Childhood, Youth Identity, and Violence in Formerly Displaced Communities in Uganda PDF
Preview Childhood, Youth Identity, and Violence in Formerly Displaced Communities in Uganda
CRITICAL CULTURAL STUDIES OF CHILDHOOD CHILDHOOD, YOUTH IDENTITY, AND VIOLENCE IN FORMERLY DISPLACED COMMUNITIES IN UGANDA VICTORIA FLAVIA NAMUGGALA Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood Series Editors Marianne Bloch Westport, WI, USA Elizabeth Blue Swadener School of Social Transformation Arizona State University Tempe, AZ, USA This series focuses on reframings of theory, research, policy, and pedagogies in childhood. A critical cultural study of childhood is one that offers a ‘prism’ of possibilities for writing about power and its rela- tionship to the cultural constructions of childhood, family, and education in broad societal, local, and global contexts. Books in the series open up new spaces for dialogue and reconceptualization based on critical theo- retical and methodological framings, including critical pedagogy; advo- cacy and social justice perspectives; cultural, historical, and comparative studies of childhood; and post-structural, postcolonial, and/or feminist studies of childhood, family, and education. The intent of the series is to examine the relations between power, language, and what is taken as normal/abnormal, good, and natural, to understand the construction of the ‘other,’ difference and inclusions/exclusions that are embedded in current notions of childhood, family, educational reforms, policies, and the practices of schooling. Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood will open up dialogue about new possibilities for action and research. Single-authored as well as edited volumes focusing on critical studies of childhood from a variety of disciplinary and theoretical perspectives are included in the series. A particular focus is in a reimagining and criti- cal reflection on policy and practice in early childhood, primary, and elementary education. The series intends to open up new spaces for reconceptualizing theories and traditions of research, policies, cultural rea- sonings, and practices at all of these levels, in the United States, as well as comparatively. More information about this series at http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/14933 Victoria Flavia Namuggala Childhood, Youth Identity, and Violence in Formerly Displaced Communities in Uganda Victoria Flavia Namuggala Makerere University Kampala, Uganda Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood ISBN 978-3-319-96627-4 ISBN 978-3-319-96628-1 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-96628-1 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018949830 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Cover image: © Peter Horree/Alamy Stock Photo This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland I dedicate this volume to my children Gregory, Gabriel and Gareth Katende. S e ’ P erieS ditorS reface We are delighted that this volume is a part of our series, Critical Cultural Studies of Childhood, as it powerfully decenters prevailing Western assumptions about childhood and children’s life experiences and makes a powerful contribution to childhood studies and related interdisciplinary fields. Drawing on her research with youth directly affected (displaced) by the protracted civil war in Northern Uganda, Victoria Namuggala shares a rich and nuanced analysis of the lives and perspectives of young people, many of whom were captured and forced into child soldier roles. Her interviews with these young people shed light on ways in which they demonstrate both vulnerability and agency. Childhood, Youth Identity, and Violence in Formerly Displaced Communities in Uganda uses African feminist and indigenous epistemologies to decolonize constructions and understandings of childhood and children. This book is organized as an interrelated set of seven essays that ana- lyze historical Western constructions of childhood, Global South and Ugandan traditions and contemporary contexts, and the “complex inter- sectional nature of youthhood and its cultural relevance to formerly displaced communities and how this manifests in access to and use of humanitarian assistance”. The book also examines the often contradic- tory roles of NGOs working with such groups and the ways in which young mothers negotiate their roles as motherhood defines them as more adult. As series co-editors and longtime colleagues doing work in sub-Saha- ran Africa for over three decades, we (as series editors) appreciated the vii viii SErIES EDITOrS’ PrEFACE depth of cultural and scholarly insights that underscore deep tensions that occur when children return, or are repatriated, at times as young parents, to their rural communities are not necessarily welcomed home. Victoria Namuggala, a scholar in Women and Gender Studies and Childhood Studies at Makerere University, negotiates her roles as an “insider outsider”. Her use of youth voice and gender studies expertise is powerful, including her framing of childhood as a human right, explor- ing ways in which armed violence denies such rights, and limitations to using numeric age in categorizing structural inequalities affecting the girl child and female youth. From trauma to intersectional identities and contested childhood, the essays in this book will inform, inspire, and raise even more questions and contestations of ways in which childhood is typically defined and experienced. This volume brings to our attention issues faced by many in war-torn parts of the world that are often ignored in Western-centric studies of gender and childhoods. It is urgent that we bring this work into the center of scholarship and recognize that ignorance of such events makes us complicit with persistent violence in children’s lives. We urge more scholars to share work that educates us on the intersectional worlds of children in dangerous spaces, experiencing complicated childhoods. Westport, USA Marianne Bloch Tempe, USA Elizabeth Blue Swadener P reface The essays in this volume provide a critical assessment of mainstream Western childhood notions and their impact on the developing world. Using African feminist and indigenous epistemological frameworks, this volume seeks to decolonize the understanding of childhood and chil- dren. This volume consists of seven essays, which are thematically con- nected, yet can as well stand as independent chapters. The essays discuss a number of issues including the historical construction of childhood, and the use of numeric age in categorizing population and structural ine- qualities affecting the girl child and the female youth. The essays addi- tionally explore a number of issues regarding Westernization, (Ugandan) traditions, individual and collective identities and sense of belonging. Specifically, the volume presents Global South contestations of main- stream Western constructions exploring alternative notions to childhood. The essays critique and problematize some prevalent notions related to culture, identity, and vulnerability and belonging especially in situations of armed violence. The volume also deliberates childhood as a human right exploring how armed violence hinders realization of such rights focusing on humanitarian assistance programs implemented in northern Uganda. Besides childhood, this book also explores the complex inter- sectional nature of youthhood and its cultural relevance to formerly displaced communities and how this manifests in access to and use of humanitarian assistance. In conclusion, the volume acknowledges the agency and resilience of young people despite the numerous challenges ix x PrEFACE and traumas they encounter especially during situations of forced dis- placement. This volume also brings together both Western and Global South approaches to childhood. In other words, it is an intersection of these two, and their complex dynamics. The book is interdisciplinary, draw- ing on childhood studies, peace and conflict studies, cultural studies, and feminist studies. It offers descriptive material from a place and people not often included in discussions of the development and lives of children and youth but reflective of other places and conditions outside Uganda and Africa. The volume thus positions African/Ugandan childhoods within mainstream childhood standards. Kampala, Uganda Victoria Flavia Namuggala
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