Français | English

Histoire de l'éducation, n°161/2024

Se soustraire à l'empire des grands. Enfance, jeunesse et agentivité (1500-1850)

Edited by Sylvie Moret Petrini

Histoire de l'éducation



Childhood, youth and agency (1500-1850)

At the heart of the rediscovery of "invisible" individuals lies the concept of agency. This has, however, rarely been applied to children and young people of the modern era, until now. Despite being overlooked, its hermeneutical potential is obvious. From childhood to adulthood, individuals are engaged in a process of self-construction, by which they aim to assert their individuality when facing adults and the wider world. This dossier encourages a reflection on the experiences of children and the agency of youth (between adapting and resisting) in France and the neighbouring countries (Switzerland and Germany) over a long period of time (sixteenth to mid-nineteenth century) and using a wide range of sources –from classic texts across the history of education to adolescents' personal writings. It thereby aims to shed light on the way in which children took action within social structures and to reveal children and young people as historical agents in their own right.