On Seeking Global History's Inner Child

Starting with distinctions between global history and globalization and between the history of childhood and the history of children, this essay suggests some approaches to the global history of childhood. It calls for exploring the common circumstances of childhood; the dissemination of practices, norms, and customs affecting children; the impact on children of webs of connections across nations and continents; and the cultural encounters that result. By doing this, students of childhood in any place or time can establish frameworks through which to recognize and address important aspects of global history and theories of global change.