ISSCL Conference Abstracts 2012

Very Naughty Doctrines: the Poitics of !ary Chi"ren#s Literature

$eynote S%ea&er: Dr Matthew Grenby, Newcastle University, UK
Matthew Grenby works on the cultural history of the long eighteenth century, and in
particular on the early history of childrens literature !is books include The Child
Reader 1700-1840 "#$%%&, Childrens Literature "#$$'& and The Anti-Jacobin Novel
"#$$%&, and he has co(edited Poular Childrens Literature in !ritain "#$$'&, The
Ca"brid#e Co"anion to Childrens Literature "#$$)& and Childrens Literature
$tudies% A Research &andboo' "#$%%& !e has published a nu*ber of scholarly
editions and produced a substantial online archive of early childrens books: the
!ockliffe +ollection !e is editor of the Journal (or )i#hteenth-Centur* $tudies, and
works as ,eader in +hildrens -iterature at Newcastle University
'he Creati(e an" the Critica
Chi"ren)s Laureate A""ress: .iobh/n 0arkinson
.iobh/n 0arkinson is a novelist and one of 1relands best(known writers for children
2s well as being a successful writer, she is an editor, reviewer, critic and translator, in
addition to her role as publisher with a s*all but vibrant publishing house -ittle
1sland .iobh/n also teaches creative writing at the Marino 1nstitute of 3ducation and
at .t 0atricks +ollege, Dru*condra, Dublin 3arlier in her career, she co*pleted a
0hD on the poetry of Dylan 4ho*as at 4rinity +ollege Dublin .iobh/ns *ost recent
publications include !ruised "!odder #$%%& and +aitr,-isce "+ois -ife #$%%& both
ai*ed at the teenage *arket .he is currently 1rish childrens literature laureate,
-aureate na n5g
***************************************************
Aan +arner)s The Owl Service an" The Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi: an
!cocritica A%%roach
+ara 6artels(6land, University of Glasgow, UK
+ara 6artels(6land recently graduated with an M2 "!onours& in 3nglish -iterature
and +eltic +ivilisation fro* the University of Glasgow and is currently reading for an
M,es "Master of ,esearch& .he is a Graduate 4eaching 2ssistant in the 7aculty of
Modern -anguages and +ultures !er research interests are childrens literature,
ecocriticis* and *edieval +eltic literature
.ince 8a*es Macphersons .in#al, the perception of nature in +eltic *yth has *ainly
been that of stor*y seas and windy nights ,eading Medieval +eltic -iterature
ecocritically 9 *aking use of concepts such as those of D! -awrence, Kate .oper
and +heryll Glotfelty 9 we can redefine nature in these tales 1n The .our !ranches
o( the +abino#i the role of nature is not solely that of a ro*antic background but an
active protagonist, who can and does influence and change the outco*e of the
narratives Nature is here also a preserver of folklore *e*ory, and provides
narratives with historicity 1n his The /0l $ervice, 2lan Garner retells parts of The
.ourth !ranch, setting his work in a :elsh valley and the *ythical environ*ent in an
every(day conte;t 1n this paper, the the*e of nature as a protagonist and as a
preserver of *yths will be co*pared in The .ourth !ranch and The /0l $ervice 1t
will be investigated in how far the i*portance of place, the*atic to Medieval +eltic
-iterature, is preserved in the #$
th
century work of 2lan Garner
,icrocos-ic an" ,acrocos-ic Poitica Change in Poiticay 'ransfor-ati(e
Chi"ren)s Literature
+l<*entine 6eauvais, University of +a*bridge, UK
+l<*entine 6eauvais is a second(year 0hD student in +hildren=s -iterature at the
University of +a*bridge, under the supervision of 0rofessor Maria Nikola>eva !er
research focuses on the uses of political theory in understanding politically co**itted
conte*porary children=s literature
1n this paper 1 will discuss an aspect of *y current 0hD research on politically
transfor*ative childrens literature 1n particular, 1 will be analysing what 1 identify as a
split between childrens books which encourage the child reader to take up political
action on a local level, and those which pro*ote political action on a wider scope 9
national or global Using a corpus of childrens books fro* several countries "the UK,
7rance, 6elgiu*, .pain, Ger*any, the U.&, 1 will link the political i*pulse towards
*icrocos*ic or *acrocos*ic change to specific political and educational theories
which constitute, as 1 will argue, the ideological and philosophical bases for these
transfor*ative childrens books Microcos*ic political change 9 where socio(political
hierarchies and sociocultural values are transgressed and *odified on a local level
by one or >ust a few individuals 9 rooted, as 1 will contend, in a political derivation of
e;istentialist philosophy 9 whereby freedo* and the construction of ones individual
e;istence are per*anently counterpointed by e;istential angst 4his type of childrens
literature presents an a*biguously *elancholy *odification, by the politici?ed
individual, of necessarily restricted spheres of e;istence +onversely, *acrocos*ic
political change in childrens literature is *arked by the heritage of critical pedagogy
and heterological @powerA theories of the #$
th
century 4his >ubilatory, radical for* of
politically transfor*ative childrens literature pro*otes a co*plete and syste*ic
restructuration of socio(political configurations through collective action +reating a
Bcritical *ass rather than a critical individual, these books include the child reader
within a co**unity of political activists Never losing sight of the nature of the te;ts
as childrens literature, 1 will be e;ploring in parallel, the invest*ent in the child of
adult ideologies inherited fro* these conflicting and powerful philosophical
influences, and discuss critical openings and *etacritical i*plications
.e /ou" not be 0ane for Anything: Ser(ants in Chi"ren)s Literature
Dr 8ane .u?anne +arroll, 4rinity +ollege Dublin
8ane .u?anne +arroll teaches in the .chool of 3nglish at 4rinity +ollege Dublin !er
research interests include childrens literature, landscape, Cld Norse, knitting, and
Dikings !er first book, Landscae in Childrens Literature, will be published by
,outledge this year
7ro* gru*py cooks, to Euiet *aids, to *iserable !ouse 3lves, do*estic servants
are integral to *any childrens te;ts but are often overlooked, both within the
narrative fra*e and within critical studies 1deologically a*biguous figures, for who*
the ho*e is also a work place, servants occupy the uncertain territory between fa*ily
and stranger, resident and worker 4heir presence is a constant re*inder of the
econo*ic, social and political factors which underpin te;ts and provide evidence of a
pervasive ideological bind in which the leisure and pleasure of the protagonists are
only possible when ti*e(consu*ing and difficult tasks are undertaken by
so*ebody else :hile their work is central to the efficient *anage*ent of the
household, servants are often *arginalised figures +onfined to the borders and
edges of the house ( attic bedroo*s, base*ent kitchens and back stairs ( and kept
out of sight, servants beco*e li*inal, ghost(like presences within the ho*e Drawing
on late(nineteenth and early(twentieth century te;ts involving real servants ( such as
3 Nesbits $tor* o( the Treasure $ee'ers "%'))& and 7rances !odgson 6urnetts
The $ecret 1arden "%)%$& ( as well as those which involve supernatural, *agical, or
ghostly servants ( such as Katherine 6riggss &obbert* 2ic' "%)FF& or the nu*erous
versions of !eaut* and the !east in which the servants are either invisible or, Euite
literally, part of the furniture ( this paper e;a*ines the relationship between servants
and do*estic space and shows how hege*ony is subtly and indelibly encoded within
the built environ*ent +o*bining topoanalysis with Mar;ist theories, this paper
illu*inates the role of servants in childrens literature
An Aegory of Dictatorshi% in the 1arry Potter Series
.andrine +uperty, 0aris, 7rance
.andrine +uperty co*pleted a Masters degree in 3nglish .tudies at the .orbonne in
#$$G, analy?ing George Crwells inspirations for Nineteen )i#ht*-.our 2fter this
research on dystopia, she decided to focus on the i*age of dictatorship in literature
and cine*a .he teaches 3nglish and 7rench as a .econd -anguage to engineers,
as well as translation and gra**ar in a 0arisian university
1n the &arr* Potter series, 8K ,owling offers the reader a universal set of values,
defending freedo* against a repressive authority 7ro* Dolde*ort 9 who *ay be
seen as a !itlerian figure 9 to Dolores U*bridge, appointed !ogwarts !igh
1nEuisitor, *any aspects of the 0otter series are inspired by various authoritarian
regi*es that punctuated history Death 3aters, Dolde*orts soldiers, re*ind the
spectator of the .. ar*y, while the Crder of the 0hoeni; see*s directly inspired by
