This colloquium explores how children and childhood have responded to – and negotiated – borders. What roles did children play in making people, ideas, and practices mobile? In what contexts were certain ideas of childhood given power across space so as to construct new national and international concepts of childhood? To what extent did the young communicate across divides? How did children live with the borders formed by states, communities and families? In this one-day colloquium, we will explore these questions by focusing on children’s experiences and perspectives, ranging across the globe and over the last 800 years.

As part of the day, we are delighted to especially welcome Bart van Es and Lien de Jong to talk about the award-winning book, The Cut Out Girl: a story of War and Family (2018).