CCCS in the News

Dr. Dan Cook (associate professor, CFAS-childhood studies) offered expert perspective on children as consumers during an interview that appeared in a news broadcast about holiday shopping. 
View the transcript at http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/item/30310-23lftoys.

Dr. Cook was also featured on WHYY with the article: “Rumored South Jersey university merger could drive away scholars and dollars.”
View the article at http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/speak-easy-archive/item/30070-rumored-south-jersey-university-merger-could-drive-away-scholars-and-dollars.

Childhood studies students at Rutgers–Camden are striving to raise awareness of a global population whose distinctive experiences are often ignored or poorly understood.

“Children don’t always get a voice in our adult world,” says Neeta Goel, a childhood studies PhD student at Rutgers–Camden. “Childhood studies help us focus on a vulnerable part of our society. There are all sorts of issues impacting children and our program turns the lens specifically on these kids and considers them as central characters with a story to tell.” >>> Read the full article:
http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2011/11/rutgers-camden-takes-20111121

After a 25-year career in the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office, Diane Marano is pursuing her Ph.D. in childhood studies at Rutgers–Camden. Inspired by her work as an assistant prosecutor, she is committed to helping young people achieve better outcomes in life. >>> Read the full article:
http://news.rutgers.edu/medrel/news-releases/2011/11/retired-prosecutor-p-20111121

Dr. Jane Siegel (associate professor, CFAS-criminal justice) discussed her new book about the children of incarcerated parents during an interview that appeared on “News Works Tonight.”   The audio file of the broadcast is available at http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/nwt-full-shows/item/19766-nwt-full-show-june-22-2011.

A regional forum, called Giving Voice to the Silent: Children and Families of the Incarcerated, took place at Rutgers-Camden on June 23rd. Elizabeth Fiedler talks with Rutgers-Camden criminologist Jane Siegel about how prisoners and children cope with incarceration in a follow-up program on WHYY.
>>> listen to the whole show on WHYY Radio
>>> read the Philadelphia article on the conference

Dr. Carol Singley (professor, CFAS-English) is the author of a new book, Adopting America:  Childhood, Kinship, and National Identity in Literature (Oxford University Press).  >>> more information

Dr. Charles Watters gave an interview at the New School in New York on his research on the social and structural issues surrounding migrant children coming via North Africa to Europe. He also examines the role of individual agency in seeking a better life abroad.>>> View the video (5:57 min)

Dr. Robert Atkins (assistant professor, CFAS-nursing) and Dr. Daniel Hart (professor II, CFAS-psychology) were interviewed live on “Radio Times,” where they discussed their research into the possibility of allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote.  The transcript is available at http://whyy.org/cms/radiotimes/2011/03/09/should-16-and-17-year-olds-be-able-to-vote.

Dr. Cati Coe (associate professor, CFAS-anthropology) delivered a talk on “What a Minor Needs: The Differing Conceptions of US Family Reunification Law and Ghanaian Labor Migrants” as part of a panel on “Children, Migration, and the State” for the American Anthropological Association's Children's Interest Group conference, held in Charleston, SC, in February.  She also published an article, “What is the Impact of Transnational Migration on Family Life? Women’s Comparisons of Internal and International Migration in a Small Town in Ghana,” in the journal American Ethnologist. Dr. Coe is one of five editors for the book Everyday Ruptures: Children, Youth, and Migration in Global Perspective (Vanderbilt University Press, 2011), which came out of a workshop organized by the Working Group on Children and Migration and funded by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research.  She also contributed a chapter, titled "How Children Feel about Their Parents' Migration: A History of the Reciprocity of Care in Ghana."

New Book by Rutgers Researcher Aims to Amplify What Kids Have to Say

Want to capture the attention of a child? A Rutgers-Camden researcher says educators and parents could learn from the corporate world, which has long valued kids’ input.

Cindy Dell Clark, a visiting associate professor of anthropology, published a new book on her research with children. >>> Read more

Dr. Daniel Cook (prof, Childhood Studies) was interviewed on abc NEWS. The program reported that a food industry watchdog group is threatening to take McDonald's to court over its practice of including toys with Happy Meals. Dan Cook, who studies the effects of advertisement on kids, alerted the audience that children are bombarded with more advertising as never before. According to Dr. Cook, the toy -not the food- brings children back to McDonald's.