the 7rench ,esistance 3ssential actors of :orld :ar 11 are e*bodied in the double(
agent .everus .nape and the torturer 6ellatri; -estrange 4he Ministry of Magic, first
supporting Du*bledore, turns collaborationist when Dolde*ort rises again The 2ail*
Prohet follows the sa*e lines, whereas The 3uibbler beco*es a resistant
newspaper 4he war at stake in the &arr* Potter series is also waged in words 4he
ter*inology invented by 8K ,owling to portray the differences between Muggles,
0ure(bloods and !alf(bloods ai*s at denouncing fanaticis*, referring to the darkest
years in *odern history while awakening the readers consciousness on racist views
today 4his presentation will study how 8K ,owling tends to e;plain to the young
generation the *echanics of an authoritarian regi*e through the fictional world of
&arr* Potter, trans*itting in her work a set of values defending de*ocracy against
dictatorship, tolerance against fanaticis*, and seeks to open the readers critical
*ind to the establish*ent at large 4his study will offer a transversal and co*parative
approach to 8K ,owlings work, showing to what e;tent a !ollywood production
serves a si*ilar goal though its aesthetic choices 7ro* an analysis of short fil*
e;cerpts and pictures, we will try to show how ca*era angles, sy*bols, artefact and
colours contribute to a fresco opposing good and evil in a political and *oral allegory
A noi! 'he gaant 2ascist in Inter3.ar Itaian Chi"ren)s Literature
8essica D3ath, National University of 1reland, Galway
8essica D3ath recently co*pleted her H(year doctoral fellowship in 1talian childrens
literature with the National University of 1reland, Galway !er thesis e;a*ines the
various ways in which the 7irst :orld :ar has been represented in 1talian literature
for children over ti*e .he currently continues to collaborate with both the 1talian and
+hildrens .tudies progra**es at NU1 Galway
4he after*ath of the Great :ar in 1taly was characterised by social and political
tension 0oor living conditions, *ass une*ploy*ent and the challenge of
reintegrating war veterans into civilian society all contributed to a perceived *ass
reaction against the conflict and the ideologies which had underpinned it 4his
tendency towards pacifis*, coupled with a significant increase in trade unionist
activity in this period, was widely interpreted as an indication that 1talian society was
beco*ing increasingly susceptible to +o**unis* 4he earliest 7ascist groups
targeted +o**unis* and pacifis* as two pri*ary adversaries, casting the for*er as
a threat to 1talian society and the latter to the *e*ory of the Great :ar, its heroes
and its veterans 4hese self(appointed guardians of the 7atherland declared war on
their opponents, and by the end of %)%) violent clashes between 7ascist $4uadristi
"2ttack .Euads& and those suspected of +o**unist association were co**onplace
4he *ethods e*ployed by the $4uadristi in silencing their opposition were violent
and unorthodo;, yet they ca*e to be represented and celebrated in the nations
childrens literature 4his paper e;plores the e*ergence of the figure of the @gallant
7ascistA in 1talian childrens fiction of the inter(war years through reference to Ugo
.cotti 6ernis .ia""a nel Cuore "%)H$&, ,en?o 0e??anis Corcontento "%)H%& and
3ros 6ellonis 1uerra5 "%)HH& 1t considers the >u;taposition of scenes of torture
perpetrated by $4uadristi to nationalistic and religious rhetoric, and the incorporation
of these episodes into entertaining fiction for children 1t e;a*ines the influence of
ancient and conte*porary national historical figures 9 particularly ,o*an warriors
and Great :ar *artyrs 9 on the literary construction of the figure of the $4uadrista6 1t
de*onstrates that, rather than glossing over the violent birth of the dictatorial regi*e,
*any childrens authors writing under 7ascis* opted to e*brace and endorse the
violence as a legiti*ate part of a noble ca*paign against the ene*ies of the nation
and the *e*ory of the war
0ace& Du&a4)s The Crow: Post3,o"ernis- an" 1istory in a 2airy 'ae about
,artia La/ in Poan"
Dr 8ustyna Des?c?(4ryhubc?ak, :roclaw University, 0oland
8ustyna Des?c?(4ryhubc?ak is 2ssistant 0rofessor of -iterature and co(founder of
the +enter for Ioung 0eoples -iterature and +ulture at the 1nstitute of 3nglish
.tudies, University of :rocJaw, 0oland, where she teaches 3nglish -iterature and
courses related to childrens literature .he is the author of a *onograph on .al*an
,ushdie, Rushdie in 7onderland% 8.air*taleness9 in $al"an Rushdies .iction "0eter
-ang, #$$K&
4he i*position of *artial law in 0oland on %H Dece*ber %)'% re*ains a highly
contentious issue: critics see it as the +o**unists riding roughshod over .olidarity,
whereas supporters >ustify it as the only way to prevent the .oviet intervention in
0oland 7or H$ years the *artial law was a non(e;istent topic in 0olish art, childrens
literature included 1f it was addressed at all, it invariably *eant co**e*oration that
necessitated reverence and pathos The Cro0 "#$$)& by 8acek Duka>, an acclai*ed
0olish fantasy and science(fiction writer, constitutes a radical departure fro* both
silence and conventional representations of this period in 0olish literature Using
icons of national consciousness, Duka> creates a fairy tale containing a
phantas*agorical vision of :arsaw controlled by secret police ,eplete with political
allusions, this vision is filtered through the eyes of a seven(year(old boy, 2da*, who
finds it hard to understand the situation and seeks to find his father abducted by the
epony*ous +row 2lthough 2da* finds his father, the tale lacks a decisive verdict
about the events of %)'% My argu*ent in this presentation is that The Cro0 is
infor*ed by post *odern conceptions of history as a plurality of fictions generated in
the process of social re*e*bering More specifically, it is an e;a*ple of a popular
trend in recent childrens books on 0olish history, consisting in "%& privileging a
typically *arginali?ed perspective of a child over nor*ative adult representations of
the past and "#& de*ythologi?ing the national *artyrology through popular culture,
which beco*es an essential co*ple*entation of historical discourse 6oth strategies
not only result in bringing history closer to young people, but also open up a space
for shared narratives of collective and personal *e*ory, uniting youth and adults in
the critical interrogation of the past and its historical accounts
'he Poitics of 1erois- an" 5eigious Discourse in !gy%tian Chi"ren)s Stories
0rofessor Nadia 3l Kholy, +airo University, 3gypt
Nadia 3l Kholy is 0rofessor of 3nglish -iterature at +airo University !er research
interest includes writing and translation for children and co*parative criticis* .he
has written studies on the *odern 2rabic and 3nglish novel .he has been a !ans
+hristian 2ndersen 8ury *e*ber and is currently a *e*ber of the 166I
"international 6oard of 6ooks for Ioung ,eaders& 3;ecutive +o**ittee .he has
recently been appointed as the Director of the National +ouncil for +hildrens +ulture
.he has written and translated *any childrens books 2cade*ic publications include
@4he ,o*ances and ,ealities of 3astern 4ravellersA :nterretin# the /rient 3ds
0aul L 8anet .tarkey ,eading: 1thaca, #$$% and a contribution to the /;(ord
)nc*cloedia (or Childrens Literature, edited by 8ack Mipes, C;ford: C;ford
University 0ress, #$$F
4his paper atte*pts a co*parative study of both religious and political the*es in
3gyptian childrens stories past and present 1t will also e;a*ine the e;ploitation of
religious discourse to fulfil political agendas and to dictate *odes of behaviour that
are not co*pletely innocent of worldly de*ands Cne of the *a>or the*es that have
been used for these ulterior purposes is the choice of herois* and heroes as
vehicles for shaping the consciousness of young readers into adopting specific
beliefs and ethical codes 7irstly, 1 will give a Euick survey of the concept of Bherois*
as portrayed in 3gyptian childrens stories with an e*phasis on the character of
.aladin .econdly, 1 will offer an analyticalNco*parative study of the changes that
have occurred in the presentation of both the the*e of Bherois* and the i*age of the
BheroNheroine within the recent political para*eters of the Middle 3ast with a focus
on 3gypt 0arallel with that 1 will analy?e the nature, style and content of the religious
co*ponents in the various childrens narratives .ince childrens literature is a crucial
tool in the shaping of ideologies of future generations it is i*portant to e;a*ine and
evaluate the *essages and the sub(te;ts that are being offered
Su--oning her Chi"ren to her 2ag: 'he 1677 Co--e-oration of the !aster
