In this seminar, renowned sociologists Allison Pugh and Vanessa May will share insights about children's sense of belonging focusing on the significance of AI and materiality in social life.
A new book about children and young people's sense of belonging to people, places, and objects will also be launched.
Program
8:30-8:35 Welcome, by Anita Borch, SIFO
8:35-9:00 Belonging: An embodied, sensory and material experience of connection, by Vanessa May
9:00-9:25 Disrupted belonging? AI and the neoliberal child, by Allison Pugh
9:25-9:55 The book’s chapters – an overview, by the authors
9:55-10:00 Wrapping up, by Anita Borch
Vanessa May on the materiality of social life
In her talk, Vanessa May will revisit arguments presented in Connecting Self to Society (2013) about the significance of the embodied, sensory and material dimensions of belonging and bring these into conversation with recent empirical work.
She then discusses two theoretical approaches to the study of connectedness – Jennifer Mason on the potency of connections and Sophie Woodward on materiality as an inseparable part of relationships – and explore what light these can shed on the role of embodiment, the senses and material things in how people create a sense of belonging with the surrounding world.
Vanessa May is professor of sociology at the University of Manchester.
Allison Pugh on the significance of AI
Allison Pugh presents her lecture the following way:
“The burgeoning use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education and how it poses new challenges for children’s quest for belonging in social relations with their peers and communities. Based on research for my most recent book The Last Human Job, I will argue that the advent of AI in children’s spaces threatens to transform their belonging projects.
I will outline the social impact of the “personalization” of education, including the primacy of work, the individualization of education, and the rationalization of teaching and learning. I will also explore the implications of these effects for children’s belonging and outline questions for researchers grappling with this brave new world.”
Allison Pugh is professor of sociology at the Johns Hopkins University.
About the book
The new book provides vivid examples of how children create and experience belonging with peers, places, and objects. The first part of the book examines how material goods influence children's social belonging, with examples such as food, clothing, and digital games. The second part looks at how belonging takes shape in different social arenas, from birthday parties and football fields to more challenging contexts such as criminal activity.
The third part approaches belonging from a professional perspective, offering insights from social workers, public health nurses, teachers, and other professionals who play a key role in children's lives. This book is primarily aimed at master's students, educators, and researchers in the field of children and youth, but it will also be relevant for professionals in politics and civil society.
The Belong project is funded by the Research Council of Norway.