>>> Watch the video with Dr. Cook and read the article

Dr. Cati Coe (associate professor, CFAS-sociology) has published a chapter, "Domestic Violence and Child Circulation in the Southeastern Gold Coast, 1905-1928,” in the edited collection Domestic Violence and the Law in Colonial and Postcolonial Africa (Ohio University Press).  She also delivered an invited talk, "Children's (Im)mobilities: The Effects of Transnational Migration on Children's Circulation in Ghanaian Households," at the Drexel University Center for Mobilities Research and Policy.

Dr. Cindy Dell Clarke (visiting associate professor, CFAS-sociology) has authored a new book, In A Younger Voice: Doing Child-Centered Qualitative Research (Oxford University Press).   More information about the book is online at http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/Psychology/Social/?view=usa&ci=9780195376593

Baby Books Become Research Resource. The extensive 1,300-volume collection of Baby books at UCLA spans 138 years of history, and represents the only one of its kind. It is particularly valuable because of its large scale, and researchers from across the country often frequent it... “It just keeps growing, and I just have to keep going back,” said Janet Golden, a Rutgers University professor who is writing a medical history of babies under the age of 1. Golden, who often flies to UCLA to visit the collection, said she discovered much about the changing social norms throughout history while doing her research.
>>> read the full article

Migrant Children Displaced by Poverty and War
Over the last two decades, unprecedented numbers of refugee children have fled their countries, seeking asylum from poverty and conflict.  Some find a better life.  Others disappear. Dr. Charles Watters, a professor of childhood studies at Rutgers–Camden, says refugee children are a global issue.... “We’re looking at millions of children around the world who are displaced.”
>>> read the full article

Newly Formed History of Childhood Journal Nominated for Major Award
Still in its infancy, the Journal of the History of Childhood and Youth is already receiving accolades. The publication devoted to the historical experiences of children and young people throughout the ages and from all over the world benefits from the knowledge of a scholar at Rutgers–Camden, the home of the nation’s first PhD program in the emerging discipline. Dr. Susan Miller, an assistant professor of childhood studies in Camden, serves as book review editor for the journal founded by the Society for the History of Children and Youth in 2008.
>>> read the full article

How the Haunted Holiday Dulled its Horror Edge
For scholars studying American childhood, there’s much to be learned by examining how families observe those special days, like birthdays and Halloween.   According to Dr. Dan Cook, a childhood studies scholar at Rutgers-Camden, these special days, much like Christmas, give children an opportunity to express their wishes with many parents actively encouraging them to do so.... Halloween has dulled its horror edge as many costumes are little more than extensions of already established toy lines or television shows which children don most any day of the year. So if a plethora of princesses and superheroes knock on your door this October 31, you’ll know why.
>>> read the full article

How Childhood Studies Influence Moral Thinking
In his new book, Ethics in Light of Childhood (Georgetown University Press, 2010), Dr. John Wall, a CCCS associate and associate professor of philosophy and religion at Rutgers–Camden, says viewing moral issues from a child’s perspective could change ethical thinking. “The experiences of children need to become new lenses for interpreting what it means to exist, to live good lives, and to form communities – for the sake of children and adults both,” Wall writes in the book’s introduction.
>>> read the full article

The Department of Childhood Studies at Rutgers University is delighted to announce that Patrick Cox and Anandini Dar have been named as the co-recipients of the David K. Sengstack Endowed Graduate Fellowship for AY 2010-2011.
>>> read more

Rutgers-Camden continues to lead the way in professional preparation on behalf of educators of children ages birth to eight with the addition of both the traditional and alternate route P-3 endorsements. The new programs reflect the most recent pedagogical advances in the field emphasizing state and national standards and research based practice to improve student learning. Central to the Rutgers-Camden program is preparing endorsement candidates to use empirically-based practice and scientifically valid research on teaching and learning. The theory, concepts and applications of measuring development and learning is interwoven throughout the required coursework as a fundamental aspect of improving teacher quality preparation.

The Rutgers-Camden Early Childhood Education program and P-3 endorsements are designed and facilitated through a unique partnership between the Center for Children and Childhood Studies, the Department of Childhood Studies and Camden County College and the Teacher Preparation Program. Students and endorsement candidates engage in a holistic approach to education grounded in developmentally appropriate practice with child development at the core of pedagogical decisions. Field experience and student teaching occur at both the preschool and primary level, with a required urban based practicum fundamental to the populations that Abbott P-3 teachers serve.

