5. Lecture Series: Children’s Suffrage: Necessity and Consequences.
Course for students and post-graduate students. 12 lectures, 24 hours
Theme 1. Place and role of children in society and the state. Problems of childhood
Children as a major part of the social sphere responsible for reproduction and socialization of new generations. Meaning of children’s employment on self-development and socialization for life of a society. Change in number and quality of children at different stages of historical development. A place and role of children in different societies. Care of children by the parents, family, society and state. The role of children in the state, and political reflection of their interests. Politics in consciousness of children, and children’s political socialization. Modern problems of childhood: system character, classification, tendencies and estimation of their acuteness. UNO and UNICEF regarding the situation and well-being of children in the world. Ways in which states address childhood problems.
Theme 2. History of suffrage
Suffrage as the initial institution of democracy and one of the basic rights of man. Formation of modern suffrage during the epoch of industrial society. Genesis of suffrage: expansion of its scale and simultaneous narrowing of the number of various qualifications. Regulation of suffrage in the Constitutions and legislations of different countries.
Theme 3. The age qualification as a rudiment of industrial society and racism
The voting qualifications as a form of discrimination and racism. Specificity of the age qualification as a rudiment of industrial society. The psychological and social - political reasons for survivability of the age qualification. The age qualification as a kind psychological, cultural and political racism. Disparity of the age qualification to institutes of citizenship and democracy. The age qualification as a political reason for "poverty, discrimination and society's neglect of children" in modern democracies. Necessity of a cancellation of the age qualification for an information society in the age of globalization. D.I. Mendeleyev’s “children's qualification” as the first attempt to overcome the age qualification. Other attempts of political representation of children’s interests.
Theme 4. Children’s suffrage: social, political and moral necessity
General definition of children’s suffrage and its features. Suffrage of child as a right to elect, but not to be elected. Social and legal essence of children’s suffrage. Division of the right and its exercise. Children’s suffrage as a way to cancel and overcome the age qualification. Social, moral and political necessity for children’s suffrage in a new epoch. Children’s suffrage as a requirement for a just globalization. The rights of the child have been written down in the UN Convention on children’s suffrage.
Theme 5. Legal mechanism for implementing children’s suffrage
The basic principles and concepts of legislation for children’s suffrage. The child’s right of an electoral vote, and exercising this right by the parents or guardian s. A child as dependent voter. Ways of dividing children's votes between the parents (father and mother). Limits of parents in number of children's votes, in different countries. Inclusion of children in the electoral registers (lists). Restrictions in exercise of children’s suffrage by parents who are dipsomaniacs, drug addicts, etc. Permission for emancipated youth younger than 18 to exercise the right to vote. Exercising children’s suffrage as a duty for parent s and guardians. Administrative sanctions for infringement of this duty. Encouragement of parent s to exercise this duty. Sanctions for abuses of children’s suffrage. National referenda as way to accept Children’s Suffrage Law in each country. Revising legislation to include a Children’s Suffrage Law.
Theme 6. Political meaning and consequences of children’s suffrage
Political meaning of children’s suffrage as a full, political calculation and expression of vital interests of children in all territories of a country. Political destination of children’s suffrage - creation of a voting majority in legislative bodies at all levels of government, from local self- management up to federal, comprising the votes of parents and children. Parents and children as the social base of a voting majority. Deputies elected by votes of children and their parents - "children's (or youth)" deputies. Statement of problems of childhood by "youth" deputies. Creation, by a voting majority in the legislative and executive government, of mechanisms for effective and systemic decisions regarding childhood problems. Priority allocation of budgets, at different levels, for programs that address childhood problems. Increase political activity of youth. Increase political role of children and youth in society. Increase electoral participation. Increase quality of democracy. Transform the state to become truly social. Reduce levels of child and adult criminality. Exercise fully the rights of children. Maintain for children a policy of “special care” from the state. Increase the social value and humane importance of suffrage. Clean up the political system. Provide new energy in struggles with terrorism, corruption, and criminality. Establish the political mechanism to institute children’s suffrage.
Theme 7. Social consequences of children’s suffrage
Children’s suffrage as a priority of the social sphere and social politics, to improve children’s well- being, increase quality of education, public health services, leisure, sports of children, strengthen family, increase the role and authority of parents, including especially mothers, create mechanisms to address demographic problems, strengthen connections and mutual responsibility of generations, form powerful antiterrorist forces, among other social consequences.
Theme 8. Moral - psychological and cultural consequences of children’s suffrage
Children’s suffrage will improve the moral - psychological climate in family and society, increase political consciousness and cultures of youth, strengthen mutual aid and trust between generations, between parents and their children, improve the mass media, clearing them from propagation of violence and pornography, qualitatively improve the information provided for children, and the special care of children, as national ideals for society among other consequences.
Theme 9. Possible arguments against children’s suffrage
Social forces of support and counteraction to children’s suffrage. The reasons and subjects of social and psychological resistance to children’s suffrage. Collision innovations and traditions in politics and suffrage. Religious and moral motives of resistance to children’s suffrage. Arguments of a formal equality of the voters. Arguments of abusing by children’s suffrage. Arguments of misunderstanding of children’s suffrage. Arguments of the irresponsible and indifferent attitude to children. Arguments from disbelief in the state and politics. Racial and nationalistic arguments. Arguments of pseudo-danger for children. Arguments from a priority of economy. Other arguments.
