Discourses of childhood and children’s rights in the context of social inclusion

Guest EditorsDr. Ewa Dąbrowa (Maria Grzegorzewska University, Poland), Dr. Cecilia Zsogon (University of Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Thematic issue June 2022, submissions close by 28 February 2022

We are particularly interested in what language is used in political discourse, in legal and policy documents, in related media discourses. How narratives form social imaginarium around children’s rights, child participation, the idea of childhood, and last but not least how these may aid or negate social inclusion of children and youths in the socio-environmental contexts.

Topics may cover but are not limited to:

  • Discourses of childhood
  • Discourses for or against children’s rights
  • Language as a medium forming people’s opinions and attitudes
  • Linguistic aspects in legal, political, policy documents
  • Narratives around social inclusion/exclusion – e.g. the use of exclusionary language
  • Linguistic stigmatization
  • Changing the world by changing the ways we describe reality
  • The issues of translation of key concepts
  • Issues of social pedagogy/social education for social inclusion
  • Inclusive education
  • Role of education in combating exclusion
  • Discourses on child labour
  • Addressing childhood through different paradigms
  • Language and the world construction and reconstruction
  •       Linguistic diversity towards Identity Creation/Construction
  • Ideological engaged discourses as an impact of children’s oppression/exclusion

Since the beginning of Modernity, childhood has been a central topic in the discourses on society and humanities. The way in which children have been addressed, regulated, segregated and protected has shown great variations according to age, context, gender and ethnicity. But also, historically there have been -at least- two childhoods; one with a guarantee of inclusion in traditional socialization mechanisms and an excluded childhood in which children do not have, in practice, their rights guaranteed. This implies a differential recognition according to the socioeconomic background of individuals, not always recognized by the human rights and children rights narrative.

Can the discourses on childhood help place the effects of inequality on the most vulnerable sectors of the population onto the political and social agenda and translate into institutional actions and programs that work in favor of childhood welfare?

According to the World Health Organization, as for September 2021, there have been more than 218 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 4.5 million deaths, which has already left many children without one or both parents or other caregivers. And orphaned children will be particularly vulnerable to diverse forms of exploitation, including trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced labor. This may constitute a tragic reversal of the progress of children rights which impact is yet to be seen.

Because of some global problems such as military conflicts, economic inequality, pandemic, which make the childhood hurter, some organizations talk more often about lost generation, deprived of their full participation in social life. Therefore, in November 2020 has been adopted the plan to protect the children by the UNESCO. The document is related to ensure the access to education and health care, protection and support the mental health, improvement of natural environment, and ensure the social inclusion. Language plays a special role in creating the better or worse world. That is the point for theoretical and methodological studies.

We are particularly interested in the methodological and theoretical approaches used by Authors of the proposed articles. Research based papers will be given priority. Theoretical and philosophical contributions may also be considered if they widen the existing horizon of knowing, interpreting and understanding social phenomenon related to childhood, children’s rights and the issues of social inclusion.

The deadline for submission of articles for the June 2022 issue will be on February 28, 2022.

Refer to the guidelines for authors https://www.language-and-society.org/language-discourse-society/instructions/

Articles that meet all requirements will be reviewed and considered for publication. If your article is chosen, you will be contacted by the publication editors.

Contributors should submit e-copies of their manuscripts to the editors of this Special Issue at edab@aps.edu.pl; cecilia.zsogon@gmail.com

Submission can be done in English, Spanish and French.

Please follow the author guidelines indicated at the following URL, which includes a template for formatting.

IMPORTANT DATES

  • October 2021: call for papers
  • 28th February 2022: due date for submission
  • April 2022: Feedback from reviewers
  • May 2022: Submission of revised articles

This thematic issue will be published in June 2022.

SUBMISSION TO BE DONE ONLINE (see below to create an account or log in)

 The contact email of the guest-editors for any query is: edab@aps.edu.pl; cecilia.zsogon@gmail.com 

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