Children and Youth as Subjects, Objects, Agents: Innovative Approaches to Research Across Space and Time

This textbook explores innovative approaches to childhood and youth studies, examining how young people live as subjects, objects, and agents in diverse contexts. It considers how children and youth are constructed through social processes and cultural discourses, how they are affected by policy interventions, and how they can be agents of change. The book is valuable for teaching and interdisciplinary research in childhood studies, youth studies, and related fields.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 277 pages
Publication date: 16 April 2021
Publisher: Springer Nature Switzerland AG

This comprehensive textbook delves into the dynamic and interdisciplinary field of childhood and youth studies, exploring the diverse ways in which young people navigate their lives across different contemporary and historical contexts worldwide. Through a rich array of contributions, the book examines how children and youth are simultaneously constructed as individual subjects shaped by social processes and culturally specific discourses, as objects of policy intervention and power plays by adults, and as active agents who exert influence on their surroundings and create meaning amidst challenging social, political, and economic conditions.

Furthermore, the book takes a central stance in addressing crucial questions about how researchers engage with children and young people's own self-perceptions and how we conceptualize their agency at various ages and stages of development. Each chapter not only presents substantive research findings but also engages in self-reflection regarding methodology, positionality, and disciplinary perspectives, making it an invaluable resource for teaching purposes.

The broad appeal of this book extends to students and scholars across a diverse range of disciplines, including childhood studies, youth studies, girls studies, development studies, research methods, sociology, anthropology, education, history, geography, public policy, cultural studies, gender and women's studies, and global studies. Its multidisciplinary approach fosters a deeper understanding of the complex dynamics and experiences of young people, contributing to a more inclusive and empathetic society.

Weight: 450g
Dimension: 154 x 234 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783030636319
Edition number: 1st ed. 2021