Those interested in non-western contexts:
I've been working with children on the Mexican side of the US-Mexico border to
try to understand how kids living in that dynamic context make sense of their
world. I've been working through a participatory project in which the kids
attend workshops where I ask them to map, draw, and photograph their
neighborhood. The biggest challenge has simply been getting them to
understand/use their creativity. Mexican education is based on rote learning
in which children in the classroom mimic what their teacher tells them and all
end up with a very similar product. Neither children, nor adults, are
encouraged to express their own thoughts, either critically or creatively. As
a result, the activities I set out for the children have taken a long time to
sink in. While all of their responses are important to my research (creative
or not), I also feel that it is important for them to develop free and critical
thinking skills, which is why I have not yet "dropped" the workshops and moved
on to strictly ethnographic work.
There have been lots of other challenges stemming from the "cross-cultural"
nature of my project. I look forward to further dialogue.
Kimi Eisele
Rachel Gurevitz wrote:
> Sam Punch's announcement for a session on children in the context of Latin
> America got me wondering. I am relatively ignorant of the literatures of
> development studies and anthropology - so maybe there is loads out there
> that I have just missed. But are members of this list engaged in
> researching children and youth in non-western contexts? I am aware of a
> small number of geographers who have, but not all that many.
>
> In particular, as well as being interested in hearing what is out there in
> these areas of research, I'd like to try and kick-start a bit of a
> discussion (we haven't really had much of one for a long while). Do any of
> your experiences suggest that doing this research challenges any of the
> dominant approaches to researching children and youth here or some of the
> dominant structures which are assumed re: things like environmental
> experience, the child within the context of 'family' etc.?
>
> Or maybe you are one of the members of this list involved in an action
> organisation, working in non-western contexts? Are there particular
> approaches to thinking about children's experiences which you have found
> more helpful than others which have some application to your work?
>
> Let's do some talking!
>
> Rachel
> ____________________________
>
> Rachel Gurevitz
> Department of Geography
> University College London
> 26 Bedford Way, London
> W1CH 0AP. UK
> Tel: 0171 387 7050 x5526
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