Babies Made Us Modern: How Infants Brought America Into the Twentieth Century

Placing babies' lives at the center of her narrative, historian Janet Golden analyzes the dramatic transformations in the lives of American babies during the twentieth century. She examines how babies shaped American society and culture and led their families into the modern world to become more accepting of scientific medicine, active consumers, open to new theories of human psychological development, and welcoming of government advice and programs. Importantly Golden also connects the reduction in infant mortality to the increasing privatization of American lives. She also examines the influence of cultural traditions and religious practices upon the diversity of infant lives, exploring the ways class, race, region, gender, and community shaped life in the nursery and household.

Author: Janet Golden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Published: 04/19/2018
Pages: 280
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.16lbs
Size: 9.29h x 6.35w x 0.96d
ISBN: 9781108415002

Review Citation(s):
Choice 11/01/2018

About the Author
Golden, Janet: - Janet Golden is Professor of History at Rutgers University Camden. She is the author of several articles and books, including Message in a Bottle: The Making of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (2006). She is co-editor of the Critical Issues in Health and Medicine Series at Rutgers University Press and the Philadelphia Inquirer's public health blog.