Re-membering Borderless and Bordered Childhood in Cyprus : A Case Study on the Limits and Prospects of Oral Histories

Abstract

Over the last century, ‘childhood’ has become a major field of study as childhood is an important stage in the formation of individual identity, and adult narratives of childhood reveal interesting data on both personal expe-riences and public memories. These memories are important to be captured especially in societies where perceptions of difference change and borders emerge. This article explores the complex narratives of history and cultural construction of childhood in Cyprus from such a perspective. Our aim is to assess the narratives of the borderless to a bordered Cypriot society dwel-ling mostly on Turkish Cypriot informants whose childhood was in the 1930s to the 1970s.