| Abstract |
The specificity of the “sentiment” of childhood, which is considered a social and cultural construction, began to take shape initially in the bosom of the rising bourgeois and more generally middle class of the western European world during the late 18th century onwards. This study focuses on the Greek case and specifically on the Greek middle social strata in the making, during the last quarter of the 19th - early 20th centuries. At that time and within these strata, childhood gradually began to be recognised and even idealised as a specific and ‘innocent’ period in human life, while simultaneously it was invested with unique characteristics. That was the result of profound changes taking place in the field of emotion and corresponded with the rise of other bourgeois social values and ideals, such as the ideal of motherhood and the ideal of domesticity. The first, introductory, chapter of this study follows the findings of the Greek historical production related to these issues and discusses some crucial aspects of the crystallization of the “sentiment” of childhood, as well as its gendered dimension. The chapter concludes by putting forward the contribution of children’s and youth’s press in this process, especially that of Diaplasis ton Pedon (Children’s Formation) (Athens, 1879-1948), the first typical specimen of this special category of press in Greece. Diaplasis ton Pedon was also the first to introduce on behalf of its young subscribers the practice of exchanging a sort of “scrapbooks”, under the name of “Mikra mou Mistika” (My Little Secrets). This practice was inaugurated in 1897 and continued, with great success, until the end of Diaplasis’ life. A sample of these documents covering the years 1900-1904 was recently published. This sample constitutes the object of this research project.
“Mikra mou Mistika” were actually booklets containing a printed set series of questions formulated by the periodical and which had to be answered by the persons who participated in this exchange. Although this exchange was directly and narrowly controlled by the periodical, and censorship was imposed to the answers, this undertaking is of great historical importance, to the extent that through this practice the young boy/girl is recognized as an active subject, who can share experiences, habits, tastes and desires with persons of the same age; thus she/he can eventually “claim” a sort of youthful subjectivity. But more than issues of subjectivity, this kind of personal document highlights social practices and habits in everyday life, sociability, lifestyle and socialization of children and the youth within the urban middle and upper strata in Greece, but also among Greek communities of the Diaspora, in the early 20th century. These documents also bare stereotypical values diffused by the official culture of the school. With the help of methods of thematic content analysis, my approach is mainly directed towards the investigation of the above mentioned social practices and values, including aspects of national culture and consciousness, at a time when the phenomenon of Greek nationalism was in full spate. In my analysis, issues of gender and social status are treated, to the extent that the findings of the research (i.e., differentiation of the answers according to the sex or the place of residence of the subscribers), permits me to discuss such issues.
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"Παιδικοί" και "νεανικοί" κόσμοι "τα Μικρά μου Μυστικά" : ένα παιδαγωγικό/νεανικό λεύκωμα στις αρχές του 20ου αιώνα (1900-1904)