For more information, please contact Angela Connor or Ingrid Campbell at 856-225-6739 or ibconnor@camden.rutgers.edu or ingridc@camden.rutgers.edu.

The symposium will be held on the Rutgers–Camden Campus and is FREE and open to the public. Please join us by registering online.
For more information, please contact Lynne Vallone, chair of the Department of Childhood Studies.

Prof. Barrie Thorne, U-C Berkeley, will be the special guest of the Department of Childhood Studies on September 30 and October 1. A public talk entitled “Social Class Inequality and Children's Experiences and Management of Family Shame,” will take place on September 30, at 4:30 in the 4th Floor Lounge of Law School. A reception will follow at the Stedman Gallery at 6pm. We expect that Dr. Thorne will speak in one of our classes and will make herself available to meet with students.
>>> click here to download a flier (pdf)
Barrie Thorne is a pioneer of women’s studies and of childhood studies and is an early supporter of our program. Please see http://womensstudies.berkeley.edu/faculty/barrie.html for some information about her.

Deborah S. Valentine (B.A. Wheaton College, IL; M.A. Wheaton College, IL), second-year doctoral student in the Department of Childhood Studies, Rutgers-Camden, has been selected as the first recipient of the David K. Sengstack Endowed Graduate Fellowship. >>> more

Applications accepted for Associate/Full Professor, Childhood Studies

New Reference Book on Childhood Studies

New 2007 Lecture Series in March and April:
Rethinking Childhood: Juveniles and the Justice System

The grant will support RU-CCCS’ Professional Development Pathways Initiative for Early Childhood Education in Camden, as well as the new PK-3 Continuum Project in partnership with the Camden City Board of Education. Both projects are under the leadership of Angela Connor, Senior Program Director and head of the Early Childhood Education Division.

Dr. Dan Cook, associate professor of childhood studies at Rutgers University—Camden, addressed the Disney princess culture and its impact on today’s young girls during Cappuccino Academy at Barnes & Noble in Marlton at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 31.  This lecture is part of Cappuccino Academy, a monthly series of free public lectures delivered by members of the Rutgers-Camden community at Barnes & Noble.  For information, call (856) 225-6627.  

Dr. Cook was also recently interviewed for "Marketplace," (FOX 29 TV, Philadelphia, Dec 11, 2007) about the role of targeted marketing to kids, ages 9-14, called "tween." >>> view the streaming video

Dr. Cook's research on "princess culture" was highlighted in Rutgers Focus (Feb 6, 2008). The article points to troubling aspects of merchandizing for children, especially girls. >>> read the article

CCCS and Barnes and Noble to Partner for Children’s Book Week Celebration and Fundraiser

Students representing Camden city’s Early Care and Education community arrived on the Rutgers Camden campus this fall for the start of the third phase of the Camden Professional Development Pathways Initiative. This program, developed by Senior Program Director, Angela Connor was recently awarded a two-year grant from the William Penn Foundation.
>>> read more

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Daniel Cook and Dr. Lynne Vallone will be joining the Childhood Studies program. Dr. Daniel Cook is the author of The Commodification of Childhood: The Children's Clothing Industry and the Rise of the Child Consumer and Children's Consumer Culture (forthcoming), editor of Symbolic Childhood and  The Lived Experiences of  Public Consumption (forthcoming), and a number of articles and chapters on children in American culture.  Dr. Cook received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, and will be coming from the University of Illinois. Dr. Lynne Vallone is author of Disciplines of Virtue and Becoming Victoria, and co-editor of The Norton Anthology of Children's Literature,  Virtual Gender: Fantasies of Subjectivity and Embodiment, and The Girl's Own, Cultural Histories of the Anglo-American Girl, 1830-1915.  Dr. Vallone will be coming from Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas.

>>> Childhood Studies Program website

Bob Atkins, Assistant Professor of Nursing, RU-Newark received the Research Nurse of the Year Award by The Concerned Black Nurses of Newark at the 24th Annual Scholarship and Awards Luncheon on Saturday, May 6th, 2006. Atkins was being recognized for his research on the effect of stress in the home and neighborhood environment influence on the health and development of children and adolescents.
>>> For more information, please visit
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-05/rtsu-cbn050206.php

In March and April 2006, CCCS brought to campus another group of writers and authors to share their perspectives on childhood. The new Remembering Childhood: Meet the Authors, Hear Their Stories series is free and open to the public. No registration required. Some events took place in conjunction with the 18th annual Rutgers Camden Writers' Conference on Saturday, April 8, 2006.

