Dennis L. Carlson: Education of Eros: A History of Education and the Problem of Adolescent Sexuality

The Education of Eros: A History of Education and the Problem with Adolescent Sexuality is an interesting look into the development of the adolescents in society, how adolescents are regarded, and how their education has changed throughout the past century. It is important that Carson decided to research these questions because society’s foundation for youth is their education, and education will be responsible for their development and futures. The author carefully breaks down the latter half of the twentieth century into eight chapters, specifying the characteristics of several decades and their contribution to the transformation of sexual education for adolescents. Carson touches on topics ranging from controversial contraception debates, abortion, race, and human sexuality and their effect on youth’s sexual development. He explains how these topics have been covered in decades past and how they have presented issues in the field of education, as well as the irony of society’s restrictions of education on sex while society’s obsession with sexualized media becomes a greater issue. …