Форум: В поисках детской субъектности

in Forum for Anthropology and Culture (2019), 42

the discussion is dedicated to the question whether it is possible to overcome the power asymmetry between researchers and their subjects in the study of childhood, or at the very least to reduce the gulf ... [more ▼]

the discussion is dedicated to the question whether it is possible to overcome the power asymmetry between researchers and their subjects in the study of childhood, or at the very least to reduce the gulf between researchers and the objects of their studies. the “new sociology of childhood” places the individual personality of the child and their personal interests at the centre of scholarly investigation, though its central presuppositions remain largely controversial. the focus on children’s subjectivity in academic work is related to the public acknowledgement of children’s agency as political and legal subjects. the participants discuss ethical and methodological problems related to children as subjects in Childhood Studies. [less ▲]

Message Regarding Academic Freedom

Article for general public (2018)

Borderland Studies Meets Child Studies. A European Encounter

Book published by Peter Lang Edition (2017)

With the demise of four multinational empires at the end of the First World War (Russian, German, Habsburg and Ottoman), nationalist forces all over Europe claimed the right to a territory for what they ... [more ▼]

With the demise of four multinational empires at the end of the First World War (Russian, German, Habsburg and Ottoman), nationalist forces all over Europe claimed the right to a territory for what they considered to be their own people. The peace treaties resulting from the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 caused a major redrawing of the map of Europe. As a result of the Treaty of Versailles, Germany handed over a considerable amount of its territory at its Western, Northern and, most significantly, Eastern borders, to neighbouring states. This edited volume focuses on the regions lying in what one could call a ring around Germany lost by Germany after the First World War. The European border regions of an-nexation, as I call them, switched their sovereignty as follows: Alsace-Lorraine became French, Eupen-Malmedy Belgian, North Schleswig Danish, various former Prussian Eastern provinces became Polish, the Hlučin region Czechoslovakian, and the Memel region Lithuanian. By set-ting up a historical comparison of the living conditions of children in European borderlands of annexation throughout the 20th Century, this edited volume provided the context for an encounter of a new combination of categories from different disciplines: Borderland Studies meets Child Studies. [less ▲]

Child Forced Labour. An Analysis of Ego Documents Thoughout Time

in European Review of History: Revue européenne d'histoire (2015), 22(2), 368-388

This article centralises a unique collection of ego documents created underCommunism in which Polish former child forced labourers articulate their warexperiences. A comparative analysis of them with ... [more ▼]

This article centralises a unique collection of ego documents created underCommunism in which Polish former child forced labourers articulate their warexperiences. A comparative analysis of them with recent testimonies reveals that theseego documents offer a more nuanced depiction of Germans and display richerinformation on the specific working conditions and daily routine for children than thecontemporary ones. A comparative reading of the archival testimonies with theirpublished equivalents shows how the streamlining of a publicly acceptable version ofthe past under Communism went both ways, that is, at times foregrounding thepropaganda content of autobiographical wordings, but also at other momentsdownplaying this element. The collection increases our understanding of child forcedlabour experiences during the Second World War, specifically the ways in whichchildren perceived that experience, and offers insights into the negotiated appropriationof Communist ideology at the individual level. [less ▲]

Nationalization campaigns and teachers' practicesin Belgian–German and Polish–German borderregions (1945–1956)

in Nationalities Papers (2014), 42(2), 223-241

This contribution looks into nationalization and education in European borderlands inthe early post-World War II period. Belonging to Belgium and Poland, respectively, inthe interwar years, the Eupen – St ... [more ▼]

This contribution looks into nationalization and education in European borderlands inthe early post-World War II period. Belonging to Belgium and Poland, respectively, inthe interwar years, the Eupen – St. Vith – Malmedy and the East-Upper Silesia regionscame under German rule during World War II. Returned to the Belgian and Polishnation-states once the war was over, the regions experienced a pronounced upheavalin the population profile as a result of population transfers and reorientations ineducation curricula. The aim of these measures was to guarantee the nationalreliability of borderland inhabitants, with a special role being designated forteachers, who were perceived as crucial in the raising of children as national citizensimbued with certain core values. This contribution compares the methods employedby the authorities in selecting educational personnel for their borderlands, thenationalizing role teachers were to play and the way teachers gave meaning to theirprofessional practices. [less ▲]