Armies of the Young: Child Soldiers in War and Terrorism (The Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies)

Book Description

"No thinking person, no media commentator, no political leader can afford to be without this book--not if they care about the truth and want to understand one of the more awful realities of our time. It will stir you to action on behalf of the world's vulnerable children." --Phyllis Chesler, author of The New Anti-Semitism Children have served as soldiers throughout history. They fought in the American Revolution, the Civil War, and in both world wars. They served as uniformed soldiers, camouflaged insurgents, and even suicide bombers. Indeed, the first U.S. soldier to be killed by hostile fire in the Afghanistan war was shot in ambush by a fourteen-year-old boy. Does this mean that child soldiers are agressors? Or are they victims? It is a difficult question with no obvious answer, yet in recent years the acceptable answer among humanitarian organizations and contemporary scholars has been resoundingly the latter. These children are most often seen as especially hideous examples of adult criminal exploitation. In this provocative book, David M. Rosen argues that this response vastly oversimplifies the child soldier problem. Drawing on three dramatic examples--from Sierra Leone, Palestine, and Eastern Europe during the Holocaust--Rosen vividly illustrates this controversial view. In each case, he shows that children are not always passive victims, but often make the rational decision that not fighting is worse than fighting. With a critical eye to international law, Armies of the Young urges readers to reconsider the situation of child combatants in light of circumstance and history before adopting uninformed child protectionist views. In the process, Rosen paints a memorable and unsettling picture of the role of children in international conflicts. David M. Rosen is a professor of anthropology and law at Fairleigh Dickinson University. A volume in The Rutgers Series in Childhood Studies, edited by Myra Bluebond-Langner, Rutgers University, Camden.

Customer Reviews:

Child Soldiering complexified.......2007-05-11

To date, most of the writing about child soldiers comes from the discipline of psychology or from the world of human rights. The psychology writing tends to assume that children involved in war will be traumatized and the rights literature tends to see soldiering as one of the worst abuses of children. Without downplaying the indisputable horrors of some individual's experiences, David Rosen, a professor of anthropology and law at Fairleigh Dickinson University, asks us to understand child soldiering from a political perspective.

He brings clear thinking to the field by daring to question the assumptions of the human rights regime. In so doing, he comes down firmly on the side of a growing number of scholars of childhood who insist on foregrounding child agency rather than always seeing them as hapless victims. Of course, there is a delicate line here. One does not want to run the risk of downplaying the violence children experience, but this is a necessary corrective to child protection discourses that almost completely remove any sense of agency in childhood.

How do we return to a focus on agency? Rosen makes clear that "Ethnography - particularly the methods of participant observation--has unsettled conventional concepts of childhood and remains the best way to study children. Observing and listening to the voice of the child in natural settings, where children are not disempowered by the regimes of formal interviewing, testing, and measurement, provide the clearest portraits of the competence of children" (133).

There are a lot of assumptions circulating in the world about what causes child soldiering, and very little hard evidence to back up those assumptions. One of the most often repeated is the notion that the worldwide traffic in small arms is responsible for the rise in child soldiers. The argument is that smaller guns mean that smaller people can now wield them. To me the most useful achievement of this book is the effective skewering of the small arms argument. The author also does an excellent job of situating humanitarian discourse on child soldiers within debates about "new wars" and about the vulnerability of children.

The core of the book is made up of three chapters on different historical and geographical examples of conflict and different models of youth participation in political violence. He looks at young Jewish partisans from World War II, the child soldiers of the recent civil war in Sierra Leone, and young Palestinians of the Intifada. The use of examples from the past is useful because the arguments become easier to follow when somewhat removed in time from the presently regnant child rights regime. He calls all of the young people in his case studies "child soldiers," in order to demonstrate that using today's lenses retrospectively forces us to look at the past differently, but also obliges us to acknowledge the constructed nature of the lenses. As a specialist on child soldiers of Sierra Leone, I noticed a few small factual errors in that section, though I would leave it to someone with a more nuanced understanding of the Middle East to judge the politics and accuracy of the chapter on Palestine.