5ising8 Po%uar Cuture an" the Poitics of Chi"hoo"9
Dr Michael 7lanagan, 2ll !allows +ollege, Dublin +ity University
Michael 7lanagan is a lecturer in 0opular Media .tudies in 2ll !allows +ollege
"D+U& !e is a for*er teacher and Deputy 0rincipal of the +entral Model .chool,
Dublin and has a particular interest in the area of childrens literature and popular
culture !is 0hD thesis was awarded for research on the /ur !o*s *aga?ine,
produced by the 1rish +hristian 6rothers ,ecent publications include: B,epublic of
Dirtue: 4he +hristian 6rothers, Cur 6oys and the 2ssertion of +atholic Moral
2uthority in 7ree .tate 1reland 1n +ade in :reland% The <isual Culture o( :rish
+odernit*= 1>??-1>>?, -inda King, 3laine .isson eds, +ork University 0ress, #$%%
1n 7ebruary %)GG, 4aoiseach .e/n -e*ass announced details of the official state
events to *ark the Golden 8ubilee of the ,ising 2t a news conference, he said
@4he 3aster co**e*oration cere*oniescelebrate the fiftieth anniversary of a great
and decisive event in our history andhonour all the *en and wo*en, living and
dead, who had the privilege of participating in itA 4he period of the *id(si;ties,
however, witnessed *a>or transition, both internationally and at ho*e, and care
would be reEuired in *anaging the co**e*oration process in such a *anner as to
balance the recognition of the sacrifices of past generations and the priorities of
conte*porary 1reland -e*ass constantly brought to the fore i*ages and references
to @*odernA 1reland so that the fiftieth anniversary co**e*oration was as *uch
about the act of looking forwards as backwards, reEuiring a delicate negotiation
between tradition and *odernity 4he rapid econo*ic develop*ent e;perienced by
the ,epublic during the si;ties brought acco*panying social and cultural changes,
resulting in an identity crisis for a nation that had spent decades in self(i*posed
isolation .uch changes were *ost evident in conte*porary youth, the social
grouping *ost receptive to change 1n line with other @*odernA nations, the ,epublic
began to place its hopes for the future in this newly invested(in and *ore dyna*ic
younger generation +onsidering this, in what way would %)%G be presented to youth
in %)GGO 4his paper sets out to address this Euestion 1n the process it places the
conte;t for the 3aster ,ising co**e*oration against a background of the tensions
between a traditional educational syste* which viewed the 1rish 1ndependence
pro>ect as a providential national e;perience, the ,epublics founding *yth based on
the triu*ph of a +atholicNnationalist a;is against overwhel*ing odds, and the growing
influence on 1rish youth of such *odern popular culture *edia outlets as television,
radio, the cine*a and 2*erican and 6ritish co*ics and *aga?ines
'hinning the :oo": 'hin3I"ea ,essages in ;oung A"ut Va-%ire 2iction
MoPra 7owley, 4rinity +ollege Dublin
MoPra 7owley has an M0hil in 0opular -iterature fro* 4rinity +ollege Dublin !er
dissertation was on a co*parison of the the*es of adolescence in 8oss :hedon=s
!u((* the <a"ire $la*er and .tephenie Meyer=s T0ili#ht .he is now a 0hD
candidate in 4rinity +ollege Dublin !er research e;a*ines the teenage va*pire in
conte*porary young adult fiction
4he tradition of horror and va*pire literature has often been concerned with an
attraction to the *onster and the *onstrous +ritics suggest that in the eighteenth
and nineteenth century, readers feared the *onsters of *yth and literature as so*e
terrifying Cther -ater, in popular literature and fil*s of the twentieth century, readers
feared that they secretly were the *onster 4oday, it would see* that the fear of
beco*ing the *onster has turned into the desire to beco*e the *onster :estern
culture places a great deal of e*phasis on physical beauty 0opular *edia, fil*s,
television series and advertise*ents are inundated with *essages teaching us about
how to be beautiful, thin, and to delay the appearance of ageing by buying products
designed to change and enhance the hu*an body to fit an unattainable ideal 2t the
sa*e ti*e, rates of body dissatisfaction and eating disorders are rising steadily and
*anifesting at increasingly younger ages 7ollowing the *assive success of
.tephenie Meyer=s T0ili#ht series "#$$F(#$$'&, teenage va*pires have beco*e a
growing trend in young adult fiction 1n the *a>ority of these te;ts, va*pires are
always inhu*anly beautiful and al*ost e;clusively e;tre*ely thin 4his paper, based
on a s*all selection of young adult va*pire series and novels, will consider
descriptions of ideal beauty, the glorification of e;tre*e thinness and the
nor*alisation of eating disordered behaviours as a reflection of the ideals of
conte*porary society 1t will suggest that the e;tre*e thinness and everlasting
adolescence of this newest incarnation of the va*pire beco*es the ulti*ate
e*bodi*ent of beauty
;ou Are the 1o%e of the .or": Poitics8 I"eoogy8 an" the 2igure of the Chi"
in Chi"ren)s Literature fro- the 2irst .or" .ar
Dr 3li?abeth 2 Galway, University of -ethbridge, +anada
3li?abeth 2 Galway co*pleted her undergraduate degree at the University of
4oronto, her M2 at Durha* University, and her 0hD at the University of 3;eter
.he is an 2ssociate 0rofessor in the Depart*ent of 3nglish at the University of
-ethbridge in 2lberta, where her research and teaching interests include childrens
literature, nineteenth(century literature, and early +anadian literature 1n #$$' she
published .ro" Nurser* Rh*"es to Nationhood% Childrens Literature and the
Construction o( Canadian :dentit* with ,outledge
4he political and ideological views that shaped :: 1 childrens literature are often
evident in the ways in which child figures are portrayed 4his paper will e;a*ine
warti*e childrens literature fro* 6ritain and North 2*erica and will consider three
types of child figures: victi*s, @soldiers,A and peacekeepers +hild victi*s, e*bodied
in characters such as orphans and refugees, often serve to support the argu*ent
that the 2llies *ust fight in order to protect children, while in other cases, they
highlight the futility of the war 2t the sa*e ti*e that children are depicted as
vulnerable, however, they are also represented as child soldiers both literally, as in 2
4egniers !o* &eroes o( the Present 7ar "%)%G&, and figuratively, through i*ages of
patriotic children contributing to the war effort 4he third do*inant i*age is that of the
child as the e*bodi*ent of innocence and regeneration :hile *any writers
encouraged children to @do their bitA to @beat the !un,A others saw in children the
potential to create a world without global conflict 1n ! !agedorns @ou Are the &oe
o( the 7orld5 An Aeal to the 1irls and !o*s o( A"erica "%)%Q&, this potential is
envisioned as the 2*erican childs supposed ability to pro*ote de*ocracy, seen as
the antidote to war 2llowing children to @grow up loving peaceA is pictured as the
solution in The Childrens Ne0saer "%)%)&, which suggests that the hope for peace
and the success of the -eague of Nations are @in the hands of the childrenA 4his
paper will e;plore a selection of warti*e childrens literature with a view to
uncovering how child figures served to foster a variety of political and ideological
senti*ents in young readers
No ,ore 1eroes: the Shifting I"eoogy of Chi"hoo" in '/enty 2irst Century
Chi"ren)s Literature9
Dr Michele Gill, 4he Cpen University, -ondon, UK
Michele Gill studied for her 0hD at Newcastle University and currently teaches
+hildrens -iterature at 4he Cpen University in -ondon .he is a co**ittee *e*ber
of 166I UK and while a 0hD student was one of the co(founders of B4he +hild and
the 6ook, now an annual conference for postgraduate childrens literature students
+hildhood as a social construction, as an i*agining by adults, has ebbed and flowed
through the centuries and considered carefully, perhaps tells us *ore about the
architects than their sub>ects :hile there have always e;isted tensions between
desired cultural representations of childhood and lived e;periences, the e;pectation
has re*ained that ulti*ately young people will beco*e valuable and valued
*e*bers of society, having undergone a process of *aturation !owever, the new
*illenniu*, while seeing a continuu* of this narrative, has also registered a *ore
co*ple; social shift with regard to young people More recent cultural
representations of the young 9 *ost notably those perpetuated by the *edia 9 have
suggested the e;istence of so*ething less benignR a threatening, dangerous
character, out of control and in e;tre*e cases, descending into anarchy :hile the
idea that the young need to be @socialisedA is not new, the antagonis* directed
towards young people considered to be feral and lawless has beco*e a cause for
