Ghostly Matters in Children's Art: Expectations and Emancipatory Practices

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 11
  In Roundtable Session: Art, Aesthetics, and Aliveness: Analyzing Children's Mobility, Making, and Marking

Abstract

Referring to Jacques Derrida's "hauntology" and Avery Gordon's "ghostly matters," this paper examines how children have historically been told to abide by normative roles, to learn and meet the expectations adults demonstrate, and how children manifest modes of disagreement and negotiation toward these assumptions thus engage in political enactments driven by their own desire. In exploring this idea, a painting event observed at the kindergarten classroom is described, in which two boys diverge from the teacher’s instruction yet continue to be cognizant of the teacher’s presence and potential disapproval. In doing so, this paper attempts to open up discussion on early childhood art education researchers and practitioners to consider different perspectives on children's art practices.

Author

• Hayon Park, George Mason University