子どもにとって「子ども」であるとはどのようなことか―ルーマニア児童による「子ども」らしさの実践と逸脱―

抄録

This study argues that childhood is shaped by the interactions between adults and children. It is based on ethnographic data collected in Romania. This academic challenge lies at the intersection of contemporary debates in anthropology and sociology of children and childhood. These disciplines have discussed how academic research can overcome the hierarchical dichotomies between adult/researcher and child/subject.

To this end, the study provides an overview of academic arguments in anthropology and the sociology of children and childhood, as well as the crisis of representation in anthropology and contemporary discussions in the sociology of children and childhood. Through this review, the study identifies a theoretical framework through which anthropology and the sociology of children and childhood can communicate and develop further.

The following chapter presents the ethnographic data. This study employed long-term fieldwork as its research method. It was carried out in Romania from 2019 to 2021. The study is based on data collected in a village near Brașov, in the center of the territory.

The ethnography is described from the perspectives of both adults and children. Data from both groups shows how childhoods are reproduced through interaction between adults’ requirements and children’s acceptance or rejection, though this does not mean children can always negotiate with adults.

In conclusion, this study argues that children are active participants in the reproduction of local childhoods, not merely recipients of a childhood defined by adults. Furthermore, this study highlights the importance of considering children’s perspectives when discussing the concept of childhood, in order to avoid falling into the hierarchical dichotomy between adults and children.