concern in itself as we continue to debate what has created this cultural angst 1n
relation to the current social landscape surrounding young people, in this paper 1
consider the representations of the young @heroA in two fiction series: 2nthony
!orowit?s Ale; Rider novels and 4i* 6owlers !lade 2 superficial reading would
suggest that in the characters of 2le; and 6lade the authors have portrayed young
*en at opposite ends of the social spectru* and yet striking si*ilarities e;ist
between the two sets of narratives, especially so*e disturbing discourses about the
adult characters surrounding the two boys 1n discussing these novels 1 suggest that
ulti*ately the concept of Bheroic needs to be re(considered in conte*porary
childrens literature in relation to both child and adult characters and as the child(
adult relationship shifts both within fictional narratives and wider society, this has
i*plications for how we interpret our current understandings of childhood
'eaching !ngish 1istory through Sha&es%eare at the 'urn of the Century
Dr Kate !arvey, 4rinity +ollege Dublin
Kate !arvey has recently co*pleted her 0hD on adaptations of .hakespeare for
children at 4rinity +ollege Dublin, where she teaches on the M0hil in +hildren=s
-iterature as well as undergraduate courses on .hakespeare early *odern literature
4his paper will e;plore the co*ple; relationship between .hakespeares history
plays and the teaching of 3nglish history in late Dictorian and early 3dwardian
childrens books, focusing in particular on 2rthur Suiller(+ouchs &istorical Tales
(ro" $ha'eseare "%'))& and 4ho*as +arters $ha'eseares $tories o( the )n#lish
Ain#s "%)%#& Suiller(+ouch states that his pri*ary purpose in adapting
.hakespeares history plays is to BEuicken Tyoung readersU interest in history and
their early patriotis*, and holds up .hakespeares history plays as a @handbook to
patriotis*A 1n adaptations of .hakespeares history plays for children in the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, .hakespeare is held up as an authority on
*edieval 3nglish history, even as the adapters acknowledge that his plays often
present inaccurate and biased accounts of the historical figures they represent
Meanwhile, several conte*porary history books for children, notably -ady +allcotts
Little Arthurs &istor* o( )n#land and +harlotte Ionges $tories o( )n#lish &istor* (or
the Little /nes, borrow fro* .hakespeares history plays for both characteri?ation
and narrative structure 4he version of 3nglish history presented to young people
was therefore inescapably coloured by .hakespeare, and the relationship between
history and fiction in these te;ts is re*arkably fluid 7urther*ore, both Suiller(+ouch
and +arter use .hakespeare to present historical figures as heroic *en of action and
e*bodi*ents of 3nglish values, while .hakespeare hi*self is held up as a *odel
patriot 4his paper will de*onstrate the ways in which retellings of the history plays
for children in this period co*bined the educational i*perative for children to read
and understand .hakespeare with that of learning about their countrys national
origins
Ne(er et the fire go out: Cuture an" Confi"ence in the /or& of !i<s Dion
Dr 2nne Marie !erron, Dublin
2nne Marie !erron was recently awarded a 0hD in 3nglish fro* .t 0atricks +ollege
Dru*condra "D+U& !er study addressed the role of *e*ory in the work of 1rish
writer 3ilVs Dillon and included a related digital resource 2nne Marie is a for*er
0ri*ary .chool 0rincipal and is the author of 3nglish -anguage 0rogra**es for
.chools and of stories for e*ergent readers
My paper will address the work of 1rish writer 3ilVs Dillon "%)#%()K& who, with a strong
awareness of 1relands turbulent history and struggle for independence, was eager to
recall not only the glorious deeds of the past but also the countrys uniEue culture
and tradition for a new generation of readers !aving a deep affinity with the people
of the :est of 1reland, Dillon, in a *anner redolent of the -iterary ,evivalists,
depicted the island co**unities as guardians of an authentic and @1rishA 1reland
which was disappearing 1n depicting the islanders way of life within a tightly(knit
co**unity, Dillon created an idyllic world in which her young protagonists, still
valuing the wisdo* of their forebears, could through their own e;ploration and
adventures learn a new confidence suited to an independent and peaceful 1reland
Dillon, with didactic intent, urges her readership to respect traditions and *aintain
custo*s, while si*ultaneously working with patriotic fervour to develop a new 1reland
that could >ustifiably take its place a*ong the nations of the earth in the latter part of
the twentieth century 4his paper will cite e;a*ples of the authors efforts to e*power
her teenage audience to take on this responsibility for their countrys future
'o/ar"s an Isa-ic Nationhoo": Isa-ic in"octrination /ithin 'ransate"
Chi"ren)s Cassics in 'ur&ey
Dr Neslihan Kansu(Ietkiner, 1?*ir University of 3cono*ics, 4urkey
Neslihan Kansu(Ietkiner graduated fro* the Depart*ent of 4ranslation and
1nterpretation, !acettepe University, 2nkaraN4urkey .he received her M2 on poetry
translation fro* the sa*e depart*ent and earned her 0hD degree on linguistics fro*
University of Groningen, 4he Netherlands .he currently works at W?*ir University of
3cono*ics, Depart*ent of 4ranslation and 1nterpretation as 2ssociate 0rofessor
!er fields of interests are critical discourse analysis, children=s literature and
translation studies
4ranslated childrens books as globali?ed products, build bridges between different
cultures where not only linguistic, but also social, ideological, and pedagogical factors
co*e into the foreground 4ranslation, a pri*ary tool to encounter with foreign
ele*ents, has a sustained engage*ent with political and ideological agendas of
4urkey .ince the 1sla*ist 8ustice and Develop*ent 0arty "2K0& assu*ed power in
#$$#, 4urkish foreign policy has *ade a %'$(degree turn, i*plying an @a;is shiftA
4he country=s once(strong ties with the United .tates and 1srael have been
weakened, and entry talks with the 3uropean Union have stalled while 2nkara has
co*e to the defence of the 1ranian nuclear progra* and !a*as :hile 1sla*ic winds
are blowing throughout the country, strong secular forces in 2nkara, backed by the
*ilitary and a large percentage of the population, bristle with the thought that 2K0 is
on the way to transfor* the 4urkish ,epublic=s regi*e into a conservative 1sla*ic
republic :ithin this political cli*ate, in 2ugust #$$G, Radi'al 2ail*, a pro*inent
leftist newspaper in 4urkey, uncovered a scandal concerning the distorted versions of
the worlds classics that are on the reading list na*ed @%$$ 3ssential ,eadingsA,
which was reco**ended to pri*ary school children by the Ministry of 3ducation in
#$$K 4ranslated versions of popular childrens classics on this list have been
critici?ed for i*posing religious ideology through ideologically(oriented *anipulations
in the translation process 2 great nu*ber of discrepancies between the original
books and its translations published by conservative publishers were taken for
attention by several scholarly studies ".ertkan, #$$QR Kansu(Ietkiner, #$$)R 6irkan
6aydan, #$%$ a*ong others& 4hese discrepancies signal the insertion of a religious(
conservative ideology into the translations, *aking alterations in such classics as
!ugo=s Les +isBrables, .pyri=s &eidi and +ollodi=s Pinocchio Drawing upon
!ollindales "%)''& three layered fra*ework of *anipulation in childrens literature to
e;a*ine discursive structures concerning *ental *aps and discursive fabrication of
1sla*ic indoctrination in the distorted version of the world classics "*ainly, Poll*anna,
/liver T0ist and &eidi&, the pri*ary ai* of this study is twofold 7irstly, 1 would like to
focus on the selection, distribution and repetition of le;ical ite*s governed by 1sla*ic
ideology, na*ely @le;icali?ationA process "!alliday, %)Q'& My second purpose is to
analy?e @i*age and *ental deseculari?ationA through parate;tual ele*ents where the
1sla*ic *entality has been skilfully naturali?ed My analyses revealed that the case
of @%$$ 3ssential ,eadingsA represents an @1sla*ic society engineeringA through
which a *anipulative 1sla*ic paradig* is produced, legiti*i?ed and consu*ed as
part of didactic agenda in childrens literature 2t the sa*e ti*e, childrens literature,
unfortunately, beco*es a battle ?one where two polari?ed parties situated along the
a;is of secularist and 1sla*ist poles create segregated literary *arket for children
.in"o/s an" ,irrors: Socia 0ustice in 0eannie :a&er)s Pictureboo&s
