Ishmael Beah

A huge number of the victims of this war and armed conflict – the dead, the injured, and the dispossessed – are children. Thrust into the world’s battlefields, children and their various roles in wars throughout the ages will be explored during a conference hosted by the Rutgers–Camden Department of Childhood Studies, which offers the nation’s first doctoral program in childhood studies.

The international conference – Children and War  – is free and open to the public. It begins Friday, April 3, and continues through Sunday, April 5. Sessions will take place at the Sheraton Society Hill Hotel in Philadelphia and on the Camden Campus.

“The roles children play, and have played, during wartime is a topic that cries out for historicizing and in-depth investigation,” says conference director Lynne Vallone, chair of the Department of Childhood Studies, now in its second year. “War is something we all fear, but it is and has been a part of many children’s lives.”

The conference will feature two prominent speakers. Ishmael Beah, author of the memoir A Long Way Gone, which chronicles his time on the Sierra Leone battlefield at the age of 13, will deliver a keynote address, as will Michael Wessells, author of Child Soldiers: From Violence to Protection. Wessells, a professor of psychology at Columbia University and Randolf-Macon College, will discuss his new findings on girl soldiers.

In addition, through panel discussions, presenters from institutions including Yale University, University of Oxford, and University of Calgary will address such topics as “War and African Children,” “Everyday Life: Living in and with War,” and “The Child in Armed Conflicts of the Past.”

The ways in which war has been packaged, marketed, and produced for children will also be spotlighted. Gary Cross, a professor of modern history at Penn State University, is scheduled to talk about the history of toy soldiers and today’s rising interest in first-person shooter video games.

 “Presenters represent many different disciplines and approaches. Attendees’ eyes will be opened to the fruitful possibilities of multidisciplinary inquiry by considering a focused topic from multiple perspectives,” says Vallone, a children’s literature scholar who researches the construction and culture of girlhood.

The conference topic, while timely, also offers insight into the innovative program’s interdisciplinary practices, which immerse students in various areas of study, including psychology, sociology, history, English, and religion. Not only are the 24 doctoral candidates enrolled defining dissertation topics, they are also learning how to integrate several disciplinary perspectives.

 “This conference will allow us to see interdisciplinary work in action,” says doctoral student Nyeema Watson, who is researching representations of minority children. "I’m building up the questions for my dissertation and will most likely begin from a historical perspective, but will also be using quantitative approach which I think will add more depth to my work.”

Additional childhood studies Ph.D candidates include children’s book author Lara Saguisag and attorney Brian Gallagher, the first person in the United States to hold a Master of Laws degree in child law.

Vallone said that the conference is the first of many more high-impact events designed to expand the student experience and broaden the global conversation on children.  “Childhood studies offers the promise of a much richer discussion and understanding on a range of issues impacting children – war is just a start.”

 Registration for the free conference is limited. To sign up or for a full schedule of events, click here.