Geopolitics of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union through the lens of childhood politics and children’s everyday experiences, 5 cr

This cross-disciplinary course is designed for bachelor, masters and doctoral students of education, social sciences and the humanities. The course offers understandings of the wider socio-political matrices of power and everyday life in the post-socialist societies of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union through the lens of childhood politics and experiences. Childhood and children’s lives, as the politics, policies and experiences of any other marginalised groups, such as migrants, ethnic or religious groups and so on, provide fertile ground to study and learn about contemporary society or from a historical perspective. By using various forms of learning - such as seminars, lectures given by international speakers, collective theorizing, childhood memory workshops, and art engagements - the course focuses on the political history of the region, child institutions and policies, complex power hierarchies, and the everyday life within which children lead their lives. The course highlights the multiple histories and geopolitical diversity of the region, the variety of socialist and postsocialist conditions, political life and its transformations. The course connects closely with the Memories of Everyday Childhoods: Decolonial and De-Cold War dialogues on childhood and schooling https://coldwarchildhoods.org/