Differences between children and young people: A multiple case study from Denmark
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
The words ‘children’ (Danish: ’børn’) and ‘young people’ (Danish: ’unge’) are so often combined that they almost have the character of idiomatic expressions. But what differences in the use of the words can be found? This article seeks to study the prevalent, dominant discourses about children and young people. In particular, it endeavours to answer the following question: What is thematized, and how are the thematizations created and maintained? The study is theoretically inspired by Foucault’s discourse analysis. The methodological approach is that of a multiple case study. Thus, it provides examples of how children are typically referred to in positive terms such as innocent, imaginative, cheerful, spontaneous, creative and competent (a surplus discourse), while young people are typically referred to in negative terms such as irresponsible, rootless, violent, dysfunctional, hedonistic and unaccountable (a deficit discourse).
Original language | English |
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Journal | Global Studies of Childhood |
Volume | 7 |
Issue number | 1 |
Pages (from-to) | 62-72 |
Number of pages | 11 |
ISSN | 2043-6106 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2017 |
- Faculty of Humanities - Case study, children, discourse analysis, Foucault, young people
Research areas
ID: 170598388