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Theorizing Childhood(s) from Post and De-Colonial Perspectives
Language: English and Spanish
Theorizing childhood(s) has been a major concern and agenda of the so-called ‘new childhood studies’ in tune with the emergent social and cultural conditions modelling the lives of children from the second half of the 20thcentury. This agenda has been consistently undertaken by Northern scholars whose knowledge production has expanded considerably across the globe, north and south. Postcolonial, and the more recent contribution of de-colonial, theories problematize the hegemonizing impact of scientific knowledge of Northern countries which tends to obfuscate its own particular conditions of production and, consequently, its constitutive partiality and limitations.
This session invites papers, both empirical and theoretical, which seek to build up a discursive interface between recent childhood scholarship and post and de-colonial theories. On one side, we would welcome papers which undertake a more theoretical discussion and problematization of key concepts of childhood studies, such as agency, individual autonomy, social competence, children’s rights, development and so forth from a post and/or a de-colonial perspective. On the other side, empirical papers are welcome dealing with either specific social issues, such as child labour, domestic violence, physical punishment, or, with ampler topics such as, social and political participation, intergenerational relationships, schooling and so forth. In both cases, the relevance of post and/or de-colonial perspectives to discuss and analyse empirical data should be noted and foregrounded. Lastly, this session also welcomes papers whose data can provide an opportunity to discuss - to question or to corroborate - the legitimacy of the North-South divide with respect to childhood studies.