Theme 10. Theoretical origins of the idea of children's suffrage
Pedagogical and axiological idea of equality, public and political value of children by J. Korczak, D. Mendeleev, J. Piaget, S. Gessen, E. Cokolov and many others. Tetrasociology as a theoretical sociological source of the children’s suffrage idea. Reproductive employment and sphere classes of the population as a basis for social equality of children and adults, as a source of the children’s suffrage idea. Children’s suffrage as way of social harmony for sphere classes and between generations. Branch reasons for the extended re production of problems of childhood, and sphere ways of overcoming them. Sphere nature of children’s suffrage. Sociological research of the attitudes of parents, and of the population at large, to children’s suffrage.
Theme 11. Children’s suffrage as a new value, right, freedom and responsibility of the globalization age
Expansion of the rights, freedoms and values in a social history. Qualitative development of values of love, freedom, equality and brotherhood under influence of children’s suffrage. Humanization of understanding and application of traditional values , rights and freedoms of the man in connection with children’s suffrage. Children’s suffrage as a universal and harmonious attitude toward children. Children’s suffrage - new value, right, freedom and responsibility of the globalization age and information society. Children’s suffrage as an addition to the General Declaration of the rights of man and UN Convention about the rights of the child in the new age.
Theme 12. Children’s suffrage – as a way to accelerate the development of nations
Children – the main, human capital and resource of countries of the world. The greatest efficiency of investment in human capital. Investment in children as a way to accelerate and harmoniously develop countries, as the basis for a systemic political strategy in the 21st century. Children’s suffrage as a social break for developing countries.
Literature
1. Alexander, Jeffrey (2003). The Meanings of Social Life. A Cultural Sociology. Oxford University Press
2. At the UN Special Session the World Leaders Promised to Make "World Fit for Children," in "One Country," Moscow, April-June, 2003, http://www.unicef.org/specialsession/
3. Bachika, Reimon (2003) Tetrasociology and Values . In: Semashko L. Tetrasociology: from Sociological Imagination through Dialogue to Universal Values and Harmony. St.-Petersburg State Polytechnical University, p.191-195
4. Baranov, Albert V. Depopulation, a social challenge to the government, Zvezda, 2001, N 1, pp. 172-179.
5. Bases of Juvenalogy. (2002). Editor of Prof. Slutcky E.B., St-Petersburg
6. Black book of crimes against children in St. Petersburg. Facts, documents, comments . Ed. by L.M.Semashko, A.I.Anoshin, G.A.Kryshnya, F.S.Makhov; St.Petersburg, 1994.
7. Calhoun, Craig (2003). Critical Social Theory. Culture, History, and the Challenge of Difference. Blackwell Publishing
8. Capra, Fritjof (2003). The Hidden Connections. A Science for Sustainable Living. Harper Collins Publishers
9. Chukovsky, Korney I. (1950). From Two up to Five. Kiev
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11. DeWitt, Martha R. (2000). Beyond Equilibrium theory; Theories of Social Action and Social Change Applied to a Study of Power Sharing in Transition. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
12. Family Code of Russia. Project. (1991). Semashko L., chief of group of the developers. St.-Petersburg Federal Law of the Russian Federation of June 12, 2002: on Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Rights of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Participate in a Referendum
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14. Gessen Sergey I. (1995). Bases of Pedagogics. Moscow
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16. Korczak, Janusz (1967). Selected Works, (translated from Polish by J. Bacharach), Warsaw
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20. Nikitin B., Nikitina L.(1980). We and Our Children. Moscow
21. Phillips, Bernard. (2001). Beyond Sociology's Tower of Babel: Reconstructing the Scientific Method. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de Gruyter
22. Philosophy of childhood and sociocultural creativity. Materials of the the International Conference. St- Petersburg, 2003
23. Piaget, Jean (1969). Selected Psychological Works. Moscow
24. Semashko, Leo M. Tetrasociology: Children’s Suffrage. Iberoamerican Congress on Childhood, Health and Society 'Globalization and Social Equity' University of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico, November 3-5, 2003 http://www.cucs.udg.mx/INBOX/congresoibero.htm
25. Semashko, Leo M. with co-authors (2003) Tetrasociology: from Sociological Imagination through Dialogue to Universal Values and Harmony. St.-Petersburg, State Polytechnical University
26. Semashko, Leo M. (2002). Tetrasociology: Responses to Challenges . St. Petersburg: Technical University.
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32. Suhomlinsky, V.A. (1972). Heart I Give Back to Children . Kiev
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Notes:
1. If necessary the number by themes and hours of lecture series can be or is reduced or increased twice.
2. on each theme the seminar occupations for 2 hours is possible.
3. The reading of the course is possible on any following faculty/department: sociology, political sciences, philosophy, culture, anthropology, political psychology, pedagogics, family and childhood, social work etc.
