Sociology of Children and Childhood

Birkas barn - en studie om social stratifiering på Birka

by Patrik Gustafsson

This paper presents and analyzes the child burials in Birka. The goal is to find connections between burial location,... more This paper presents and analyzes the child burials in Birka. The goal is to find connections between burial location, burial customs and social stratification. By doing so I will try to get a better understanding of the childs social status during the Viking age in Birka.

Engineering love

by Brian Earp

Savulescu, J. and Sandberg, A. (2012). Love machine: Engineering lifelong romance. New Scientist, 2864, 28-29.

Essay partially adapted from Earp, B. D., Sandberg, A., and Savulescu, J. (2012). Natural selection, childrearing, and the ethics of marriage (and divorce): Building a case for the neuroenhancement of human relationships. Philosophy & Technology, forthcoming [see "profile" box in article].

Available at the New Scientist website: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.200-love-machine-engineering-lifelong-romance.html

New Scientist BIG IDEA section, May 2012.

With break-up and divorce a major part of modern life, it looks... more New Scientist BIG IDEA section, May 2012.

With break-up and divorce a major part of modern life, it looks like we may be outliving our inborn capacity to love. But there could be a way to outwit evolution and make love last.

Also available at New Scientist: http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21428646.200-love-machine-engineering-lifelong-romance.html.

Extreme parenting and Time magazine

by Deborah Lupton

A commentary published on an online discussion site on the infamous Time magazine cover of 21 May 2012 featuring a woman breastfeeding her 3 year old son.

A Proposed Measure of Social Dominance Orientation in Children

by Megan Kennedy-Woodard

Social Dominance Orientation (Sidanius, Pratto, Stallworth, Bertrem & Malle, 1994) identifies an individual’s... more Social Dominance Orientation (Sidanius, Pratto, Stallworth, Bertrem & Malle, 1994) identifies an individual’s degree of preference to the adherence or rejection of structured hierarchy within a society. SDO-C is a proposed adaptation of this measure, designed by the present study to test SDO in children. 52 children participated in the study, aged 9-11 years (M=10.81, SD=0.63). Results revealed a number of statistically significant correlations in support of the SDO-C measure. Two Factors of SDO were identified, as well as the total of the two. These were found to correlate significantly with a number of hypothesised factors including gender, cognitive empathy, pro-social behaviour and distributive justice. The efficacy of SDO-C is discussed, alongside the importance of early identification of SDO, including implications of prejudice, discrimination and pro-social programmes.

Key words: social dominance theory, social dominance orientation, social identity theory, empathy, distributive justice, social identity development theory.

Children as Researchers in Primary Schools: Choice, Voice and Participation

by Sue Bucknall

Published by Routledge on 24th May 2012

Children as Researchers in Primary Schools is an innovative and unique resource for practitioners supporting children... more Children as Researchers in Primary Schools is an innovative and unique resource for practitioners supporting children to become ‘real world’ researchers in the primary classroom. It will supply you with the skills and ideas you need to implement a ‘children as researchers’ framework in your school that can be adapted for different ages and abilities. Children in primary schools are accustomed to being set short-term goals and are often unaware of long-term aims or of the connections between the concepts and skills they are learning. In contrast, this book demonstrates that children engaging in the research process have authentic opportunities to apply invaluable personal, learning and thinking skills while managing their own projects, making their ‘voices’ heard and experiencing increased levels of engagement and self-esteem.

Based on the author’s 4-year research study exploring the experiences of young researchers and teachers in primary schools, and on her considerable experience of training young researchers, this book also contains:

    the history and theory behind ‘children as researchers’ initiatives;

    a model for good practice based on successful real life case studies;

    questions for reflective practice;

    practical examples of research in the classroom;

    photocopiable resources;

    opportunities for self-evaluation.

This comprehensive resource will be appeal to primary teachers, educational practitioners and students on CPD and ITT courses. It will also be of interest to teacher trainers, to academics involved in teaching and research and to all those interested in promoting children’s voices.

'I'm always on the lookout for what could be going wrong': mothers' concepts and experiences of health and illness in their young children

by Deborah Lupton

Sydney Health & Society Group Working Paper No. 1

Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a... more Mothers in contemporary western societies are expected to adhere to the principles of intensive parenting, spending a great deal of time and effort caring for their children, protecting them from risks and promoting their health, development and wellbeing. This paper draws upon research involving indepth interviews with 60 mothers of infants and young children living in Sydney. The discussion focuses in detail on three major topics discussed in the interviews: how the interviewees conceptualised good health and illness in their children; the role of diet and physical exercise in promoting children’s good health; and space, physical safety and bad influences. The study found that the interviewees reported that they ‘read the signs’ of their children’s bodies and had to ‘know’ their bodies intimately in order to do so. They also interpreted the signals of their own bodies – their ‘gut instincts’ – as part of the process of maintaining careful surveillance of their children’s health state. They represented diet and physical exercise as the most important dimensions of promoting their children’s health, and were very concerned about the risk of obesity in their children. Notions of space and judgements about the bodies within these spaces were also important to some of the women’s concepts of protecting their children’s health and wellbeing.

