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SUMMARY:Narratives of Violence: Historicizing Representations of Child Com
 batants in African Conflict\, c. 1980-2010 - Stacey Hynd\, University of E
 xeter
DTSTART:20131104T170000Z
DTEND:20131104T180000Z
UID:TALK48364@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Judith Weik
DESCRIPTION:Children are integral to contemporary warfare in Africa\, and 
 child soldiers in particular are often taken as evidence of the depolitici
 zation\, criminalization and civilianization of conflict. However\, ‘new
  war’ theories do not fully account for the origins\, spread or internat
 ional impact of the phenomenon. This paper argues that a rigorous historic
 al contextualization of children in African conflicts\, their experiences 
 and understandings of violence\, and a historicized reading of the evidenc
 e upon which current claims are based\, are necessary to develop a stronge
 r understanding of child combatants in contemporary conflict. It argues th
 at the modern ‘child soldier’ phenomenon is only partly linked to empi
 rical evidence\, and emerges from the entanglement of liberal humanitarian
 ism\, international law\, and political discourses. As such\, it analyses 
 and historically contextualizes such discourses\, situating child combatan
 ts within the wider crises of postcolonial states\, the ‘youth revolutio
 ns’ facing African societies\, colonial and independence-era patterns of
  child labour\, delinquency and conflict involvement\, as well as historic
 al constructions of race and childhood in Africa. The paper’s empirical 
 foundation consists of humanitarian reports\, TRCs\, legal proceedings\, t
 he published memoirs of former child soldiers\, and archival accounts of c
 hildren's involvement in colonial and independence era conflict.
LOCATION:Seminar Room S1 Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Road\, Cambridge
  CB3 9DT
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