Disturbing Visions of Childhood: René Schérer's Writing in the 1970S. Issue 1 (March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Mason, Richard
• Is Part Of: Nottingham French studies. Volume 59:Issue 1(2020)
• Page Start: 80
• Page End: 96
• Publication Date: 2020-03
• Subjects: René Schérer -- childhood -- pedagogy -- sexuality -- representation; French literature -- History and criticism -- Periodicals; 840
• DOI: 10.3366/nfs.2020.0273
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0029-4586

Abstract

Abstract : This article analyses the critique of childhood undertaken by the French philosopher René Schérer in the 1970s. It explores Schérer's scepticism regarding children's 'emancipation' in the post-68 period and his attacks on developmental expertise derived from the fields of psychology, psychoanalysis and pedagogy. Existing critical appraisals of this body of work have focused, unsurprisingly, on its apology for paedophilia, which Schérer promoted as a means of liberating children from society's dominant maturational narratives. The article rejects Schérer's defence of paedophilia. It argues, however, that the philosopher's controversial views on intergenerational desire conceal a number of other ethical and epistemological concerns that merit revisiting. These arise from Schérer's reflections on generational distinction, the temporalities of childhood and adulthood and the ethics of representation.