'A Mountain of Words': Children's Literacy in Rural France, 1800-1950

Elizabeth Chalmers Macknight

doi:10.3167/hrrh.2019.450303

'A Mountain of Words': Children's Literacy in Rural France, 1800-1950

Elizabeth Chalmers Macknight^* (Corresponding Author)

^*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

This article presents an interdisciplinary approach to archival research on records produced by children that survive in family archives. It corresponds with the aims of education specialists who investigate patterns in language learning to understand how young minds absorb influences concurrently from familial, religious, and social circles across disparate cultural settings. Drawing upon the concept of syncretic literacy, the article interprets French archival evidence of children’s development of linguistic competency and sensitivity to language use in context. It argues for the need to advocate both the conservation of children’s archives and the design of educational programs that enable children to discover the role of archivists and the purposes of recordkeeping in society.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	42-78
Number of pages	37
Journal	Historical Reflections / Réflexions Historiques
Volume	45
Issue number	3
Early online date	1 Dec 2019
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3167/hrrh.2019.450303
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2019

Keywords

childhood
literacy
social class
rural communities
France

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Macknight_HRRH45.3_AAM
This is the author's manuscript as accepted for publication in Historical Reflections. Re-use permitted under https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Accepted author manuscript, 429 KBLicence: CC BY-NC-ND

Cite this

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'A Mountain of Words': Children's Literacy in Rural France, 1800-1950

Abstract

Keywords

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