Boyhood Studies

The interdisciplinary field of boyhood studies encompasses a range of practical and theoretical approaches to the study of boys and boyhood. Like childhood studies itself, which it clearly draws on and, in recent years, has developed from, contemporary boyhood studies bring together researchers from various academic disciplines, including—but not limited to—sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, and literary studies. Boyhood studies initiate complex considerations of deceptively simple questions, such as what is a boy or how should boyhood be defined? In a broader sense, the work of boyhood studies extends beyond the academy to include a diverse array of stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, activists, and boys themselves, all of whom approach these questions differently, a recognition that contemporary boyhood studies takes as a starting point. Practitioners ...