Children, Youth, and
Globalization
a conclusion
Where we began
• An interest in contemporary children’s culture
• An understanding that cc is affected by
globalization
• An interest in voice and agency in children’s lives
• A curiosity regarding what the UNCRC is and how
its connected to all of this
• A desire to understand the relationship between
institutions and individuals, adults and children,
and the local and the global
We built a tool box with critical theory
Ideologies
Social Construction
Social Variables
Binaries
Power versus Powerless
Adult/Child Binary
Empowerment
Consumerism and Commodity Culture
Globalization
Universalization
Concrete Images/Abstract Ideas
Politics of Childhood
Child as Political Tool
Children’s Own Culture
Adult Agenda
Agency/Self-Determination
Adult Allies
We began to explore the
“undefinable” globalization
“The movement, interaction, sharing, co-option, and
even imposition of economic goods and services,
cultures, ideas, ideologies, people’s lives and lived
experiences, food, plants, animals, labour, learning,
play, practices, and knowledge(s) across time and
space(s) previously thought to be impossible or at the
very least improbable.” (Gennaro, 2010)
BUT:
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ITS NOT A-HISTORICAL
IT IS NOT STATIC
IT IS NOT FINITE
IT IS NOT INNOCENT
We actively seeked out the 3 voices of
CCC
1. institutional (about children)
2. Institutional (for children)
3. Children’s voices
• In theory, in practise, and in story
And explored a range of contemporary
issues in children’s global lives
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Child labour
Child soldiers
Children and HIV/AIDs
Children and popular culture
Children and war
Children and consumerism
Children and technology
And most importantly, we tried to flip
the map
We examined the writing of history, the power of imperialism, the
notion of voice and the subaltern and the importance of context
And asked What if we flipped the map to see CHILDREN AS:
HEROES IN HISTORY
(Davis, 2010)
CITIZENS IN THEORY & ACTION
(O’Neil, 2010)
WRITERS OF THIER OWN EXPERIENCE
(Buckingham, 2010)
But how did we do this?
Thinking about the concept of “youth”
PTCTI
• The saturated self
• Imagined community of youth
• Synergy and convergence
Thinking globally about culture
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Globalization as hybridization
The 5 scapes
Evil Bertladen and whats lost in translation
Globalization as more than just
Americanization
• The need to connect the local with the global
Thinking about the construction of
culture/power
HISTORY:
• Its about story telling– but who’s stories are being told?
THEORY:
• Is about understanding the dynamics and relations of power in society
» ADULT vs CHILD
» POWER vs POWERLESS
» REPRESENTATION vs REALITY
» FASLE GENEROSITY vs ADULT ALLIES
WRITING:
• Is about naming the word and naming the world.
• The power of language
Thinking about context
• But what about bias?
• What about cultural relativity and sensitivity?
• There is a need to not only think globally and
act locally but to think locally and act globally
But more than theory was needed:
• We needed to explore what institutions like
the UN and UNICEF had to say about it.
• We needed to explore how these ideas were
explained to children
• We needed to explore children’s own voice.
• Now the big question remains:
• What are you going to do about it?