Rutgers University Press Visual Encounters in the Study of Rural Childhoods

Visual Encounters in the Study of Rural Childhoods brings together visual studies and childhood studies to explore images of childhood in the study of rurality and rural life. The volume highlights how the voices of children themselves remain central to investigations of rural childhoods. Contributions look at representations and experiences of rural childhoods from both the Global North and Global South (including U.S., Canada, Haiti, India, Sweden, Slovenia, South Africa, Russia, Timor-Leste, and Colombia) and consider visuals ranging from picture books to cell phone video to television. Review "Visual Encounters in the Study of Rural Childhoods is a welcome addition on many fronts. It tackles rural childhood in many locations around the world, both Global North and Global South, and it does so by means of studying the visual. Instead of taking images of carefree rural childhoods at face value, the authors delve into their hidden meanings. What are we really seeing in these visions and versions of childhood? This is recommended reading for scholars in many fields: childhood studies, rural history, history of gender and sexuality, and so many others." --Pamela Riney-Kehrberg "author of Childhood on the Farm: Work, Play, and Coming of Age in the Midwest""Chronicle of Higher Education weekly book list," by Nina C. Ayoub-- "Chronicle of Higher Education""This is a book of intersections that takes the seemingly temporal idea of childhood and connects it to the apparently spatial idea of rurality. This is very stimulating reading that employs the visual turn to illustrate some of the many ways childhood is experienced and represented in rural geographies. This work offers a timely challenge to established stereotypes about both childhood and rural life."--Michael Corbett "coauthor of Rural Literacies: Transnational Perspectives" About the Author April Mandrona is an assistant professor at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design in Halifax, Canada.Claudia Mitchell is a James McGill Professor at McGill University in Quebec, Canada, and a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. She is the editor-in-chief of Girlhood Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal, and the author or coeditor of numerous books.