The primary sources in this module lay out the historical conditions that made children important topics of intellectual engagement during Han times and explore themes such as nature vs nurture, separation of the sexes and gender differentiation, the concept of the child as an embodiment of cosmic process and heavenly order, and issues surrounding the status of the child in the family, the state and gerontocratic Chinese culture. [more]

The following will belongs to the butcher Phylippinus. The butcher and his wife were a well-off couple, owning at least two shops in Bologna's central meat market as well as land outside of Bologna in Borgo Panigale. Their last wishes reflect this… [more]

The following will belongs to the butcher Phylippinus' wife. The butcher and his wife were a well-off couple, owning at least two shops in Bologna's central meat market as well as land outside of Bologna in Borgo Panigale. Their last wishes reflect… [more]

Below is a will that offers a window into the family life of Carinus, a parchment worker, or cartolarius, a fairly common trade in the university town of Bologna. Although many wealthy people left long and complicated wills filled with lists of pious… [more]

This teaching module offers an array of evidence to investigate the experience of children during the Black Death and question the traditional view that the epidemic caused wide-spread social chaos resulting in the abandonment of family members, even of children by their parents.

Health and sickness, as it pertains to children and youth in Early Modern England, is examined through an array of primary sources that illuminate both the perils of childhood in that age and the measures taken for the care of the ill and the emotional investment of families in caring for them.

Infanticide or the killing of a baby was punishable by hanging in early modern England. Unlike married women accused of infanticide, the mere fact that single women had tried to conceal the death of their babies was considered proof of murder under… [more]

The Dolben's Act of 1788 was proposed by noted abolitionist Sir William Dolben before the English Parliament. While it was meant to restrict the slave trade, it actually had an adverse effect on children. The act mandated that no more than two fifths… [more]

Official interest in the rights of children has grown over the course of the 20th century. Urbanization and industrialization led reformers at the turn of the century to focus on child welfare and on children's rights as separate from those of… [more]

The years following World War II marked a key shift in international policy related to human rights. Few, however, connect the history of human rights to the children's rights movement. By the early 20th century, urbanization and industrialization… [more]