Scales of Young People’s Lives

This chapter explores what the concept of scale that is often employed by human geographers contributes to childhood and youth studies. Different metaphors for understanding the concept of scale and scalar relations are explored emphasizing the importance of seeing scale as socially produced and constructed. Three case studies are then discussed in detail, each of which demonstrates the potential utility of scale in advancing researchers’ understandings of the complexities of young people’s lives. These case studies include reflection upon the experiences of street children and AIDS-affected children in Southern Africa, young East German’s negotiations of globalization and antiwar activism, and young Scottish Sikh and Muslim men’s engagements with global events and national issues through their embodied local lives. The conclusion proposes that attention to scale and scalar relations could usefully expose researchers to the possibility of up- or downscaling analysis in order to consider the potential relevance of other scales of analysis to younger people’s lives, including both the influence of these scales and the ways in which young people creatively manage and respond to such scalar relations.