Globalization, History, Theory & Writing The “Local” and The “Global” of Contemporary Children’s Culture

Overview: This lecture will highlight: 1.Contemporary children’s culture on both a local and global scale 2.How international migration (of more than just people) affects children and their culture 3.The challenges globalization presents to researchers working with children 4.The importance of context and ethnography to conducting research with children

To do this we will unpack 1.Globalization 2.The Three voices of CCC: i.institutional (about children) ii.Institutional (for children) iii.Children’s voices As seen through The local and the global of children’s rights The local and the global of popular culture The local and the global of research methodologies

GLOBALIZATION

Is Really About Voice, Power, & Imperialism

Its a Loaded Term -As difficult to define as “culture” BASIC METAPHORS: Removal of barriers The world as Infinitely smaller/ infinitely larger EARLY INTERPRETATIONS As a global village (McLuhan, 1962 ) As disjuncture: ie. “5 scapes” (Appadiurai,, 1990) As advanced capitalism (Jameson, 1991) Cultural Imperialism (Schiller, 1991) MORE RECENT RE-INTERPRETATIONS As hybridization ( Nederveen Pieterse, 1994) As a process of negotiation (Storey, 2003) As a space for resistance (Kahn & Kellner, 2005, Buckingham 2010)

OUR definition of 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: »ITS NOT A-HISTORICAL »IT IS NOT STATIC »IT IS NOT FINITE »IT IS NOT INNOCENT

Its Frames The Child’s Experience “It appals us that the West can desire, extract and claim ownership of our ways of knowing, our imagery, the things we create and produce, and then simultaneously reject the people who created and developed those ideas and seek to deny them further opportunities to be creators of their own culture and own nations.” (Linda Tuhiwai Smith, 26)

History, Theory, & Writing 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

We must flip the map

History, Theory, & Writing - Flipping the Map CHILDREN AS: HEROES IN HISTORY (Davis, 2010) CITIZENS IN THEORY & ACTION (O’Neil, 2010) WRITERS OF THIER OWN EXPERIENCE (Buckingham, 2010) “

The Need for Praxis & Critical Theory in Children’s Studies “ One cannot expect positive results from an educational or political action program which fails to respect the particular view of the world held by the people. Such a program constitutes cultural invasion... The starting point for organizing the program content of education or political action must be the present, existential, concrete situation, reflecting the aspirations of the people.” (Paulo Freire, 95)

The Local and The Global The global does not eliminate the local or its importance Instead it reinforces the need for authentic dialogue between: dominant and subaltern, core and periphery, oppressor and oppressed, institutions and individuals, adults and children Its about –voice- access- agency-