Connelly, R. (2011). Unhealthy weight in childhood: Investigating the drivers of childhood overweight and obesity using the Millennium Cohort Study. Scottish Government: Office of the Chief Researcher.

by Roxanne Connelly

Ashley’s treatment: the arrested development of a disabled child

by Karen Soldatic

in collaboration with Jo Milner

Navigating the Bio-politics of Childhood: How Far can Hybridity Take Us?

by Nick Lee

A much improved version is available in Childhood: a Global Journal of Child Research

Co-authored with Dr. Johanna Motzkau

The study of childhood is currently weakened by a biological/social dualism, separating ‘social’ from ‘developmental’... more The study of childhood is currently weakened by a biological/social dualism, separating ‘social’ from ‘developmental’ traditions and falsely identifying the investigation of life processes with the naturalisation of childhood. Researching the emerging space of childhood bio-politics, in which life processes are central to social and political processes, requires that these problems be managed. The view of childhood as a ‘hybrid’ phenomenon allows for the management of dualism but has difficulty navigating bio-political space. A supplementary approach based on multiplicities of ‘life’, ‘voice’ and ‘resource’ is described. The argument is illustrated by discussion of sonic ‘teen deterrents’ in the UK. .

Notes sur la captation de la main-d'oeuvre enfantine dans la région de Kayes, Mali (1904-1955)

by Marie Rodet

Journal des Africanistes, Tome 81, Fascicule 2, 2011, numéro thématique: Migration dans l'enfance, migrations de l'enfance, Regards pluridisciplinaires

Mots-clefs: Mali, Kayes, fin de l'esclavage, droit de tutelle, main-d'oeuvre enfantine, enfants confié-e-s, petites... more Mots-clefs: Mali, Kayes, fin de l'esclavage, droit de tutelle, main-d'oeuvre enfantine, enfants confié-e-s, petites bonnes, mise en gage


Keywords: Mali, Kayes, end of slavery, custody rights, children workforce, fostered children, pawnship

The Challenge of Childhood

by Nick Lee

An old paper asking why childhood often confuses the adult world

Precious, pure, uncivilised, vulnerable: infant embodiment in the popular media

by Deborah Lupton

This article is a preprint which has been submitted for publication. It may be cited.

Newsletter Nº 36, febrero de 2012 | AFIN, INFANCIAS & FAMILIAS | ENFERMERÍA Y NIÑAS Y NIÑOS EXPÓSITOS EN EL HOSPITAL DE LA SANTA CREU DE BARCELONA

by AFIN Barcelona

Dirección Newsletter: Esther Grau, Diana Marre y Beatriz San Román
Redacción de los contenidos de este número: Roser Valls Molins
Documentación: Anaïs Vidal
Formato y maquetación: Sofía Gaggiotti
Difusión: Maria Galizia
ISSN: 2013-2956

El infanticidio era una práctica frecuente en las culturas antiguas que permitía eliminar a los hijos e hijas no... more El infanticidio era una práctica frecuente en las culturas antiguas que permitía eliminar a los hijos e hijas no deseados por ser ilegítimos, tener algún defecto físico o malformación o por causas económicas. El cristianismo dio una nueva concepción del ser humano, al reconocer la misma dignidad a todas las personas y condenar el infanticidio, potenciando a su vez la atención a las personas enfermas y más débiles (mujeres, ancianos y niños y niñas huérfanos o expósitos). Con la prohibición del infanticidio, las familias más desvalidas de la sociedad –y especialmente las madres que eran marginadas de la población, como las prostitutas, esclavas o enfermas mentales– optaban por dejar de forma anónima a sus bebés en instituciones para que estas se hicieran cargo de los mismos. Por coherencia con su carácter cristiano, estos establecimientos
daban respuesta a esta demanda social. Esta función de acogida de los niños y niñas abandonados también correspondió al Hospital de la Santa Creu.

‘You feel so responsible’: Australian mothers’ concepts and experiences related to promoting the health and development of their young children.

by Deborah Lupton

In Zoller, H. and Dutta, M. (2008) (eds), Emerging Perspectives in Health Communication: Meaning, Culture, and Power. New York: Routledge, pp. 113—128.