The author is hardly the first to point out that child soldiering is not a new phenomenon, but he makes the point clearly and forcefully. The introduction includes examples of children's involvement in war from Western and non-Western societies, including the well-documented participation of children in the U.S. Civil War. He mentions the strangeness of the "straight 18 position," noting that, "for the rest of the world... it is by no means clear that all persons under age eighteen are or even should be deemed children." He directs our attention to the ahistorical basis of humanitarian discourse, noting, "Humanitarian advocacy shows little or no awareness that current humanitarian views about childhood itself are historically contingent and derive from a particular constellation of ideas and practices that began to emerge in Europe during the Middle Ages."

Most importantly, he understands the struggles over childhood as political (as have Sharon Stephens and others before him), stating, "the competing political agendas of humanitarian groups, sovereign states, and the United Nations and its constituent agencies have created a global politics of age, of which the child soldier issue is only one part." He concludes, "The child soldier `crisis' is a modern political crisis, which is only partly related to the actual presence of children in war" (157). This conclusion forces us to look more closely at the political underpinnings of a whole range of humanitarian discourses about children.

This book is appropriate for anyone who is thinking critically about the cultural politics of childhood, and could be used in courses on human rights, childhood, or conflict.

Challenges the Paradigms of Children and War.......2006-01-11

In this meticulously documented book, Rosen takes on the controversy over child soldiers on four sites -- the World War II partisans, the civil war in Sierre Leone, the Palestinian intifada, and the United Naitons agencies and affiliated non-governmental organizations that draft treaties. He exposes the myths that child soldiers are either wild demons or exploited angels, revealing children as surprisingly independent decison-makers, sophisticated thinkers, and rational, responsible yet eternally subordinate social actors, constrained by contexts of violence. Rosen, who is both an anthropologist and an attorney, has drawn on his own fieldwork and cultural and legal understandings, to create a book that is deceptively readable but so deeply analytical that you will never see the connection between children and war in the same way again. Evryone who has a child, or has been a child, or cares about our planetary future, should read it.

Book Description

Originally published in 1921, this historical novel is set in 1783 at a time when British soldiers were still in control of New York City. It is a story of the adventures of a courageous loyal American girl, Annette Vincent, and her best friend, a Tory.

Customer Reviews:

Good book.......1998-04-01

Annette is a Patriot girl in 1783 New York. Her best friend is a Loyalist. The war is over but the British still haven't left New York. Still, Annette hopes and prays they will, and when that day comes, Annette is among the triumphant Americans that cheer.

Average customer rating:

Good enough book, but a little dated
Another great Little Maid book

Little Maid of Virginia (Little Maid)
Alice Turner Curtis
Manufacturer: Applewood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Little Maid of Old New York (Little Maid Historical Series)
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ASIN: 1557093334

Book Description

Rose Elinor Moore is 11 when her little cousin Mary Lou Abbott comes to visit at her beautiful home near Yorktown in the spring of 1781 during the Revolutionary War. They share many exciting adventures, including driving together to Yorktown to witness Cornwallis's surrender.

Customer Reviews:

Good enough book, but a little dated.......2001-04-18

This book is sweet and charming, but clearly reflects the time it was written (1922). The two heroines, Rose Elinor and Mary Lou, are brave and adventurous, and get to meet Thomas Jefferson and General Lafayette, but sometimes the writing is a little precious concerning Rose Elinor's maturation into a "proper little maid of Virginia." And the way that Curtis depicts the black slaves, particularly the old style of rendering dialect, and the general assumption that the slaves are simple-minded, is both distracting and offensive to modern eyes. However, young children may not notice that (it's not a major part of the book), and Mary Lou is an especially appealing heroine.

Another great Little Maid book.......1998-04-01

Rose Elinor Moore is an 11 year old girl living with her parents near Yorktown, Virginia, in 1781. Her cousin, Mary Lou, whose mother is dead and father is fighting in the war, comes to live with the Moores. The two girls have many adventures and witness the surrender at Yorktown.

