New Books

New Book – Doing Anthropology in China with Kids

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9788776941703Edited by Candice Cornet and Tami Blumenfield

University of Hawaii Press

While many anthropologists and other scholars relocate with their families in some way or another during fieldwork periods, this detail is often missing from their writings even though undoubtedly children can have had a major impact on their work. Recognizing that researcher-parents have many choices regarding their children’s presence during fieldwork, this volume explores the many issues of conducting fieldwork with children, generally, and with children in China, specifically. Contributors include well-established scholars who have undertaken fieldwork in China for decades as well as more junior researchers. The book presents the voices of mothers and of fathers, with two particularly innovative pieces that are written by parent–child pairs. The collection as a whole offers a wide range of experiences that question and reflect on methodological issues related to fieldwork, including objectivity, cultural relativism, relationships in the field and positionality. The chapters also recount how accompanied fieldwork can offer unexpected ethnographic insights. An appendix alerts future fieldworking parents to particular pitfalls of accompanied fieldwork and suggests ways to avoid these.

http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9406-9788776941703.aspx

ACYIG Blog

*PhD in Progress* ICT, Education, and Mongolian Pastoralist Youth

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Editor’s Note: We begin 2016 with a report on research-in-progress from Kim Chi Tran, a PhD Candidate who recently completed her data collection. Here, she discusses her research design and methods. Make sure to click the links to see her video compilations. The ACYIG Blog welcomes contributions from students! Email Bonnie Richard for more information.

Unpacking the influences of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) on the educational experiences of youth from Mongolian pastoralist families

Kim Chi Tran
International Institute of Social Studies – Erasmus University of Rotterdam (The Hague, Netherlands)

This research explores how youth from Mongolian pastoralist families experience the influences of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) as they travel between different localities that construct their educational landscape. Continue reading *PhD in Progress* ICT, Education, and Mongolian Pastoralist Youth →

Calls for Papers: Conferences, Events

CFP – Activism on the edge of age

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Call for papers

Workshop organised by the ERC Connectors Study & hosted the Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth, University of Sussex, Brighton BN1 9QQ

June 2 & 3, 2016

The workshop brings together researchers and activists concerned with the lived experiences of activism across the lifespan, with a particular emphasis on earlier and later life experiences. We are interested in the spaces, places and times – historical and contemporary – where activism and age intersect in everyday lives and social imaginaries.

Activism and youth remain closely intertwined in everyday life and research.  Activist demographics suggest that ‘youth’ and ‘young adulthood’ is a prime time for participation in social movements, and the link between youth and social, cultural and political change has long held a fascination for academic researchers and the public at large. But what happens on the edges of age? Does an interest in public life, issues of common concern and collective action only emerge during ‘youth’ and dissipate after ‘young adulthood’? What metaphors link narratives of ‘growing up’ with social change stories (e.g. independence), and is breaking away always a renewal? Where do ‘younger children’ and ‘older adults’ fit in with discourses and practices of social and political change? And why is it that the vocabulary used to describe activism is replete with kinship terms (sisterhood, brotherhood, family resemblances)?

The workshop is organised around these and related questions and aims to explore the spaces and vocabularies created by putting activism in conversation with the edges of age, biography, the lifespan, and the relationships in which activists and activist imaginaries are embedded in everyday life. We are open to the scope and type of activity or politics being investigated, preferring instead a phenomenological definition of activism that foregrounds people’s relationships of concern and the individual and collective social action arising from those concerns.

We encourage applications from across the social sciences, arts and humanities, and activists who are interested to engage in a conceptual and reflective space. The workshop is free to attend but spaces are limited. Priority will be given to contributions that: address either or both edges of the lifespan; are original, creative and playful in rethinking activism and age; are cross-culturally sensitive either empirically or theoretically; and take a long-view of activism and age be that through longitudinal, historical or generational research or traditions of storytelling.

Contributions can be original research reports, case studies, theoretical articles, review articles, reflective pieces, or commentaries. Please submit a long abstract of 1000 words, together with a two-page CV, to C.J.Prater@sussex.ac.uk by February 19, 2016. Please use the email subject line: ‘Activism on the edge of age’. There will be a small number of bursaries available to enable those without their own funding to participate in the workshop. If you would like to be considered for a bursary please make a case for it in your application.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome in early March. Successful applicants will be asked to write a short paper (4000 words) developing their contribution and to submit these papers ahead of the workshop meeting in June (paper deadline: May 20, 2016) so that all attending get a chance to read papers in advance. We are in the process of scoping opportunities for a special issue (or other suitable output format) and, following peer review, a selection of papers from the workshop will be considered for publication.

