'Time-Out' in the Land of Apu : Childhoods, Bildungsmoratorium and the Middle Classes of Urban West Bengal

Within Childhood Research starkly different theoretical and empirical concerns characterize the global south-north divide. Hia Sen attempts to bridge the gap in Childhood Research which usually addresses childhoods differently according to their 'developing/developed', 'western/non-western' contexts, and finds its middle ground in the context of the urban middle classes in contemporary West Bengal. The author documents areas such as leisure practices and everyday lives of school children in India for three cohorts, where it is possible to have a comparative perspective of childhoods given the existing rich ethnographic and historical research on childhoods in other cultural contexts. Within Childhood Research starkly different theoretical and empirical concerns characterize the global south-north divide. Hia Sen attempts to bridge the gap in Childhood Research which usually addresses childhoods differently according to their 'developing/developed', 'western/non-western' contexts, and finds its middle ground in the context of the urban middle classes in contemporary West Bengal. The author documents areas such as leisure practices and everyday lives of school children in India for three cohorts, where it is possible to have a comparative perspective of childhoods given the existing rich ethnographic and historical research on childhoods in other cultural contexts. Contents · Childhoods and Social Inequalities · Sentiment, Middle Classes, and a Culture of Childhood in Bengal · Talking to Children, and Talking about Childhoods · The Bhadralok Culture and the Ethos of Education in Bengal · Leisure Culture and Space · Class, Gender, and Generation in Children’s Culture Die Zielgruppen · Researchers, students, and practitioners in the fields of childhood sociology, sociology of social inequalities, social pedagogy, history, and education The Author Dr. Hia Sen studied sociology in Kolkata and New Delhi and completed her doctoral thesis at the University of Freiburg, Germany. She is an Assistant Professor of sociology at Presidency University, Kolkata, India Front Matter....Pages 1-10 Introduction....Pages 11-30 Growing Up Different: Childhoods and Social Inequalities....Pages 31-56 Sentiment, Middle Classes and a Culture of Childhood in Bengal....Pages 57-79 Talking to Children, and Talking about Childhoods....Pages 81-103 ‘Being Good at Studies’: The Bhadralok Culture and the Ethos of Education in Bengal....Pages 105-140 Afternoons after School: ‘Leisure’ Culture and Space....Pages 141-179 Doraemon to Dance Lessons: Children, Leisure and Cultural Heritage....Pages 181-206 Together and Apart: Class, Gender and Generation in children’s Culture....Pages 207-238 The Children From Memory....Pages 239-265 Conclusion....Pages 267-276 Back Matter....Pages 277-302 Hia Sen ; Foreword By Hermann Schwengel. Originally Presented As The Author's Thesis (doctoral)--universität Freiburg Im Breisgau, 2012. Includes Bibliographical References.