Wunderkind | Historical Context
The Idea of the Teenager
The category of ‘‘teenager’’ is a familiar, wellestablished part of our culture; we may not consider that, as a social ‘‘type,’’ it is a relatively recent invention. But the idea that one’s teenage years are a separate and distinct stage of life has really come into its own only in the twentieth century. While all cultures have their own child-rearing customs and recognize a distinction between the states of adulthood and childhood, the notion of an extended period of transition between these roles has been relatively rare in...
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