1st Edition
The Life Space of the Urban Child Perspectives on Martha Muchow's Classic Study
The heart of this book is the translation of The Life Space of the Urban Child, written in 1935 by Martha and Hans Heinrich Muchow. Life Space provides a fresh look at children as actors and how they absorb their city environments. It uses an empirical base connected with theories about the worlds in which children live.
The first section provides historical background on Muchow's study and the author. The second section presents the translation of the Life Space study, as well as comments from an environmental psychologist's perspective. The third section reviews the study's theoretical foundations, including the concept of "critical personalism," the perspectives of phenomenology, and the notion of Umwelt (environment). The last section addresses various lines of research developed from the Life Space study, including Muchow's work in describing children in urban environments, methodological approaches, and the significance of space in social science and educational contexts.
The manner in which Martha Muchow conducted her studies is itself of note. She obtained access to the children in their environments and combined observation with cartographies and essays produced by the children. This approach was new at the time and continues to inspire researchers today. This volume is the latest work in Transaction's History and Theory of Psychology series.
Series Editor's Foreword
Observational Phenomenology in the Making: Learning
from Martha Muchow
Jaan Valsiner
Muchow's Marks—An Introduction
Gunter Mey and Hartmut Gunther
Part I: Background
Martha Muchow and Hans Heinrich Muchow:
The Life Space of the Urban Child—The Loss and
Discovery, Connections and Requisites
Imbke Behnken and Jurgen Zinnecker
Martha Muchow—A Life Devoted to Educational
Enlightenment and to the Scientific Foundation
of Understanding Children's Worlds
Kurt Kreppner
Martha Muchow's Life Space Study in the Context of
Contemporary Childhood and Adolescent Research
Elfriede Billmann-Mahecha
Part II: The Study
The Life Space of the Urban Child
Martha Muchow and Hans Heinrich Muchow
An Environmental Psychologist as Translator: Some
Personal Comments on The Life Space of the Urban Child
Hartmut Gunther
Part III: Theoretical Foundations
Personalistic Undertones in The Life Space of the Urban Child
James T. Lamiell
Applying Jakob von Uexkull's Concept of Umwelt
to Human Experience and Development
Lauri Linask, Riin Magnus, and Kalevi Kull
Beyond Methodological Dichotomy—Martha
Muchow's Methodological Foundations and Their
Relation to Phenomenology
Peter Faulstich and Hannelore Faulstich-Wieland
Part IV: Perspectives
Martha Muchow's Contribution to Developmental
and Ecological Psychology—Children's Places as
Contexts for Behavior and Development
Urs Fuhrer
Martha Muchow's Methodological Heritage—
Pioneering Qualitative Research
Gunter Mey
Children as Actors—Muchow's Life Space Study
and Its Implications for "New" Childhood Studies
Beatrice Hungerland
Children in the Classroom
Gerold Scholz
Media.City.Spaces—Children's Lifeworlds
Kristin Westphal
Contributors
Index
Biography
Mey, Gunter
