Children and Globalization‪.‬

A Background Note This essay was written for a conference on globalization held at the University of Lodz in Poland during the Fall 2001. I thought that it would be useful to introduce matters relating to children into the discussion, since at most such occasions, children hardly enter into the conversation. The essay does not attempt to engage directly such important questions as whether globalization is likely to reach all cultures, where it is most likely to be resisted, or if globalization is something fundamentally new or only an extension of processes long underway in the western world. Although my mode of analysis-using the history of the United States as a basis for understanding current trends in globalization-suggests that I belong in the latter camp, the essay makes clear that I use this strategy, not as an answer to this last question but, as a means to illuminate a variety of matters. I leave a headon discussion of these questions to others more familiar with and more eager to tackle issues of developmental econom ics. (1) Instead, I write from deep within a specific historical framework, as someone who believes that American historians have something to contribute to the dialogue taking place and who believes that social historians specifically are well positioned to provide insights into matters of great contemporary consequence.