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Article 1: Pilcher, J. (2011). No logo? Children’s consumption of fashion. Childhood, 18(1), 128-141. doi:10.1177/0907568210373668

Abstract: In this article data are presented on children’s appraisal of clothing retailers and brands, and how this interacts with their identity and social contexts. In exploration of some of the meanings and processes surrounding children’s consumption of branded or labelled clothing, two case studies of child consumers are profiled: one who actively consumed designer-label clothing, and another for whom it held limited significance. It is argued that children aged 12 and under knowingly and skilfully use their consumer knowledge in the reflexive presentation of their selves, or their own ‘me’, but that these practices are structured by their place in the social and generational order.

Article 2: Gordon, H. R., & Taft, J. K. (2011). Rethinking youth political socialization: Teenage activists talk back. Youth & Society, 43(4), 1499-1527. doi:10.1177/0044118X10386087

Abstract: This article draws from the experiences and narratives of teenage activists throughout the Americas in order to add a needed dimension, that of peer political socialization, to the larger political and civic socialization literature. The authors argue that although the existing literature emphasizes the roles and responsibilities of adults in shaping young people’s civic capacities, the roles that young people play in socializing each other for political engagement is underexplored. Based on two qualitative studies of teenage activists throughout North and Latin America, the authors argue that teenage activists, who are largely left out of this literature, represent a different process by which youth engage in politics. We use teenagers’ narratives about their own youth-led political socialization to extend the existing theorizing on youth civic engagement, rethink some of its core tenets, and elucidate the roles that young people themselves play in the processes of political socialization.