Research for the EliA project is in full swing: field access has started successfully. We have been able to connect with professionals in adoption agencies and have already gained exciting insights through our preliminary discussions. We have also explored potential connections to adoption applicants and have now established our first contacts. The project has met with broad interest on both sides. The first interviews have been arranged for the coming weeks and we are looking forward to the upcoming discussions!

Jessica Schwittek, Charlotte Röhner, and Antoanneta Potsi, have published a new volume in the series Kindheiten. Gesellschaften: "Transmigration und Place-making junger Geflüchteter" (Young Refugees' Transmigration and Place-making).

The volume is available for download at the following link:
https://shop.budrich.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/9783847418641.pdf

Abstract:
Attributions of foreignness, (everyday) racism, social inclusion and exclusion – these are just a few examples of the numerous challenges that young refugees face in the context of flight and migration experiences. But how exactly do young refugees position themselves and others in the receiving countries of Greece, Malta, Turkey, Germany and Switzerland? Based on an analyis from migration and educational science perspectives, this anthology examines the demarcations, limitations, and positioning of migrant children and adolescents as they play out in the context of the migration policies of European countries. In addition, the authors focus on transnational intermediate spaces and shed light on the creation of new self-images and types of action, as well as on how multiple senses of belonging emerge.

We are pleased to introduce the newest member of our work group: Hannah Kaußen is joining our team as part of the DFG-funded research project “Good Parents – Adoption Services in Germany from the Perspective of Applicants and Mediators,” which began July 1.

Alexandra König and Jessica Schwittek have a new piece in the 30th volume of the series "Kinder, Kindheiten und Kindheitsforschung":

König, A./Schwittek, J. (2024): Gutes Ankommen – eine multimethodische Annäherung an die Perspektiven von geflüchteten Kindern, in: Schierbaum, A./Diederichs, M./Schierbaum, K. (eds.): Kind(er) und Kindheit(en) im Blick der Forschung Kind(er). Kinder, Kindheiten und Kindheitsforschung, vol. 30, Springer VS: Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-42625-5_15

Alexandra König and Jessica Schwittek , together with Viorela Telegdi-Csetri, are pleased to be editing a Special Issue in the British journal Families, Relationships and Societies. The Special Issue, “Living apart together: Growing up in Transnational Families”, will be published in February 2025.

Transnational family life has become both a growing empirical phenomenon and a conceptual lens through which families’ multilocal spaces and relations become visible. The reasons for families to “live apart together” are based on a multitude of individual and collective motives. Depending on the economic, social and cultural capital of the families, their transnational arrangements and practices play out differently. Research so far has mostly focused on the alleged decision-makers, namely adults, who are usually considered the key figures in migration processes. Children and youth in transnational families are often viewed as more passive or vulnerable and subject to their parents’ choices. In a current German-Polish research project funded by DFG and NCN, König/Schwittek apply a child-centered perspective to grasp how they perceive and evaluate transnational family arrangements. As part of this project, Schwittek organized a conference which took place at the University of Essen, Germany in April 2023, bringing together an international and interdisciplinary group of researchers whose contributions offered fresh perspectives on transnational arrangements.

Based on selected papers presented and discussed during the conference, our Special Issue for FRS offers current research on (growing up in) transnational families, based on innovative methodological approaches. The selected studies focus on new, changing or persisting conditions, figurations, practices, and discursive representations of transnational families in different societies, considering both mobile and “left-behind” or immobile actors, inspiring a theoretical discussion around the normative concepts of childhood and family. The extent to which societies consider transnational or mobile families as being at odds with normative patterns of family, childhood, and parenthood differs, both within societies and between them. Our Special Issue therefore highlights the variability of intergenerational solidarity and evaluation of transnational families on individual, local and global dimensions, allowing us to explore the potential of research on transnational families for the analysis of society and social order more broadly.

A report, written by Adrienne Lee Atterberry (Union College, New York), on our international conference „Living apart together: Growing up in Transnational Families“ was published in the Journal for Sociology of Education and Socialization (ZSE), issue 4/2023. We are pleased to have such a nice review of the three-day conference in April 2023.

You can download Atterberry's report (see below).

The complete ZSE issue can be found here.

The "Emerald Handbook of Childhood and Youth in Asian Societies: Generations Between Local and Global Dynamics" is dedicated to growing up in the context of social, cultural and economic change processes in Asian societies. The volume brings together contributions by scholars from Asia and Europe whose research aims to give voice to young people and to reconstruct their perspectives. Established concepts and analytical frameworks of (Western-influenced) childhood and youth research are critically scrutinized and further developed on the basis of empirical analyses.

As editors and authors of the handbook Prof Dr. Doris Bühler-Niederberger (University of Wuppertal), Dr. Xiaorong Gu (University of Suffolk), Dr. Elizer Jay de los Reyes (University of Southampton) and Dr. Jessica Schwittek (University of Duisburg-Essen) will be present at the book launch. Short presentations will provide insights into the focal points of the volume and selected contributions. Afterwards, a panel discussion will provide an opportunity to learn more about the field of childhood and youth research in Asian societies and to engage in conversation with the guests.

The book launch will take place on Wednesday, January 24, from 17:00-19:00
Location: Campus Essen, Room S06 S00 A40