Timeline:

  • Abstract submission: February 19, 2016
  • Response: early March, 2016
  •  Paper submission: May 20, 2016
  • Workshop: June 2 & 3, 2016

The workshop is organised and funded by the ERC Connectors Study & hosted by CIRCY under its Childhood Publics theme. For more information about either please contact Dr Sevasti-Melissa Nolas: S.Nolas@sussex.ac.uk

New Films

FILM: TINY KATERINA

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“Tiny Katerina” is a short film by Ivan Golovnev, filmmaker and ethnographer, from the Urals, Russia (http://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/talent/ivan-golovnev/profile). The film, recommended by David Lancy, shows vividly the learning through participation model that is so prominent in studies of children’s learning where schooling exerts minimal influence. This webpage provides an overview of the film and the filmmaker: http://www.kinokultura.com/2013/41-gray.shtml. Ivan, who can be contacted at golovnev.ivan@gmail.com, has agreed to make the film available to the Anthropology of Children and Youth Interest Group. The video can be viewed through Vimeo by using the password TINY:https://vimeo.com/143388752.
Berlinale Talents is a six-day creative platform for emerging filmmakers. It consists of the Summit programme, Project Labs, Studio programmes and workshops.
Events

Seminar: The Value of Transcultural Family/System Therapy in Child and Youth Care

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Upcoming EASA Anthropology of Children and Youth Seminar: Friday 15 January 10.30-12.00 (location: to be confirmed):

The Value of Transcultural Family/System Therapy in Child and Youth Care

Dirck van Bekkum & Judith Limahelu (see below for professional bio)

Abstract

Rarely anthropology and family therapy met but when they do research, educational and clinical innovation can be achieved. In their interactive presentation, Van Bekkum and Limahelu will discuss three of these innovations in co-educating transcultural family therapists. They concern: (1) Transgenerational Cultural Diversity and Intersectionality; (2) A transitional model in multicultural settings; (3) Systemic reflexivity in research, activism and clinical practices. Children and youth (including their generational networks) are at the core of these approaches. After short ‘vignette’ presentations of these three innovations, the presenters will answer questions and exchange views with the audience.

If you are interested in presenting at one of our seminars yourself, please contact the Network chair: Dr Sandra J.T.M. Evers, s.j.t.m.evers@vu.nl

Feel free to communicate information of this seminar to other people who might be interested.

Could you confirm your participation in the 15 January seminar to us? childrenseminar@hotmail.com

We are looking forward to an inspiring meeting!

We wish you all the best for 2016.

Calls for Papers: Publishing

CFP – Challenges Associated with Cross-Cultural and At-Risk Student Engagement

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Call for Chapters

Proposals Submission Deadline: February 28, 2016

Full Chapters Due: June 1, 2016
Submission Date: August 30, 2016

Introduction

Worldwide, teachers’ abilities to engage students in meaningful teaching and learning experiences is becoming increasingly complex due to: a) national educational policies emphasizing high stakes assessment of student learning, and b) practical application of educational research and theory especially in the investigative areas of cross-cultural / intercultural and multicultural education.


Teaching in high stakes school systems has been empirically associated with direct instruction, student apathy, a narrowed curriculum, stress experienced by teachers and students and a lack of emphasis on social, emotional and physical goals. A need to provide practitioners with student engagement strategies in challenging instructional environments is becoming increasingly important.

Objective

The editors are seeking papers describing teacher daily work and the academic and social successes achieved with their students in challenging teaching and learning environments. We are interested in papers that reflect practical strategies teachers use to navigate multiple social and knowledge networks during a typical school day/year. Papers emphasizing educational theory into educational practice within the daily practice of teaching and learning are also welcome for submission.


Selected papers will provide teacher practitioners, administrators, parents and others with strategic approaches leading to student social and academic success in high stakes assessment environments.

Target Audience

The book is useful to professors in schools of education, school superintendents responsible for professional development and global education researchers, teachers, educational policy makers, instructional designers, curriculum developers, and for use in teacher professional development activities.


Material presented in the book will be useful for readers in conceptualizing and integrating teaching and learning activities for students in challenging educational environments.

Recommended Topics

  • Teacher Professional Development 
  • Critical Pedagogy 
  • Student Engagement 
  • Classroom Teacher Narratives 
  • Educational Administration and Student Achievement 
  • Teaching and Global Assessments (TIMSS, PISA) 
  • Flow in teaching and learning 
  • Language development 
  • Literacy 
  • Teaching and Learning in a specific content area (e.g. music) 
  • Curriculum Design 
  • Student Voices

Editors

 Dr. Richard K. Gordon, California State University, Dominguez Hills Dr. Cynthia J. McDermott, Antioch University
Taichi Akutsu, Shujitsu University,Education Department
Dr. Jose Lalas, Redlands University
Submission Procedure
Researchers and practitioners are invited to submit on or before February 28, 2016, a chapter proposal of 1,000 to 2,000 words clearly explaining the mission and concerns of his or her proposed chapter. Authors will be notified by June 1, 2016, about the status of their proposals and sent chapter guidelines. Full chapters are expected to be submitted by August 30, 2016, and all interested authors must consult the guidelines for manuscript submissions at http://www.igi-global.com/publish/contributor-resources/before-you-write/ prior to submission. All submitted chapters will be reviewed on a double-blind review basis. Contributors may also be requested to serve as reviewers for this project.


