Mapping the Landscapes of Childhood will be held May 5-7, 2011 at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta.
Conference Themes and Questions (from the call)
Definitions of Childhood: invented or discovered: Who gets to define childhood? What counts as a good childhood? A “normal” childhood? How have been childhoods defined in various media (art, literature, social science, science)? By what measures? And at what historical junctures?
Indigenous theories of childhood: What alternate models of childhood and development exist? How can they be found? Interpreted? Shared? What is therole of the child and childhood in other societies? What rights, and responsibilities do they have?
Gender: How do the categories of gender and child overlap, extend, elaborate or contradict one another? How do sex, gender and sexuality shape the experience of childhood? What are the policy effects of concerns about boys at risk or girls at play?
Globalization: How do global models of childhood interact with local conceptions? Do global educational standards contradict or support local sovereignty? What are the effects of migration, diaspora, refugee status on childhood? How does globalization affect the commoditization of childhood?
Empowerment: What are the social and policy implications for a child-centred approach to human rights? How can we understand child agency in terms of violence and the law? What can empowerment mean for the very young child?
Keynote Speakers
Patrizia Albanese (Centre for Children, Youth and Families, Ryerson University)
Mona Gleason (University of British Columbia)
Allison James (Interdisciplinary Centre of the Social Sciences, University of Sheffield)
Perry Nodelman (Professor Emeritus, University of Winnipeg)
Mavis Reimer (Canada Research Chair in the Culture of Childhood and Director of the
Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures, University of Winnipeg)
Richard Tremblay (Research Unit on Children’s Psychosocial Maladjustment, University of Montreal).
Deadline for submissions: Oct 1, 2010. See conference website for more information.
