Available online
Description
This programme looks at Neil Postman's controversial theory that childhood was created by the printing press. To explore this view, we find out what a child's life was like in the Medieval Period p...rior to the invention of the printing press where life was dominated by the oral culture and a child was considered to be adult when speech was mastered. The programme uses a reconstruction of medieval life that was set up by the Historical Society of Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. We show what life could have been like in the medieval period - but very much with Neil Postman's view in mind. We also use the evidence of Bruegel's paintings which show adults and children together - enjoying life as if there were no separation. The programme then goes on to explore what happened when the invention of the printing press occurred in the 16th century and the effect it had on a child's life. We achieve this by reconstructing life in a Victorian school and show that childhood had become an apprenticeship to adulthood, where children had to learn how to read in order to become and adult. The programme concludes by showing how present day schools actually user reading as a means of showing a child what it its to be a child.
This programme looks at Neil Postman's controversial theory that childhood was created by the printing press. To explore this view, we find out what a child's life was like in the Medieval Period p...rior to the invention of the printing press where life was dominated by the oral culture and a child was considered to be adult when speech was mastered. The programme uses a reconstruction of medieval life that was set up by the Historical Society of Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. We show what life could have been like in the medieval period - but very much with Neil Postman's view in mind. We also use the evidence of Bruegel's paintings which show adults and children together - enjoying life as if there were no separation. The programme then goes on to explore what happened when the invention of the printing press occurred in the 16th century and the effect it had on a child's life. We achieve this by reconstructing life in a Victorian school and show that childhood had become an apprenticeship to adulthood, where children had to learn how to read in order to become and adult. The programme concludes by showing how present day schools actually user reading as a means of showing a child what it its to be a child.
| Module code and title: | D211, Social problems and social welfare |
|---|---|
| Item code: | D211; 01 |
| Recording date: | 15-07-1987 |
| First transmission date: | 1988 |
| Published: | 1988 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:25:00 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Eleanor Morris |
| Contributors: | Marilyn Finlay; Paul Maxwell; Andrew Wilkinson |
| Keyword(s): | 16th Century; Bruegel; Kentwell Hall; Victorian school; Adulthood |
| Production number: | FOUD308D |
| Videofinder number: | 1121 |
| Available to public: | no |
