In Search of the Migrant Child: An Introduction to the Entangled Histories of Childhood and Migration

Abstract

This special section examines the history of child migration and historiographical debates on the place of children in the history of migration. The contributions demonstrate how studying the intersection of factors such as age, mobility, agency and emotions can significantly enrich both historical childhood studies and migration studies. In varying ways, each article identifies migrant children and mobile young people as historical actors who are not mere passive participants or objects managed by adults in the process of migration. Rather, the analyses presented in this section illustrate how young migrants exercised a range of different forms of agency – whether they were available to them or actively created by them. Additionally, this special section pays close attention to the various sources that allow scholars in migration history and childhood studies to explore the lived experiences and actions of young mobile individuals.