Date & time: 12th May 2016, 4.30pm-6.30pm
Location: Room KH NC—Flexible Learning Space
In the LRC, Kingston University, kingston hill campus
Forests, wilderness and the Junkyards: ‘Nature’ & some cultural geographies of Modern childhood
Do children need contact with the natural world? If so why do we think that? This paper offers a response to popular concerns about the condition of childhood & particularly the claim that children suffer through alienation from the natural world. It argues for a re-evaluation of ways of seeing childhood & children’s lives & moves beyond Eurocentric idealisations rooted in Romantic notions of wilderness that naturalise childhood on the one hand & the shortcomings of social constructionist arguments on the other. Seeing childhoods as a plurality of nature/culture hybrids offers a more meaningful basis for understanding the lives of biologically immature humans that recognises children & young people’s experience as social actors and has implications for the institutions we expect them to inhabit.
David Blundell Principle Lecturer, London Met & Rita White Senior Lecturer, Kingston
The paper will be followed by discussion & exploration of opportunities for collaboration.
Email to confirm attendance: L.jerome@mdx.ac.uk
This seminar is part of a series by LERNS (London Education Research Network for Social Justice) which aims to bring together educators & researchers with an interest in understanding and promoting social justice in education. All are welcome to join the discussion & find new collaborators.