Seen but not Heard? The Spatial, Emotional and Material Sites of Childhood and Youth from Antiquity to Modernity – Call For Papers

Seen but not Heard? The Spatial, Emotional and Material Sites of Childhood and Youth from Antiquity to Modernity
University of Sussex, Brighton
18-20 January, 2017

In recent years the study of childhood and youth has taken on fresh momentum across the humanities and social sciences. Centres for childhood and youth have been established at numerous universities in Britain and abroad – including the ‘Centre for Innovation and Research in Childhood and Youth’ at Sussex – which offer the space to conduct cross disciplinary conversations about this distinct life phase. This conference seeks to showcase exciting new research from this fast developing field by exploring the variety of ways in which past experiences of childhood and adolescence can be understood and examined. We are particularly interested in locating the voice of the young person and examining sites of childhood and youth from their perspective. The conference will bring together scholars with an interest in childhood and youth from across disciplines, from antiquity up to the present, and from a range of geographical locations. The boundaries of childhood and youth can be flexibly interpreted. By showcasing research from across disciplines, time and space, we hope to facilitate a discussion of both the challenges and possibilities of research on childhood and youth.

Keynote speakers: Colin Heywood, University of Nottingham; Laura King, University of Leeds.

Areas of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • The agency of young people
  • Recreation, play and labour
  • Experiences of education
  • The home and family
  • Communities in youth, and the place of youth in communities
  • The rural and urban experience
  • Youth subcultures
  • Crime and punishment
  • Sexuality, gender and race
  • Emotions
  • Materiality
  • Life Stages
  • Memories of childhood and youth

We welcome proposals for papers of 20 minutes and the submission deadline is Friday 12 August, 2016. Please send an abstract of around 300 words, along with brief biographical details to seenbutnotheard2017@outlook.com. You will be notified of our decision at the beginning of September. We encourage submissions from scholars at all stages of their research, and proposals from postgraduate and early-career researchers are particularly welcomed. The conference will be free for speakers to attend, with lunch and refreshments provided.