During this lecture, we will talk about how children and childhood matter in international relations and why they have often been left out from research and policy considerations. Together, we will discuss questions such as: how is childhood socially constructed, and how does that relate to children’s physical development? How does childhood shape international politics? Are children actors and how do they matter in international relations? How do we think about power and identity in relation to children? Before the lecture, please reflect on one child who you think has influenced global politics through their actions, and one image of a child that has influenced global politics.

Teacher: Dustin Johnson

Required reading (not in the textbook): J. Marshall Beier, “Introduction: Making Sense of Childhood in International Relations,” in Discovering Childhood in International Relations, ed. J. Marshall Beier (Cham, Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020), 1–19. https://gu-se-primo.hosted.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/f/1c6n021/TN_cdi_springer_books_10_1007_978_3_030_46063_1_1

Slides: IR1122 children in global politics-1.pptx

Suggested extra reading:

Brian Rouleau, “Children Are Hiding in Plain Sight in the History of U.S. Foreign Relations,” Modern American History 2, no. 3 (November 2019): 367–87, https://doi.org/10.1017/mah.2019.25.

Charlotte Wagnsson, Maria Hellman, and Arita Holmberg, “The Centrality of Non-Traditional Groups for Security in the Globalized Era: The Case of Children,” International Political Sociology 4, no. 1 (March 2010): 1–14, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-5687.2009.00090.x.

Suggested films and books:

I Am Evelyn Amony: Reclaiming My Life from the Lord’s Resistance Army, by Evelyn Amony, University of Wisconsin Press, 2015.

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier, by Ishmael Beah, Sarah Crichton Books, 2007.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMCHhWEBpuE&t=105s

The Hunger Games. 2012. Written by Suzanne Collins, Gary Ross, and Billy Ray. Directed by Gary Ross. Lionsgate Films. (See also the three sequel movies).