For more information, directions to the campus, and to the Camden Children's Garden, click here to download a brochure.

Dr. Bill Whitlow received a 5-year $1.15 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). This grant is for "SPARC 2000+: Science Fair Drug Abuse Science Literacy"

>>> more

The Center for Children and Childhood Studies
presents a CCCS Seminar with
Dr. Kathleen Jones
Dying Young: Stories from the History of American Youth Suicide

New 2007 Lecture Series:
Rethinking Childhood: Juveniles and the Justice System

Let Children be Children: Lewis Wickes Hine’s Crusade Against Child Labor will be on display at the Stedman Gallery from Monday, March 13,2006 – Saturday, May 6, 2006. Sociologist Lewis Wickes Hines (American, 1874-1940) photography captured his concern for children, immigrants and the working-class. The exhibition of 55 prints offers a revealing look at child labor practices at the onset of American industrialization and the circumstances that poor working children endured well into the late 1930’s. 
>>> more about the exhibition

Reception and Discussion –Thursday, March 30, 2006
Stedman Gallery - 5:30 pm – 7:30pm
Dr. Philip Kilbride, Professor of Anthropology at Bryn Mawr College discussed child labor practices in East Africa.

CCCS "Meet The Authors" series is planned for Spring 2006

In March and April 2006, CCCS will bring to campus another group of writers and authors to share their perspectives on childhood. The new Remembering Childhood: Meet the Authors, Hear Their Stories series is free and open to the public. Some events will take place in conjunction with the 18th annual Rutgers Camden Writers' Conference on Saturday, April 8, 2006.

For more information, directions to the campus, and to the Camden Children's Garden, click here to download a brochure.

The Rutgers University Press Book Series in Childhood Studies, edited by Dr. Myra Bluebond Langner, has released a new book in the series entitled, Girls in Trouble with the Law by Laurie Schaffner
Girls in Trouble with the Law takes us to the heart of life for adolescent girls in secure juvenile facilities across the United States. In bringing the voices of court-involved young women into the public conversation about youth crime, adolescent sexuality, and community violence, Laurie Schaffner’s vibrant ethnography offers new views of youth experiences with racism, poverty, violence, and sexuality as well as a critique of the ways gender and justice are produced in the juvenile legal system.
Laurie Schaffner is an assistant professor in the criminal justice and sociology department of the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her previous books include Teenage Runaways: Broken Hearts and "Bad Attitudes".

http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Girls_in_Trouble_with_the_Law_2549.html#3645

This is the seventh book released in the series. For additional information on the series please visit:
http://children.camden.rutgers.edu/RU-book_series.htm

Cati Coe, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, has just released her book, Dilemmas of Culture in African Schools: Youth, Nationalism and the Transformation of Knowledge, published by University of Chicago Press.

Book Description In working to build a sense of nationhood, Ghana has focused on many social engineering projects, the most meaningful and fascinating of which has been the state's effort to create a national culture through its schools. As Cati Coe reveals in Dilemmas of Culture in African Schools, this effort has created an unusual paradox: while Ghana encourages its educators to teach about local cultural traditions, those traditions are transformed as they are taught in school classrooms. The state version of culture now taught by educators has become objectified and nationalized--vastly different from local traditions.

click on image to enlarge

Dr. Coe identifies the state's limitations in teaching cultural knowledge and discusses how Ghanaians negotiate the tensions raised by the competing visions of modernity that nationalism and Christianity have created. She reveals how cultural curricula affect authority relations in local social organizations--between teachers and students, between Christians and national elite, and between children and elders--and raises several questions about educational processes, state-society relations, the production of knowledge, and the making of Ghana's citizenry.

Congratulations from all of us, Cati!

>>> view more CCCS publications

We are proud to announce that the Rutgers University Press has published its fifth book in the Childhood Studies series, Armies of the Young: Child Soldiers in War and Terrorism, by David M. Rosen, Professor of Anthropology and Law at Fairleigh Dickinson University and member of the Center for Children and Childhood Studies Regional Seminar Series. For more information please visit, http://rutgerspress.rutgers.edu/acatalog/__Armies_of_the_Young_2296.html