PL
The following article presents the results of my attempt to identify a relationship between various discourses of childhood, that are discernible in the field of contemporary culture, and politics, especially in its relation to a concept of the political. The concept, with its sources in political philosophy (Hannah Arendt, Chantal Mouffe) as well as in the philosophy of education (Joanna Rutkowiak), is related to plausible forms of public – political and civic – engagement that are based upon competences and orientations of individuals, being expressed in the acts of human speech and actions.It also refers to social conditions underlying every possibility of performing speech and actions that are understood in terms of civic participation. The methodological approach involved in my research is based on Critical Discourse Analysis and leads to identifying the following concepts of childhood taken into consideration as related to politics:childhood as political and ethical potentiality, childhood as inhumane, children as graceful creatures.