Dr 0atricia Kennon, 7roebel +ollege of 3ducation, Dublin
0atricia Kennon is a -ecturer in 3nglish -iterature at 7roebel +ollege of 3ducation,
Dublin .he is the co(editor of :nis% The ChildrenCs !oo's +a#aDine, the Dice(
0resident of the 1rish .ociety for the .tudy of +hildren=s -iterature
and the 0resident of i6bI 1reland .he won a #$%$ National 2ward for 3;cellence in
4eaching fro* the National 2cade*y for 1ntegration of ,esearch, 4eaching and
-earning
4his paper will e;a*ine ideologies of difference and inclusion and the *ediation of
childhood and space in 8eannie 6akers picturebooks 6akers *ulti*odal te;ts
e;plore geocritical issues of power and identity construction involved in childrens
negotiation of concepts of belonging, continuity and change through their
engage*ent with discourses of the past, cultural *e*ory, the fa*ily, the city and the
natural landscape !er wordless picturebooks, which defy conventional syste*s of
closure and adult(controlled processes of interpretation, can provide opportunities for
childrens reflective discussions of identity and power which can help develop their
critical thinking skills 6akers e;plicit ecocritical e*phasis on the i*portance of
citi?enship education, the i*portance of diversity and the interdependency of
co**unities encourages her readers sensitivity and openness towards the
co*ple;ities of ones built and natural environ*ent, thus creating constructive and
sti*ulating spaces for audiences to consider concepts of social >ustice, eEuity and
inclusion
Portrait of the Author as a Cutura Stereoty%e
Dr Marian 4h<rXse Keyes, DYn -aoghaire(,athdown -ibraries, Dublin
Marian 4h<rXse Keyes is a .enior 3;ecutive -ibrarian in DYn -aoghaire(,athdown
-ibraries, Dublin :hilst working at the National 2rt -ibrary in -ondon fro*
%))%()', she spent several years cataloguing the ,enier +ollection of +hildrens
6ooks .he co(edited :nis *aga?ine fro* #$$)(%$ and was .ecretary of 166I 1reland
fro* #$$Q(%$ Marian co*pleted her 0hD in #$%$ in .t 0atricks +ollege,
Dru*condra and she is currently 0resident of the 1rish .ociety for the .tudy of
+hildrens -iterature
1n the first series of her $'etches o( :rish Character "%'#)&, 2nna Maria !all "%'$$(
%''%& stated that she sought @to picture the 1rish character, as to *ake it *ore >ustly
appreciated, *ore rightly estee*ed, and *ore respected, in 3nglandA .he was at
pains to avoid the negative stereotypical views of the 1rish that were ra*pant in
3ngland at this ti*e !alls desire to portray the @otherA in a truthful *anner, reflected
her life(long preoccupation with the potency of the i*age and her intense self(
awareness as a writer 1n a si*ilar way that her authorial voice resonated in her
literary work, the iconography of her portraiture played a significant role in an
appreciation of her oeuvre :hilst co*paratively few portraits e;ist of fe*ale
conte*porary writers such as Maria 3dgeworth and the 6rontZ sisters and even less
of !alls *ale counterparts such as :illia* +arleton or the 6ani* brothers, no fewer
than si;teen portraits of !all have been located to date 4he focus of this paper is to
e;plore how the diverse portraits of !all reveal the do*inant Dictorian values of hard
work, fa*ily and virtue and in the process replace one kind of cultural stereotype with
another 0ortraits by leading artists "*any of the* 1rish& such as !enry MacManus,
Daniel Maclise and :illia* 6rocas depict !all as a *odest wife, a vivacious +olleen,
a wo*an of acco*plish*ents, a hard(working author and a role *odel to her fellow
countrywo*en 4hese portraits served to reinforce the didactic nature of her writing,
not only for children but also for her 1rish audience and indeed her 3nglish readers
who needed reassurance that she did not step beyond acceptable boundaries for a
wo*en writer 0arallels will be drawn with the illustrations used in a selection of
!alls publications in particular The Juvenile .or#et +e Not "%'#)(HQ& and .indens
Tableau;% A $eries o( Thirteen $cenes o( National Character= !eaut* and Costu"e
"%'HQ& 4he ideology represented by the authors i*age therefore was subsu*ed
within the ethos of her work and was an i*portant co*ponent in the *arketing of her
publications

;oung .o-en "eaing /ith Abuse: Catherine :reiat)s Cine-atic Pers%ecti(e
on :uebear"
Dr 6rigitte -e 8ue?, Dublin +ity University
6rigitte -e 8ue? is a .enior -ecturer in 7rench and +o*parative -iterature in the
.chool of 2pplied -anguage and 1ntercultural .tudies at Dublin +ity University .he
is currently 0resident of the +o*parative -iterature 2ssociation of 1reland 6luebeard
has been one of the *ain the*es of her se*inars on the sub>ect of fairy(tales at
postgraduate level
Myths have given hu*an societies the opportunity to reflect on the profound *eaning
of their e;istence and have also allowed the* to forge *odels according to which
they *ay live in better har*ony 7airytales belong to the oral tradition of *yths, and
!luebeard a*ong the* has, over ti*e, helped young wo*en reflect on Euestions of
abuse .ince +harles 0erraults first written account, the 6luebeard *yth has known
*any adaptations through the arts and has been used, as a *etaphor, in different
historical conte;ts, to refer to a *onstrous *ale figure intent on e;ploiting and killing
naPve young wo*en 4hroughout the #$th century and until now, it has been
*odernised by *any fa*ous writers, but *ore recently specifically by wo*en
writers 4he version 1 would like to e;a*ine here is the latest: a #$$) fil* version by
+atherine 6reillat 6reillat, one of the *ost pro*inent fe*ale directors in 7rance at
present, has *ade *any fil*s centred around fe*ale protagonists, *any of the*
very young, and she says: @4he reason 1 a* obsessed by young girls is that they are
individuals who e;ist but also do not yet e;ist 4hey are afraid, and theyre strong and
weak at the sa*e ti*e 4hey confront life violentlyA -ike *any fairy(tales, !luebeard
is about the rite of passage of a young girl into wo*anhood, and the narrative *eans
to help its readers appraise a potentially dangerous situation, na*ely the possible
abuse awaiting an innocent young wo*an entering into early *arriage 2s one critic
has co**ented: @T6reillatsU protagonists take to the road and slay the dragons of
girlhood confine*ent T[U 4heir reward is that they give birth to the*selvesA
!luebeard= like Little Red Ridin# &ood= Cinderella or 2on'e* $'in, is about the
e*power*ent of the fe*ale figure 6reillat brings a fresh perspective on the
protagonists develop*ent 2fter 2ngela +arter and Margaret 2twood, a*ong others,
she is the latest to approach the story fro* a fe*inine angle :hilst the young
wo*an in 0errault needed the help of her brothers to kill the cruel husband, as ti*e
went by and the story was rewritten by wo*en, the young bride gained *ore courage
and in the end owed her life to herself 9 to her ability to use her wits and personal
Eualities 4his reflects the changing social values we have witnessed in the last
century !owever, whilst the *yth is thus updated, transcending epochs and genres,
it does not change funda*entally 7or, if the fe*ale protagonist has gained power,
the tales enduring allure shows that psychological and se;ual abuse of young
wo*en in relationships is a proble* societies are still failing to address successfully
The Little Merchants by ,aria !"ge/orth: 'ra"ing !"ucation an" I"entities
across Countries
Dr ,affaella -eproni, ,o*a 4re University, ,o*e, 1taly
,esearcher at ,o*a 4re University ",o*e, 1taly&, ,affaella -eproni has
been teaching 3nglish as a .econd -anguage, 4ranslation fro*Ninto 3nglish
and 3nglish -iterature for ten years !er studies focus on the links between identity,
literature and language learning, in particular concerning +-1- *ethodologies and the
pedagogical value of authentic language structures in teaching -# at a 0ri*ary
.chool level 2*ong her *ost recent publications is the 1talian edition of two tales by
Maria 3dgeworth: The Purle Jar and The Little +erchants "Maria 3dgeworth,
2ue racconti= :ntroduDione= traduDione e note a cura di ,affaella -eproni,
Kappa edi?ioni, ,o*a, giugno #$$)&
:hy read a two hundred year old tale for children todayO 0robably because we are
still dealing with the sa*e issues: educating children to be prepared for life both at a
cultural and at a practical level and preparing the* to be positively conscious of their
own identity when they will face actual society Maria 3dgeworths story, The Little
+erchants, faces both Euestions using an ad*irable pedagogic strategyR the author
pictures a *irror(society for 1reland "Naples& in which 3nglish characters can find
their own place, provided they stick to *oral values and cope with "and possibly learn
