University of British Columbia Press
The Nurture of Nature
Childhood, Antimodernism, and Ontario Summer Camps, 1920-55
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
The Nurture of Nature
Childhood, Antimodernism, and Ontario Summer Camps, 1920-55
Thousands of children attended summer camps in twentieth-century Ontario. Did parents simply want a break, or were broader developments at play? The Nurture of Nature explores how competing cultural tendencies – antimodern nostalgia and modern sensibilities about the landscape, child rearing, and identity – shaped the development of summer camps and, consequently, modern social life in North America. A valuable resource for those interested in the connections between the history of childhood, the natural environment, and recreation, The Nature of Nurture will also appeal to anyone who has been packed off to camp and wants to explore why.
Table of Contents
Foreword: Modernism in Camp: A Wilderness Paradox / Graeme Wynn
Introduction
1 Back to Nature: Escaping the City, Ordering the Wild
2 Socialism for the Rich: Class Formation at the Private Camp
3 "All they need is air": Building Health, Shaping Class at the Fresh Air Camp
4 Making Modern Childhood, the Natural Way: The Camp Experiment with Psychology, Mental Hygiene, and Progressive Education
5 Shaping True Natures in Nature: Camping, Gender, and Sexuality
6 Totem Poles, Tepees, and Token Traditions: "Playing Indian" at Camp
Conclusion: All Antimodern Melts into Modern?
Notes
Bibliography
Index