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The Futures They Want: Bringing Children into Global Sociology.
The Futures They Want: Bringing Children into Global Sociology.
Tuesday, 12 July 2016: 10:45-12:15
Location: Übungsraum 4A KS (Neues Institutsgebäude (NIG))
RC53 Sociology of Childhood (host committee) Language: English
This session concerns the ongoing tensions between children as “becomings” and children as “beings”, and the difficulties to move beyond locating children in terms of their future potential. There are a host of studies, particularly within childhood sociology, focusing on children’s lives in the here and now, but what influence or impact do these studies have on imagining children in the current tense or on wider sociological concerns and interests?
For example, in Europe discourses around social investment welfare states fundamentally locate children in terms of their future potential and how the “right inputs” will produce “successful outcomes” for children in the future. To what extent do actual children’s perspectives feed into these debates?
Is global sociology premised on visioning children in terms of imagined futures? What is the evidence base for this visioning? To what extent does global sociology engage with children and childhood? Childhood remains marginal to the key debates that take place in ISA conferences. How can sociology of childhood contribute to change this situation? What theories and research can improve the inclusion of children’s perspectives in global sociology?
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