fro*& their 1talian peers "who strangely look like their 1rish eEuivalents in what she
calls @birth= (ortune and caacit*A& 3ducation is a *atter of e;a*ple, e;perience and
choice, no *atter which country, se;, religious beliefs or social level we belong toR
the learner is always an active part in the process, as he *ay beco*e a peer(teacher
too ,eading i*plies learning: this is true for children as well as for parents, who
have to teach their children not only the theory of life, but also 9 above all 9 through
good practice
Out of the Hitler Tie: A Life in !=ie
Dr \ine McGillicuddy, Dublin +ity University
\ine McGillicuddy lectures in Ger*an .tudies in the .chool of 2pplied -anguage and
1ntercultural .tudies at Dublin +ity University !er research interests include
i*agology and cultural identity in childrens literature .he is currently Dice(0resident
of i6bI 1reland and is also a co**ittee *e*ber of the 1rish .ociety for the .tudy of
+hildrens -iterature
8udith Kerr, author and illustrator of such well(known childrens books as The Ti#er
7ho Ca"e to Tea "%)G'& and the +o# series, published in the %)Q$s, is of Ger*an
origin and daughter of 2lfred Kerr, a once renowned writer, >ournalist and theatre
critic Due to her fathers forthright and very public criticis* of Na?is*, coupled with
their 8ewish origins, he and his fa*ily had to flee 6erlin when !itler ca*e to power in
%)HH .o began a new and often unpredictable e;istence for 8udith Kerr and her
fa*ily as political refugees *oving first to Ger*an(speaking .wit?erland, then to
7rance before finally settling in 3ngland where 8udith Kerr has re*ained ever since
4his paper will discuss Kerrs lesser known trilogy of novels /ut o( the &itler Ti"e%
"7hen &itler $tole Pin' RabbitE The /ther 7a* Round EA $"all Person .ar A0a*&,
based on her e;periences as a nine(year old Ger*an 8ewish refugee forced to leave
her native land and cross linguistic and cultural boundaries during her childhood and
adolescence 1n particular 1 will e;plore how the physical and psychological shifts in
*igrating fro* one country to another, and fro* one cultural and linguistic space to
another, affects the narrator 2nna "a thinly disguised 8udith Kerr&, her brother Ma;
and her parents in different ways, both in ter*s of identity and the develop*ent of
their intra(fa*ily relationships over the years spanning 2nnas childhood into young
adulthood ,epresentations of contrasting i*ages of Ger*an identity as well as of
the other cultures encountered and described by 2nna, as she and her fa*ily *ove
fro* one country to another, will also be e;a*ined within the fra*ework of
i*agology
'he Poitics of Pagiaris- in The Histor! of Harr! S"encer >1?6@A9
Dr 2nne Markey, 4rinity +ollege Dublin
2nne Markey is 4eaching 7ellow in 7oras 7easa, NU1 Maynooth, and on the staff of
the .chool of 3nglish, 4rinity +ollege Dublin !er research focuses on literary
representations of childhood fro* the seventeenth century to the present day and on
intersections between Gaelic traditions and 1rish writing in 3nglish ,ecent
publications include ChildrenCs .iction 17FG-1808 "#$%%& and /scar 7ildeCs .air*
Tales% /ri#ins and Conte;ts "#$%%&
The &istor* o( &arr* $encer= co"iled (or the a"use"ent o( #ood children= and the
instruction o( such as 0ish to beco"e #ood "%Q)K&= is the earliest known work of
childrens fiction written by an 1rish author and published in 1reland 4he author,
na*ed on the title(page as 0hilanthropos, appears to have been 8a*es Delap, who
used the sa*e pseudony* as editor of The Ne0 +a#aDine 1n the first edition of that
>ournal, launched in Dublin in %Q)), Delap asked young readers to forward candid
and well(written reviews of @such writings as are put into the hands of childrenA .uch
reviews appeared in later editions, along with editorial profiles of conte*porary
authors of childrens fiction, including .arah 4ri**er and !annah More Delaps
fa*iliarity not only with childrens literature but also with the literature of childhood is
very evident in The &istor* o( &arr* $encer, large sections of which are
incorporated al*ost word for word fro* the first two volu*es of fellow 1rish*an
!enry 6rookes senti*ental novel, The .ool o( 3ualit* "%QGF& and fro* the first
volu*e of 4ho*as Days *oral tale, The &istor* o( $and(ord and +erton "%Q'H& 4his
apparently cavalier plagiaris* is all the *ore striking because of the ways in which it
resonates with new, specifically 1rish, econo*ic and political *aterial introduced by
Delap ,eaders *ay have found so*e of !arry .pencers adventures, such as his
refusal to reveal the whereabouts of a hare to a bullish sEuire or his friendship with a
beggar boy na*ed Ned, either surprisingly or reassuringly fa*iliar 4hey were *ore
likely to be disturbed by being infor*ed that 1rish agricultural labourers rarely earned
*ore than Gd a day, that 1rish landlords treated tenants *ore cruelly than :est 1ndia
0lanters their black slaves, and that une*ploy*ent, poverty and illness were
ende*ic in the -iberties of Dublin 1n this paper, 1 will e;plore the politics of
enlightened landlordis* and religious toleration that e*erge fro* the >u;taposition of
borrowed and original *aterial in The &istor* o( &arr* $encer, while considering the
related issues of Delaps intended readership and *oral purpose
1ere Co-es the :ogey-an
0rofessor 2ndrew Melrose, University of :inchester, UK
2ndrew Melrose, D 0hil, is 0rofessor of +hildrens :riting at the University of
:inchester, UK !e has over %F$ fil*, fiction, non(fiction, research, songs, poe*s
and other writing credits, including The $tor* Aeeers fil* series, a @te;tual
interventionA on the New 4esta*ent, broadcast worldwide, and HH scholarly or
creative books &ere Co"es the !o#e*"an% );lorin# Conte"orar* :ssues in
7ritin# (or Children and +onsters Hnder the !ed% Criticall* investi#atin# )arl* @ears
7ritin# have >ust been published by ,outledge
!ere co*es the bogey*an[ speaking the silences and the hidden child ( is a paper
about the "i*&possibility of child(centred writing and therefore all about ethical
i*aginations and writing worlds 4he ethical aligns itself closely with the fact that the
entire process of writing for children is proble*atised by a very si*ple truis*
+hildren who read rely on stories written for the* and rarely by the*, and indeed
written by al*ost anyone but the* +urious as it *ay see*, this presents us with a
proble* 4he childNadult i*balance is *ost tangibly *anifested in the relationship
between the ostensibly adult narrative voice and the child focali?ing character 4his
essentially *eans that nowhere else are power structures as obvious as they are in
the relationship between adults and children 4hese can be seen through ho*e,
health, education, educators, e;tended fa*ily, social and cultural e;changes 6ut
i*portantly, these can also be seen in the culture adults produce for children, such
as books and their written worlds, toys, television shows etc, all of which, in a
nor*ative sense, are created by those in power for the powerless 4he proble* is
that the only Eualification reEuired to be an e;pert in this field is to be an adult 9
whereupon the child is considered to be silent 6ut this child is not as Euiet as is
alluded to, to paraphrase 7ran? 7anon, @4he child is not 2ny *ore than the adultA
Nationa I"entity an" the 'ra"itionB,o"ernity Diaectic in the .or& of Cra
,eing
+iara NV 6hroin, +ol/iste Mhuire, Marino 1nstitute of 3ducation, Dublin
+iara NV 6hroin lectures in 3nglish in +ol/iste Mhuire, Marino 1nstitute of 3ducation
.he is interested in identity and ideology in 1rish childrens literature and has
published a nu*ber of articles and book chapters on the topic .he is a founder
*e*ber and for*er president of the 1rish .ociety for the .tudy of +hildrens
-iterature and serves on the co**ittee of 166I 1reland "the 1rish branch of the
1nternational 6oard on 6ooks for Ioung 0eople&
4his paper will e;a*ine the traditionN*odernity dialectic in the portrayal of national
identity in selected novels of Crla Melling, a fantasy writer of 1rish birth and +anadian
upbringing, whose work draws heavily on 1rish *ythology and ro*ance The 2ruids
Tune and The $in#in# $tone were first published in +anada in %)'H and %)'G
respectively and subseEuently published for an 1rish readership by the C6rien 0ress
in %))# and %))H while The &unters +oon was published first in 1reland and then in
+anada in %))H 2ll three have since been updated with new editions brought out in
+anada and the U.2 within the last decade 4his paper will focus pri*arily on the
C6rien editions of the %))$s, published against a backdrop of *a>or social,
econo*ic and political change in 1reland 1t will be argued that Melling co*bines
