Children as an object of sociohumanitarian researches: a sociological perspective

Abstract

The article demonstrates that the contemporary socio-humanitarian tendency in the study of children is a field open to interdisciplinary studies of childhood to which sociological studies of childhood can play special role. The article problematisizes the validity of “division” of childhood researchers on the subject-object ground into “two camps”: those who claim that the child is the object and those who believe that the child is the subject of public life. Paper emphasizes that the contemporary understanding of the child in the texts of L. Alanen, W. A. Corsaro, A. James, A. Prout, V. Zelizer and others draws up new horizons in the study of childhood that lead one to rethink the position of children in social research. The paper shows what roles (positions) children are assigned to in socio-humanitarian studies today and the interpretations of childhood they are based upon. The article points out four main views on the role of children in studies of childhood presented by P. Christensen and A. Prout. 1. The child as an object, this approach follows the understanding of children as irresponsible and dependent on adults. 2. The child as the subject, the approach is based on the recognition of the cognitive abilities of children and their social competence according to their age. 3. The child as the social actor. According to this approach, the subjectivity of the child extends to his own understanding and his own experience. 4. The child as a participant or co-researcher based on the representation of children as active citizens who “must be involved, informed, consulted and heard”. The paper argues that the approaches should be viewed as coexisting rather than mutually exclusive. Refs. 25.