Tu Sabes que Somos de Calle: The Role of Thirdspace in the Construction of a Street Child Identity

• In Event: Roundtable Session 66
  In Roundtable Session: The Effects of Social Context on Education

Abstract

Using Edward Soja’s theory of thirdspace (1996) in connection with theories related to identity development and performance (Butler, 1999; Gee, 2000; Holland, Lachicotte, Skinner & Cain, 1998) this paper examines the role of the urban landscape and outreach organizations in the creation of a street child identity. I argue that children and adolescents, outreach workers and Good Samaritan groups come together in the street spaces of downtown Lima, Peru to co-construct a street child identity. This identity is directly connected to a thirdspace of possibility: a unique and complex space created by the organizations working to rehabilitate them, where children are able live out real and imagined possibilities.

Author

• Jamie Patrice Joanou, Westminster College