+anadian national ideals with i*ages of 1rish national identity drawn fro* 1rish
*ythology and ro*ance to create a utopian i*age of 1rish unity and of unity with the
wider diaspora .ignificantly, this unity is predicated upon reconnection with an
ancient cultural heritage portrayed by Melling as in danger of being lost in the drive to
*odernity
'he INN'I Poets an" Irish3Language Chi"ren)s Literature
Dr ,Vona Nic +ong/il, .t 0atricks +ollege, Dru*condra, Dublin
,Vona Nic +ong/il is a lecturer in the 1rish Depart*ent of .t 0atricks +ollege,
Dru*condra, and speciali?es in ,evivalist -iterature and +hildrens .tudies .he is
the author of several books and articles, ranging fro* childrens fiction to acade*ic
works !er *ost recent *onograph, Ina N, .haircheallai#h a#us an .h,s It-ieach
1haelach "#$%$&, was awarded both a National Cireachtas 2ward and the 2*erican
+onference for 1rish .tudies "2+1.& 0ri?e for ,esearch 6ook of the Iear in the 1rish
-anguage .he is director of the 1rish(language Ioung :riters 2ssociation, +u*ann
.crVbhneoirV ]ra na Gaeilge
4he 1NN41 1rish(language poetry *ove*ent e*erged in University +ollege +ork in
%)Q$ .ince then, it has been feted by nu*erous scholars and writers, credited with
shaping the direction of 1rish(language poetry, with influencing the work of 1rish poets
writing in the 3nglish language, and with enriching the discipline of translation studies
in the process 1ts *ost pro*inent *e*bers, Nuala NV Dho*hnaill, Gabriel
,osenstock and -ia* 5 Muirthile, reflected the radical nature of student life in the
late %)G$s and early %)Q$s 4heir early poetry provided an affront, both the*atically
and stylistically, to the values of their parents generation and also to the previously
rigid for*al rules of 1rish(language poetry 2lthough the afore*entioned poets, NV
Dho*hnaill in particular, have been the sub>ect of over a hundred acade*ic articles
and books, no scholar to date has addressed their literary output for children Iet
when these poets developed fro* being students to having young fa*ilies of their
own, they began to produce an array of 1rish(language *aterial for child readers NV
Dho*hnaill has written three works for childrenR ,osenstock has published over a
hundred childrens titles, ranging fro* original poetry to translations to picturebooksR
and 5 Muirthile has co*posed a novel for teenagers and several collections of
poetry for children 4he purpose of this paper is thus to provide an overview of the
childrens literature published by the 1NN41 poets, and to address in particular
whether their subseEuent works for children reflect or under*ine the radicalis*
associated with their early collections of poetry Suestions will include but will not be
li*ited to: whether NV Dho*hnaills works for children are i*bued with fe*inist
ideology and steeped in the 1rish *ythological tradition, as one *ight e;pect fro* her
better known poetryR whether ,osenstock pro*otes 3astern philosophy and
ele*ents of farce in his childrens books, as he does in other workR and whether 5
Muirthiles characteristic foregrounding of the richness of the 1rish language in his
work for children runs the risk of losing *any young readers 4his latter tension,
between linguistic artistry in 1rish and co**unication with the child reader through
the language, will be an underlying the*e throughout the paper
!cocritica (ersus !gocentric: the 'aes of :eatri= Potter
Dr 3ithne C+onnell, Dublin +ity University
3ithne C=+onnell is .enior -ecturer in 4ranslation .tudies at the Centre (or
Translation and Te;tual $tudies in .2-1. ".chool of 2pplied -anguage and
1ntercultural .tudies& at Dublin +ity University 2 graduate of University +ollege
Dublin "Ger*an and -inguistics, and later 1rish&, with an M2 " %)'H& fro* the sa*e
university in Ger*an and 2ustrian -iterature, she was awarded her 0hD fro*
Dublin +ity University in #$$$ for work on translation for children
1n #$$H, she published +inorit* Lan#ua#e 2ubbin# (or Children "6ern: 0eter -ang&
and in #$$', she co(edited a selection of essays on 1rish language television "with 8
:alsh and G Denvir& entitled T14J10% 2eich "!liana de T14 ETen @ears o( T14
"+ona*ara: +l^ 1ar(+honnacht& .he is a founder *e*ber of 1412 "1rish 4ranslators=
and 1nterpreters= 2ssociation& and 3.1.4 "3uropean 2ssociation for .tudies in
.creen 4ranslation& and has published widely on aspects of audiovisual translation,
te;ts for children and *inority languages 1n #$$F and #$$', she was an 1nternational
8ury Me*ber for the "714& 2strid -indgren 2ward for -iterary 4ranslation 0ublications
include
Cver the last half century or so, scholarship in the field of ecocriticis* has been
broadly associated with the study of the relationship between literature and the
physical environ*ent, often *aking the case, one way or another, that the
environ*ental degradation so characteristic of the #$th century is the inevitable
result of the western tendency to see the world of culture and the natural world as
two very separate do*ains Meekers argu*ent "%)QK& that the predo*inance
granted to the for*er over the latter lies at the heart of environ*ental crises raises
the Euestion of how a general societal willingness to accept the superiority of culture
over nature has been persistently and successfully co**unicated in the west fro*
one generation to the ne;t in recent ti*es 4his leads, in turn, to the role of authors of
childrens literature in this process 1n this paper, 1 will focus *y attention on the
representation"s& of the natural world, in general, and the ani*al world, in particular,
in the tales of 6eatri; 0otter "%'GG(%)K#& 1 hope to show that part of her *uch loved
originality is rooted in her counter(cultural tendency to avoid senti*ental portrayals of
the ani*al kingdo* and the harsh natural order Moreover, she can at ti*es be Euite
subtly subversive in her critical representation of both 6ritish urban and rural culture
and nor*s
Irish3Cana"ian Chi"ren)s Literature an" Cana"ian Nationa I"entity
Dr +lVona 5 Gallchoir, .chool of 3nglish, University +ollege +ork
+lVona 5 Gallchoir lectures in the .chool of 3nglish, University +ollege +ork !er
publications include +aria )d#e0orth% 7o"en= )nli#hten"ent and Nation "#$$F& and
articles on eighteenth( and nineteenth(century wo*ens writing !er interest in
childrens literature arose after a year spent as a D.C volunteer in 3ritrea, 2frica
!er research on 1rish(+anadian childrens literature was awarded a +anadian
Depart*ent of 7oreign 2ffairs grant under the @Understanding +anadaA progra**e
4his paper proposes a discussion of 1rish(+anadian childrens fiction, including the
work of 8a*es !eneghan, +atherine 0ignat and 6rian Doyle 1n +anada, the 1rish(
descended for the *ost part trace their roots to eighteenth and nineteenth(century
i**igrants and belong therefore to the early period of i**igration and settle*ent
1rish(descended +anadians are on one level clearly distinct fro* the new i**igrants
who transfor*ed +anada particularly after the lifting of racial and ethnic barriers to
i**igration in %)GQ 4he te;ts in Euestion, however, were written fro* the %))$s
onwards and thus represent reconsiderations of national and co**unal identity 4he
te;ts written by the authors under consideration cover a wide historical range:
whereas 0ignats series of novels deal with the 7a*ine period and post(7a*ine
e*igration fro* 1reland to +anada, the books of 6rian Doyle 9 twice the winner of the
Governor Generals award for childrens literature 9 are set in the +anada of the
%)F$s and represent 1rish(+anadians alongside other groups such as 7rench(
+anadians and the 8ewish co**unity in +anada !eneghan, born in -iverpool of
1rish parents, beca*e a +anadian citi?en in %)GH !e defines hi*self in ter*s both of
1rish and +anadian nationality, and thus has a dual perspective relatively unco**on
a*ongst the 1rish(descended in +anada !is works for children incorporate the
e;periences of both 1rish and other child *igrants to +anada in the conte*porary
period, as well as the historical e;perience of the 1rish diaspora in novels such as
The 1rave and 7ish +e Luc', set in 6ritain 4he authors and te;ts discussed here
represent the *arked increase in recent years in the nu*ber of childrens te;ts which
address the 1rish(+anadian e;perience 4his suggests that the increasing awareness
of the 1rish diasporic e;perience has resulted in a reconsideration of the 1rish
contribution to +anadian identity and society Cne of the Euestions e;plored in this
paper is which *odels or fra*eworks are proposed in the various te;ts for
understanding and constructing identity 9 1rish, +anadian and 1rish(+anadian 9 and
to what e;tent the official +anadian policy of *ulticulturalis* functions as a
