Global Childhoods

The purpose of this book is to initiate a broad discussion from a variety of different disciplines about how we place children nationally, globally and within development discourses. Unlike other books of its kind, it does not seek to dwell solely on the abiding complexities of local comparisons. Rather, it seeks to elaborate larger concerns about the changing nature of childhood, young people's experiences, their citizenship and the embodiment of their political identities as they are embedded in the processes of national development and globalization. Recent work on children and their environments is about the practices of young people, their communities, and the places and institutions that shape (and are shaped by) their lives. Policy debates regarding children's development are integrally linked not only to current globalization processes but also to ideological debates about national integrity. The book argues that places are important for young people because they play a large part in constructing and constraining dreams and practices, and local contexts clearly complicate understandings of young people's lives. In particular, we focus on three main issues: nation building and developing children, child participation and activism in the context of development, and globalization and children's live in the context of what has been called "the end of development." These are relatively broad research perspectives that find focus in what we call "reproducing and developing children" as a key issue of national and global concern. We argue further that understanding children and reproduction is key to understanding globalization.This book was previously published as a special issue of Children's Geographies.Aitken, Stuart is the author of 'Global Childhoods', published 2008 under ISBN 9780415411455 and ISBN 0415411459.