In our daily lives, we usually take the concepts of ‘childhood’ and ‘youth’ for granted. They are seen as natural life stages that everybody passes through on their way to adulthood. Historians, however, have long established that the meaning of childhood and youth are dependent on cultural and historical context. Because imperial regimes as well as anticolonial activists attached great importance to young people, colonial history lends itself well to this analytical approach. In this course, we will look at the modern imperial history of Asia through the lens of childhood and youth. The focus will be on the South and Southeast Asian regions. As we travel from colonial classrooms to scouting clubs, we will learn to understand the roots of the connections between Europe and Asia and the role that childhood and youth played in building, maintaining, and transforming these.
- Lehrende/r: Kirsten Maria Johanna Kamphuis