ESA Research Network 4. Sociology of Children and Childhood
Mid-term Symposium
May 21-23, 2014
University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy

Sociology of Childhood – Theorising Childhood: Citizenship, Rights, Participation

The Research Network, Sociology of Children and Childhood hereby announces the mid-term symposium which will take place in Modena (Italy) from 21st to 23rd May, 2014. The organisation of the symposium will be undertaken at the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia.

The second and third days of the symposium will be dedicated to paper sessions. Although the focus of the first day of the symposium is around theorising childhood citizenship, rights and participation, the call general Call for Papers is open to core theoretical areas of the sociology of childhood.
We therefore invite experienced and young researchers from various disciplines sensitive to the sociology of childhood to participate. Although presentations and discussions will mainly revolve around theorising, participants are welcome to discuss theoretical implications for interdisciplinary work on childhood. Presentations can be related to the following areas:

1. Classical sociological theories and new directions in sociological theories of childhood
2. The concepts of temporality and spatiality in theorising childhood
3. Theorisations of cultural identity and (global) citizenship applied to children
4. Theories of rights, inequalities and injustices in childhood
5. Theories of children’s participation in institutional and informal contexts
6. Theorisations around gender and ethnicity applied to children
7. The role of theory in interdisciplinary work on childhood
   

There will be no conference fees. The number of delegates will be restricted to 30 to enable discussion. The papers will be selected according to relevance to the areas of the symposium.

Instructions

The abstracts must be written in English in no more than 400 words, and include 3-5 keywords. Please submit your abstract and full contact details as electronic files no later than the 15th February 2014. Send the abstract to Tom Cockburn (t.d.cockburn@bradford.ac.uk).
The deadline for notification for abstracts is 15st March 2014.

For further details on the symposium please contact Tom Cockburn (t.d.cockburn@bradford.ac.uk)

I would like to invite you to propose papers to the panel
“Child migrants or ‘third culture kids’? Approaches to children and privileged mobility”
in the EASA conference in Tallinn, Estonia, on 31st July – 3rd August, 2014.
Best regards, Mari Korpela

Child migrants or ‘third culture kids’? Approaches to children and privileged mobility
Convenors: Mari Korpela (University of Tampere) and Anne-Meike Fechter (University of Sussex)

Short Abstract
This panel broadens the analytical framework of ‘child migration’ to include those economically and socially privileged and critically considers the theoretical framework of ‘third culture kids’. The papers present ethnographic studies and theoretical reflections on privileged child migrants.

Long Abstract
The relationship between children and transnational mobility is often conceptualised in two rather disparate frameworks. The first focuses on comparatively disenfranchised or disadvantaged children -independent child migrants, those who move with their migrant families or children ‘left behind’- and debates tend to focus on how their welfare, education or livelihoods are affected by mobility. At the same time, a rather different paradigm is invoked in relation to comparatively affluent and privileged children: the notion of ‘third culture kids’ (Pollock and van Reken 2001) is perhaps the most influential one in this respect. For anthropologists, however, this is a problematic term as it seems to assume static cultures. Moreover, despite a wealth of educational literature on this topic, studies are rarely underpinned by in-depth ethnographic research that extends beyond international schools to include family, peers, or host societies. The aim of this panel is to broaden the analytical framework of ‘child migration’ to include those economically and socially privileged and to critically consider the theoretical framework of ‘third culture kids’ and its applications. We also want to address, both analytically and empirically, the presumed privilege of expatriate children. We welcome ethnographic studies of privileged child migrants leading to theoretical reflections on these issues.

Discussant: Vered Amit

To read more about the conference theme, go here: http://www.easaonline.org/conferences/easa2014/theme.shtml.

Paper proposals must be made to specific panels via the ‘Propose a paper’ link found beneath the panel abstract on that panel’s webpage.
http://www.nomadit.co.uk/easa/easa2014/panels.php5?PanelID=3049

Proposals should consist of:
a paper title
authors/co-authors
a short abstract of fewer than 300 characters
a long abstract of fewer than 250 words.

The CFP is open until February 27th.

SECOND CALL FOR PAPERS

Dear All,

You are warmly invited to attend the CSCY 5th International Conference entitled “Researching children’s everyday lives: socio-cultural contexts” to be held at the Kenwood Hotel, Sheffield, UK on 1-3 July 2014.

This conference will explore the idea of the ‘everyday’ as a key component of children’s lives, past and present and cross culturally.  To do this means moving away from a ‘problem’ focus on children and childhood by recognising that what counts as the mundane and every day for different children can be radically diverse in different times and places.

Key note speakers at the conference are: Professor Pia Christensen, University of Leeds; Dr Tom Cockburn, University of Bradford and Professor Margaret Mackey, University of Alberta, Canada.

Further information about this conference can be found on our websitewww.sheffield.ac.uk/cscy <http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/cscy> , and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any queries.

Regards

—
Dawn Lessels
The Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth
The University of Sheffield
219 Portobello
Sheffield S1 4DP