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Little Maid of Old Maine (Little Maid)
Alice Turner Curtis
Manufacturer: Applewood Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 1557093369

Book Description

This is a true story of the brave effort of two girls to bring help to a little settlement on the Maine coast at the time of the War of the Revolution. This event is referred to in history as the "Lexington of the Seas," because it was the first naval battle after the encounter in Lexington, Massachusetts. Readers will be touched by the courage of Rebecca and Anna Weston as they journey through the forest after the powder that was to make possible the conquest of the British.

Maid in the U.S.A. (Perspectives on Gender)

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A Little dry
A Classic!

Maid in the U.S.A. (Perspectives on Gender)
Mary Romero
Manufacturer: Routledge
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Racial Fault Lines: The Historical Origins of White Supremacy in California
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ASIN: 0415906121

Book Description

How does housework differ when it is paid labor? In what ways does the role of the housewife change when part of her work is allocated to another woman?

Studies of household labor have rarely considered the employment of domestic workers. Accordingly, studies of domestic workers have not drawn sufficiently from the literature on unpaid housework. Focusing on both paid and unpaid domestic work, Maid in the USA expands our theoretical understanding of reproductive labor to explain the dynamics of race, class, and gender in housework.

Through interviewing and analyzing the daily activities of twenty-five Chicana private household workers, Mary Romero provides a unique exploration of their working conditions, and the social constraints which shape their personal lives. As working women and mothers, Chicana private household workers face the "second shift"-- the result of housework as paid and unpaid labor. Romero argues that private household workers are struggling to control the work process and alter the employee-employer relationship to a client-tradesperson relationship in which labor services, rather than labor power, are sold._This struggle is aimed at developing new interactions with employers that eliminate aspects of hierarchy along the lines of gender, race, and class.

Maid in the USA will be an important book for students of sociology, anthropology, gender studies, and issues of race and ethnicity.

Customer Reviews:

A Little dry.......2006-09-08

This was a fairly good book, in that it presented the issue with a perspective I'd not heard before. However, it was very redundant in that the author presented the same info over and over again, even using some of the same quotes repeatedly. The book could have been slimmed down by 20 or 30 pages and not lost anything. I also would have prefered more anecdotal information, rather than as much literature review as there was. The author also put in "discussions" at the end of each chapter, which were unnecessary if you were paying attention to the reading.

A Classic!.......2004-06-09

This book is the classic study of the exploitation of domestic service workers in the United States. Kudos to the publisher for providing this 10th anniversary commemorative edition! In this book, which has aged extraordinarily well, Professor Romero studies the lives of those invisible people -- often immigrants and people of color -- who clean the homes of the middle and upper classes. What you learn is troubling and should make EVERYONE who employs domestic service workers think about their treatment. Thanks to Professor Romero for holding up the mirror!

Old Maids: Short Stories by Nineteenth Century U.S. Women Writers

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Old Maids: Short Stories by Nineteenth Century U.S. Women Writers

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The Thracian Maid and the Professional Thinker: Arendt and Heidegger (S U N Y Series in Contemporary Continental Philosophy)
Jacques Taminiaux , and Michael Gendre
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The Promise of Politics

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A reader from Ridgefield, CT
All Americans Should Take Note
Compassionate, Enlightening and Pithy Scope for Humanity

Custom Maid for New World Disorder
Peter de Krassel
Manufacturer: CAL Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Book Description

We the Maids, For the Maids, By the Maids - we are the maids that clean up and pay for America's geopolitical mess.

A political manifesto for our difficult and troubled times, Custom Maid Spin for New World Disorder is a trenchant analysis of the political, social and moral ills that beset the United States. This is a book written for anyone with a stake in the future of America.

Filled with witty personal anecdotes drawn from his experiences as a lawyer, a businessman and a political activist, de Krassel argues that America desperately needs to reform. He takes particular aim at the country's career politicians, sensationalist media and jingoistic culture. And he suggests ways in which America can put its house in order.

