fabric of society" (p. 404).

Whether or not you agree with all Erikson says, you will find it food for thought.

27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't worry, You are only having an 'Identity- crisis'., May 9, 2006

By 

Shalom Freedman "Shalom Freedman" (Jerusalem,Israel) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Childhood and Society (Paperback)

This book published in 1950 was Erikson's breakthrough book, the first one by which he became known to a wide popular audience. Certain of the ideas formulated in this book have become part of the language of our general culture, most notably the concept of 'identity- crisis'.
At the heart of the theoretical framework of this work is Erikson's conception of eight- stages of life.
The first of these stages he calls the 'oral- sensory'.It involves the conflict between basic trust and mistrust.
The second is called the muscular- anal involving the confluct between Autonomy and Shame and Doubt.
The third is the Locomotor Genital involving the conflict between Initiative and Guilt.
The fourth is the Latent involving the conflict between Industry and Inferiority.
The fifth is Adolescence where the Identity- Crisis comes into play at a time of Role- confusion.
The sixth is Young Adulthood in which Intimacy is in conflict with Isolation.
The seventh is Adulthood where Generativity conflicts with Stagnation.
The final is 'Maturity' or "Old Age' where Despair threatens Ego Integrity.
In this work Erikson brings case - history, comparitive anthropological data in showing how the human personality is transformed during the person's lifetime also through its encounters with Society . A pioneering work of great importance.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting, But Not Exactly for the People-Magazine-Type Reader, May 19, 2008

By 

Franklin the Mouse (Gorham, ME USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Childhood and Society (Paperback)

Mr. Erikson wrote a thought-provoking book, but it is certainly a product of his times. Such notions as homosexuality being deviant (his word, not mine) behavior and was more of a symptom of a psychologically damaged individual has not held up to present scientific evidence. Overall, the book is a fascinating dissection of childhood development and how it possibly manifests itself in adulthood. But reading this material wasn't exactly a cake walk. I doubt many casual readers could wade through Mr. Erikson's book without developing MEGO (My Eyes Glaze Over) Syndrome. For what it's worth, I enjoyed most of it.