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Theorising Age and Generation in Development: A Relational Approach

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Abstract

This introduction outlines the analytical approach informing the articles presented in this special issue. The project of ‘generationing’ development involves re-thinking development as distinctly generational in its dynamics. For this, we adopt a relational approach to the study of young people in development, which overcomes the limitations inherent to common categorising approaches. Concepts of age and generation are employed to conceptualise young people as social actors and life phases such as childhood and youth in relational terms. Acknowledging the centrality of young people in social reproduction puts them at the heart of development studies and leads the articles comprising this special issue to explore how young people’s agency shapes and is shaped by the changing terms of social reproduction brought about by development.

Abstract

Cette introduction trace les grandes lignes de l’approche analytique sur laquelle s’appuient les articles présentés dans ce numéro spécial. Le projet de développement « générationnant » implique de repenser le développement comme une dynamique clairement générationnelle. Pour cela, nous appliquons une approche relationnelle à l’analyse des jeunes dans le développement, qui permet de surmonter les limites inhérentes aux approches classificatrices communes. Les concepts d’âge et de génération sont mobilisés pour envisager les jeunes comme des acteurs sociaux, et les phases de vie telles que l’enfance et la jeunesse dans une perspective relationnelle. La prise en compte du rôle central des jeunes dans la reproduction sociale les met au cœur des études de développement et conduit les articles présentés dans ce numéro spécial à examiner en quoi la capacité d’action (agency) des jeunes influence et est influencée par les transformations des conditions de reproduction sociale découlant du développement.

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Notes

  1. Brown (2011) analysed the presence of children and youth in articles published in seven major development studies journals over the period January 2005 through to January 2012 (World Development; World Bank Research Observer; Third World Quarterly; Studies in Comparative International Development; Journal of Development Economics; Economic Development and Cultural Change, Development and Change). Using the word search function of the journals’ online databases, she found that out of a total of 2804 articles (book reviews were excluded), 496 articles (17.7 per cent) included the word(s) ‘child’, ‘children’ and/or ‘youth’ in the title, and/or abstract, and/or main body of the text (excluding bibliography). Just over half (257) of these articles mentioned these words in the body of the text only. The remaining articles (239) suggested a specific focus on ‘child(ren)’ or ‘youth’ by including these terms in the abstract and/or title. One hundred and ninety-nine out of these 239 articles concerned specific children or youth issues (for example, child labour, education, child soldiers).

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Acknowledgements

The project has emerged out of the Anthropology of Children and Youth Network at the VU University, Amsterdam. We value the input from Erik van Ommering and Helen Penn in the early stages of the project, the dedication and constructive feedback of more than a dozen anonymous peer reviewers, and the editorial support of Laura Camfield and Barbara Coghlan at the European Journal of Development Research.

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Correspondence to Roy Huijsmans.

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Huijsmans, R., George, S., Gigengack, R. et al. Theorising Age and Generation in Development: A Relational Approach. Eur J Dev Res 26, 163–174 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1057/ejdr.2013.65

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