The first chapter, The Hypocrisy of Fake Morality with Real Orgasms, examines how American journalists have increasingly focused on frivolous stories about the sex lives of public figures rather than the real issues affecting the country. In the years leading up to the 9/11 attacks, for example, more time was spent by the American media chasing the Monica Lewinsky affair than tackling difficult topics like the rise of Islamic extremism abroad or the long overdue need for campaign finance reform.

Further chapters cover racism and bigotry, religion, America's great opportunity in the new millennium, the breakdown of family structures, spin and disinformation. The book concludes with an exhortation to a return to the principles of the Founding Fathers.

A new millennium offers a unique opportunity for change. It is a chance for Americans to retake control of their political system and reassess their values in an increasingly religious, stressed-out, debt-laden, consumerist society.

Peter de Krassel was born in England of a Russian father and Palestinian Jewish mother. He has lived all over the world, including Switzerland, Israel and the United States. Currently he lives in Hong Kong. He has a unique perspective on world events both from the influences of the places he's lived in and the people he has met, as well as from his varied career.

Customer Reviews:

A reader from Ridgefield, CT.......2004-09-27

Most of the time I feel as if the media is simply aiding government in its agenda to spread mass hypnosis. Mr. de krassel's insightful, intelligent book is a wake-up call to think for ourselves, see the truth behind the spin and take action in whatever ways we feel called. It is a must read for anyone who is willing to take responsibility for what we all have contributed to creating and the courage to believe in new possibilities.

All Americans Should Take Note.......2004-08-28

This is a book to learn from. The author is honest and out spoken. He knows his stuff . Its an easy read too Why isn't the World taking note and doing something about the mess being created

Compassionate, Enlightening and Pithy Scope for Humanity.......2004-07-15

Peter de Krassel's book is a beam of light through a pitch-black series of essays on our present time in history. His viewpoint serves as an indicator that illuminates understanding for how we arrived into our contemporary drama and provides impetus for embracing recognition of a global community. Includes opportunity for amazement and many good chuckles, as well as a view of Hong Kong that we ordinarily are not privy to experience from our receiving end of the media's voice. Inspiring and challenging with a delicious sense of connectedness served with humor and sensitivity beyond outrage.

Average customer rating:

Great Book!

Little Maid of Old Connecticut
Alice Turner Curtis
Manufacturer: Book Jungle
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Customer Reviews:

Great Book!.......1998-04-01

This book tells about Ellen Elizabeth Barlow. Ellen, called Ellie, is a little girl who lives in Connecticut during the American Revolution. Ellie has many adventures. She goes to visit her grandmother and is able to deliver a message to the American Army.

Miners/Merchants/And Maids (Settling the West)

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Miners/Merchants/And Maids (Settling the West)
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Manufacturer: 21st Century
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OLD MAIDS: SHORT STORIES BY NINETEENTH CENTURY U.S. WOMEN WRITERS.
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The Calvinist Copernicans: The Reception of the New Astronomy in the Dutch Republic, 1575-1750 (Edita - History of Science and Scholarship in the Netherlands)
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The Calvinist Copernicans: The Reception of the New Astronomy in the Dutch Republic, 1575-1750 (Edita - History of Science and Scholarship in the Netherlands)
Rienk Vermij
Manufacturer: Edita-the Publishing House of the Royal
ProductGroup: Book
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Netherlands | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
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Book Description

When it was published in 1543, Copernicus's new astronomy had an enormous impact on intellectual life in early modern Europe, but the reception of his new ideas differed fundamentally from one country to another. Rienk Vermij discusses how--unlike in Roman Catholic lands--discussion in the heavily Calvinist Dutch Republic was initially dominated by humanist scholars who judged Copernicus's work on its mathematical merits. Yet even in this environment, it could not escape eventual philosophical, religious, and political controversies. This book shows how Copernicus's astronomy changed from an alternative cosmology into an established worldview in the Dutch Republic.

Protecting your community's natural resources: A land protection toolbox for local government
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Protecting your community's natural resources: A land protection toolbox for local government
Jean Coleman
Manufacturer: Green Corridor Project
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