Note: There are no submission or acceptance fees for manuscripts submitted to this book publication, Trust in Knowledge Management and Systems in Organizations. All manuscripts are accepted based on a double-blind peer review editorial process.

All proposals should be submitted through the E-Editorial DiscoveryTM online submission manager.

Publisher

This book is scheduled to be published by IGI Global (formerly Idea Group Inc.), publisher of the “Information Science Reference” (formerly Idea Group Reference), “Medical Information Science Reference,” “Business Science Reference,” and “Engineering Science Reference” imprints. For additional information regarding the publisher, please visit www.igi-global.com. This publication is anticipated to be released in 2016.

Important Dates

Abstracts Due – February 28, 2016

Chapters Due – June 1, 2016
Paper Final Submission – August 30, 2016

Inquiries

Richard Gordon – rgordon@csudh.edu
Calls for Papers: Publishing

CFP: Teaching Community

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Transformations: The Journal of Inclusive Scholarship and Pedagogy announces a special issue on TEACHING COMMUNITY, with guest editors Erica R. Meiners and Therese Quinn.
Feb. 8, 2016 deadline

The editors seek articles (5,000-10,000 words) and media essays (3,000 to 5,000 word overviews of books, film, video, performance, art, music, websites, and more), short essays for the “Methods and Texts” section (1500-3000 words). and image-based contributions for our Photo Essay section, that explore teaching community. 

Submissions should address strategies for teaching community, broadly understood: teaching about community and communities, communities formed in schools, universities and classrooms, and other pedagogical communities such as social movements, museums, archives, local organizations, online, and more. We welcome jargon-free texts from all disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives.

Transformations is a journal which invites college educators to take pedagogy seriously as a topic of scholarly articles. It is an interdisciplinary forum for pedagogical scholarship exploring intersections of identities, power, and social justice. Transformations publishes only essays that focus on pedagogy.  

For submission guidelines see Instructions for Authors: http://www.psupress.org/Journals/jnls_submis_Transformations.html  Deadline Feb. 8, 2016

Possible topics include:

  • The politics of teaching community
  • Teaching about community in literature, film, and other arts
  • School and community interaction and projects
  • Negotiating university/community relationships
  • Bringing community into the classroom
  • Teaching about power and difference in communities
  • Teaching about and within religious communities
  • Troubling definitions of community
  • Teaching about and with social media and other online communities
  • Teaching as community activism
  • Learning from social and political movements
  • Building and maintaining pedagogical spaces with communities
  • Teaching histories, literatures, and/or representations of community
  • Learning communities
  • Service-learning projects in communities
  • Teaching community and social justice.

Please familiarize yourself with the journal before submitting. Inquiries encouraged.

Past issues of Transformations include: Teaching and Religion, Teaching Popular Culture, Teaching Food, Teaching Feelings, Teaching Digital Media, and Teaching Sex.

Visit our website to order past issues, or find us digitized in EBSCO. JSTOR is coming soon.

http://www.njcu.edu/transformations/

To submit an article, please visit http://www.editorialmanager.com/transformations/ and create an author profile. The online system will guide you through the steps to upload your article for submission to the editorial office. Inquiries welcome — write to Jacqueline Ellis and Ellen Gruber Garvey, Editors, transformations@njcu.edu All submissions are acknowledged via return email.

Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/transformationsjournal/

Funding Opportunities, Training/Education

Graduate opps to study child inequality in Peru or Baltimore

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Dear all,

I am looking for a motivated individual interested in pursuing a PhD in geography at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (ges.umbc.edu) with interests in one of the following two areas.
  1. Migration, children’s rights, and uneven development in Peru. Must be comfortable in Spanish.
  2. Social justice issues related to poverty and segregation in Baltimore, with particular interest in how housing and education inequality affect children.
Experience or interest in participatory youth mapping a plus.
Please send email inquiries to Dena Aufseeser at daufsee@umbc.edu with more information about your specific interests or to learn more.  Graduate admissions deadlines are Feb. 1.
Dena Aufseeser
Assistant Professor
Geography and Environmental Systems
University of Maryland Baltimore County