Revisiting Mister Rogers' Neighborhood: Essays on Lessons About Self and Community

by Steven M. Emmanuel (Editor), Steven M. Emmanuel

Overview

During its 33-season run, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood (1968–2001) left an indelible mark on millions of children and their caregivers. Perhaps no series in the history of children’s television has done more to develop the identity and ethics of the child. More than a decade after Fred Rogers’ death, he continues to attract an audience online. Yet despite the show’s lasting impact it has been largely ignored by scholars. This collection of new essays focuses on Rogers’ contributions to children’s lives, to the media and to American culture at large. The contributors discuss his stance on the individual and the perception of self, his ideas about meaningful participation in a community and his use of television. Clearly, Mr. Rogers’ ideas still strongly resonate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476623412
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	02/10/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	180
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Kathy Merlock Jackson is a professor of communication at Virginia Wesleyan College, where she teaches media studies and children’s culture. She is the editor of The Journal of American Culture and a former president of the American Culture Association. Steven M. Emmanuel is a professor of philosophy at Virginia Wesleyan College, where he specializes in the history of philosophy and comparative moral and religious thought.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vi
Introduction 1
The Performance of the Pastoral (Chris Buczinsky) 3
Social Activism for the Small Set (Kathy Merlock Jackson) 12
Good Neighbors, Moral Philosophy and the Masculine Ideal (Sue Matheson) 24
Grown-Up Work and the Work of Growing Up (Valerie H. Pennanen) 40
Dis-Alienating the Neighborhood: The Representation of Work and Community (Tim Libretti) 59
Fantasy as Free Space: Mister Rogers’ Neighborhoods (Susan Larkin) 76
The Presence of Mister Rogers (Steven M. Emmanuel) 88
A Different Voice: Mister Rogers and the Ethic of Care (Richard L. Bilsker) 105
Community as Emotional Education: Fred Rogers and Edith Stein (Peter R. Costello) 115
Structure and Story in the Operas (Maura Grady) 130
Fred Rogers and the Early Use of Puppetry on American Children’s Television (Mark I. West) 146
Chronology 153
A Selective Bibliography of Works by and About Fred Rogers (Camille McCutcheon) 157
About the Contributors 165
Index 167