Learning to Be an Individual delves into how the ideology of individualism shapes American personhood by examining socialization during early adolescence. As an anthropological study, it painstakingly analyzes the workings of American cultural conceptions of self, person, and emotion in the minute details of everyday school life. In so doing, it draws attention to a crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of schooling: affective education. It also points out how emotion is deeply involved in morality politics in American education and society. This is a book that needs to be read by anyone interested in the role of individualism in public education.

Learning to Be an Individual delves into how the ideology of individualism shapes American personhood by examining socialization during early adolescence. As an anthropological study, it painstakingly analyzes the workings of American cultural conceptions of self, person, and emotion in the minute details of everyday school life. In so doing, it draws attention to a crucial, yet often overlooked, aspect of schooling: affective education. It also points out how emotion is deeply involved in morality politics in American education and society. This is a book that needs to be read by anyone interested in the role of individualism in public education.