Culture enfantine et alimentation

by Vincent Berry

Vincent Berry, Louis Mathiot, Nathalie Roucous, "Culture enfantine et alimentation", in Braban H, Turmel A., Les figures de l'enfance: un regard sociologique, Québec : Presses Inter Universitaires, 2012.

L’analyse des produits et des pratiques alimentaires enfantines met en évidence la façon dont l’enfance est... more L’analyse des produits et des pratiques alimentaires enfantines met en évidence la façon dont l’enfance est aujourd’hui prise dans des discours paradoxaux : sommés par la publicité à consommer des produits « fun », centrés sur le plaisir et le divertissement, les enfants font dans le même temps l’objet de prescriptions et de préoccupations sanitaires, nutritionnelles et éducatives. Apparaît ainsi, à travers l’alimentation, une image complexe de l’enfance, en tension, entre d’un coté, un enfant consommateur et prescripteur et, de l’autre, une enfance objet d’attention, de vigilance et de craintes de la part des adultes. Au croisement d’une « société de consommation » produite par les adultes, et d’une « société entre enfants » qui fabrique ses propres codes, règles et pratiques, la culture enfantine contemporaine se construit.

The Pre-Raphaelite Children of John Everett Millais

by Margarita Georgieva

Re-Exploring Childhood Studies

by Anandini Dar

Co-authored with Patrick Cox

Money talks: Children’s consumption and becoming in the family.

by Lucas Gottzén

In M. Hedegaard, K. Aronsson, C. Højholt & O. Skjær Ulvik (eds.) Children, Childhood, and Everyday Life: Children’s Perspectives (pp. 91-107). Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, 2012.

Research on children’s consumption has been dominated by traditional socialization theories. However, by taking the... more Research on children’s consumption has been dominated by traditional socialization theories. However, by taking the adult consumer as a self-evident goal, such perspectives have been inadequate to describe children’s own experiences of consumption. In this chapter, I discuss children’s consumption and becoming, but avoiding the particular teleology of traditional developmental theories – that there is an adult final stage in children’s consumption socialisation. Instead, I propose a different way of understanding children’s consumption departing from the philosophy of Gilles Deleuze and Fèlix Guattari. This poststructuralist framework helps us to understand children (as well as adults) as incomplete and developing ‘becomings’, where their identity, agency and consumption are created in relation to, and in dependence of other humans and non-humans. Drawing on a large ethnographic study of family life in Sweden, the chapter shows that parents foreground children’s learning and incompetence. Parents see themselves as experts of consumption arguing that children need to become responsible consumers. The children emphasise their own competence, but at times take an adult perspective on consumption.

The Politics of the Bailey Review (with Meg Barker)

by Robbie Duschinsky

Draft Only; Forthcoming in Gender & Education

This paper explores the considerations of sexualisation, and of gender stereotyping, in the recent United Kingdom... more This paper explores the considerations of sexualisation, and of gender stereotyping, in the recent United Kingdom government report Letting Children be Children. This report, the Bailey Review, claimed to represent the views of parents. However, closer reading reveals that, whilst the parents who were consulted were concerned about both the sexualisation and the gender stereotyping of products aimed at children, the Bailey Review focuses only on the former, and dismisses the latter. ‘Sexualisation’ has four faces in the Bailey Review: it is treated as a process that increases 1) the visibility of sexual content in the public domain, 2) misogyny, 3) the sexuality of children, and 4) the mainstream position of ‘deviant’ sexual behaviours and lifestyles. Through this construction of ‘sexualisation’, gendered relations of power are not only hidden from view, but buttress a narrative in which young women are situated as children, and their sexuality and desire rendered pathological and morally unacceptable as judged by a conservative standard of decency. Comparison of the treatment of sexualisation and gender stereotyping in the review is revealing of the political motivations behind it, and of wider discourse in these areas.

Childhood Innocence: Essence, Education and Performativity

by Robbie Duschinsky

Draft Only; forthcoming in Textual Practice

Building from an analysis of Wedekind and Foucault, it will be argued that modern childhood has been constructed as... more Building from an analysis of Wedekind and Foucault, it will be argued that modern childhood has been constructed as both natural and in need of cultivation and regulation. Through practices which seem to protect and nurture innocence, a particular account of the ‘natural purity’ of children can be materially and discursively produced without this seeming to be an artificial imposition. Moreover, I shall propose that imputing innocence to children allows a covert ontology to be constructed for particular groups of adults or society more generally; claims about the nature of the particular groups of adults, or society generally, can be smuggled into such accounts via claims about the child they may once have been. I shall depict innocence discourses as complex: capable of beneficial effects but also complicit in the production, stabilisation and occlusion of potentially troubling effects on relations of power, emotion and meaning in modern societies.