El nacimiento de la inocencia: estudio histórico de las representaciones de la infancia en Cuenca (1900-1950)

Abstract

At the beginning of the 20th century, in Latin America a rupture emerged among the ideologies of that time, which led to social transformations in favor of children. As a result, these subjects are recognized, who had been hidden and relegated. In this way, this research paper aims to analyze the characteristics of the State and the Church´s representation of childhood, and the way in which they are perceived by families, focused on the urban section of Cuenca city, during 1900 to 1950. In order to do this, a historical research methodology is conducted, which allows the understanding of mentalities and their influence on social dynamics. Primary sources include the First Code of Minors, Ecclesiastical Bulletins, Archives and literary novels: Los hijos de Cuesta y Cuesta, Sal y Chorro Cañamazo de G.H. Bush. All of them were focused on the time of the study. Consequently, it can be observed that the changes of modernity and the conflict of the secularism of education, promoted by the Constitution of 1906, generated a control for social hegemony influenced by the two institutions. Therefore, the childhood category was positioned in these transformations, from which a model of romantic childhood linked to a character of innocence and dependence was promoted, either for the protection of the spirit or the body, since the "future" of the country would depend on them.