fra*ework through which to represent 1rish i**igrants and 1rish(descended
characters
!ngan"s8 ,y !ngan"s: 5e(isiting 1enry .iia-son#s Tar#a the Otter9
6arra 5 .<aghdha, Dublin +ity University
6arra 5 .eaghdha has written on literature, cultural politics and *usic for
publications ranging fro* Reinventin# :reland to the 2ublin Revie0 o( !oo's !e has
worked in 37- for *any years, *ost recently at D+U, where he is researching
the broader cultural patterns within which the history of classical *usic
in 1reland can be read
4his paper will centre on Euestions arising fro* *y changing relationship
to the 3nglish writer !enry :illia*son, author of Tar'a the /tter, *y favourite
book as a child % 2re children untouched by the adult need to reconcile the worlds
they discover through readingO +o*ing fro* a fa*ily where *any books
de*onstrated sy*pathy for 1rish nationalis*, 1 was also happily ingesting such
Euintessentially 3nglish reading as "a& nature books, factual and fictional, "b& 6illy
6unter, 8ennings and :illia* "c& the 6iggles books and "d& an ancient set of the
"so*eti*es ideologically dubious& +assells +hildrens 3ncyclopedia # :hat does
this say about the tendency to scrutinise the ideological content of individual booksO
Despite *y intake of *ultiple 3nglands, 1 *aintained *y 1rish perspective, along with
an interest in other countries and a tendency to support underdogs, even the
co**unist Dietcong, against great powers H Do we pay enough attention to the to(
and(fro between older e;perience and childhoodO "2& !aving graduated to the adult
library, 1 stopped abruptly two(thirds of the way through :illia*sons
autobiographical seEuence of novels when 1 realised that he had beco*e an ad*irer
of !itler "6& .o*e years ago, 1 discovered The Children o( $hallo0(ord, :illia*sons
e;traordinary study of his own children, but a curiously gapped narrative "+&
,ecently, both thinking about 6ritishN1rish *usic history and preparing classes on
:: 1 and cultural *e*ory, 1 have found that 3nglish nature(writing and *y *e*ory
of :illia*sons Devon helped *e to understand the place of @3nglands green
and pleasant landA in 3nglishN6ritishNi*perial cultural *e*ory Meanwhile,
broader reading about the trau*atic and warping effects of prolonged e;perience
of life at the front in :: 1 has allowed a still(critical but *ore understanding
reading of :illia*sons life and work, and even of his politics
'he Poitics of Nature an" the Nature of Poitics
Dr 2nthony 0avlik, 6o_a?i`i University, 1stanbul, 4urkey
2nthony 0avlik recently received his doctorate in +hildrens -iterature fro*
Newcastle University, and he is currently teaching in the 7aculty of 3ducation at
6o_a?i`i University in 1stanbul, 4urkey
4he #$$) 4urkish picture book for children, @KrK*en LMnar "The 7al'in# Plane Tree&
by .i*la .unay, offers a *odern re(telling of an actual historical event: in %)H$, the
then leader of the 4urkish ,epublic, Mustafa Ke*al 2tatark, ordered his Ialova
Mansion to be *oved K' *etres in order not to da*age a plane tree growing
nearby 1n essence, the books transfor*ation of this event offers a positive
ecoliterary *essage, for the rescued plane tree subseEuently realises that its friends,
the other trees, are still in danger and walks to save the* 4his paper, therefore, will
consider this book for young readers on two levels 7irst, it will consider the books
efficacy in transfor*ing an historical event into an ecopedagogical e;ercise and,
given the books prioritising of nature itself as having agency, ask whether childrens
literature can or should present the child figure as sufficiently e*powered to be a real
source of hope in solving ecological proble*s originally created by adults .econd, it
will consider the publication of the book as political and propagandist literature,
co*ing out at a ti*e in 4urkish society when secular and religious tensions continue
to be foregrounded 1n this respect, it will also consider the dual audience for
childrens literature and, *ore broadly, the nature of childrens literature as political
te;t
Chi"ren Voicing the Dns%ea&abe
Marcello 2rnaldo 0icucci, Newcastle University, UK
!aving obtained his pri*ary degree fro* the University of ,o*e in #$$K, Marcello
0icucci earned a Masters Degree in 43.C- fro* the University of -iverpool in #$$F
!e taught 3nglish and 1talian as foreign languages to students fro* various age
groups and backgrounds, both in !igher 3ducation and *andatory school level 1n
#$%$, he obtained his M-itt fro* the University of Newcastle, where he is currently in
the second year of his 0hD !is present research, recently presented at an
international conference in Me;ico +ity, focuses on the study and investigation of
narrative in co*puter ga*es and their i*pact and significance in the field of
childrens literature
4he study atte*pts to discuss issues of representation and suitability concerning the
literature of the !olocaust More specifically, the proble* of authenticity and
fictionali?ation of the !olocaust in young adult literature is taken into account !ighly
debated Euestions such as how we are to represent the Na?i genocide to younger
audiences, and how unNreasonable it is to provide a re(adapted, sweetened picture of
events which linger in our *e*ory for the harshness and lucid insanity of their
perpetrators 4wo te;ts are presented and analy?ed, and it is argued how their
co*bined reading can provide younger audiences with an authentic, yet tolerable
account of the atrocities co**itted by the Na?i regi*e 4he first te;t is 2na Novak=s
authentic *e*oir The !eauti(ul 2a*s o( +* @outh% +* $i; +onths in Ausch0itD and
PlasDo0 "%))Q&, tragically co*posed during her e;perience and survival throughout
her deportation 4his genuine account is paralleled with Gleit?*ans fictional te;t
/nce "#$$F&, where a balance is sought between the inevitable harsh background
and a softened perspective of a child 2lbeit different in style and intent, both te;ts
not only share a nu*ber of si*ilarities in ter*s of events and points of view, but their
differences can co*pensate possible o*issions of infor*ation each te;t *ay have if
read separately
5a%e ,yths an" Se=uaiEe" Punish-ent in Conte-%orary ;oung A"ut 2iction
Marion ,ana= interNuli, Ger*any
Marion ,ana is the publisher of interNuli O :nternationale Ainder- und
Ju#endliteratur(orschun# "wwwinter>ulide&, a Ger*an scholarly *aga?ine on
international research in childrens literature .he studied 6ritish and 2*erican
studies, pedagogy and political science at the 8ohannes Gutenberg University in
Main?, Ger*any, and the University of +hichester in Great 6ritain +urrently, she is
working on her 0hD thesis entitled @Killers 2re .ort of ,o*antic: .e;uality, -ove
and Diolence in +onte*porary Ioung 2dult 7ictionA !er *ost recent publications
deal with "national and cultural& othering and otherness in the &arr* Potter series, the
4wilight fil*s as a*biguous tales of se;uality and se;ual awakening, and the
erotici?ation of se;ual and do*estic violence in T0ili#ht and <a"ire 2iaries
&ed "ade her drin' his blood then6 :( "ade 0as the ri#ht 0ord6
$he didnt re"e"ber uttin# u an* resistance or (eelin# an* revulsion6
!* then= she had 0anted it6
"Da*pire Diaries: 4he .truggle&
2 large proportion of conte*porary teen literature e;hibits a great a*ount of se;ual
and do*estic violence which are triviali?ed and >ustified through different plot devices
such as a de(proble*ati?ation of the aggression, societal non(e;clusion of the se;ual
aggressor and the protagonists re(connotation of the aggressive act 4he victi* is
thus either bla*ed for the attack or she triviali?es it herself, not regarding it as an
aggressive act on her body ,ape *yths and, as a see*ingly logical conseEuence,
se;uali?ed for*s of punish*ent are freEuent occurrences in *any novels and series
Drawing on different social constructivist and sociological theories on se;uality and
"do*estic& violence, this paper analyses various instances of se;ual aggression in
different novels such as those of the T0ili#ht, <a"ire 2iaries, Ale; Rider and 1irl=
1G series and both the victi*s and their social environ*ents reactions to it, ending
in an analysis of the erotici?ation of violence in the novels 1ts key theses are that the
intertwining of se;uality and violence in teen ro*ance both nor*ali?es and erotici?es
violence, and that the reproduction of rape *yths reinforces *isogynistic
assu*ptions and a gender conservative portrayal of se;uality and se;ual gender
roles
Creaturel! Life: :io%oitica Intensity in a Seection of Chi"ren)s 2abes an"
Pictureboo&s6
Dr Dictoria de ,i>ke, Middlese; University, -ondon, UK
Dictoria de ,i>ke is ,eader in 2rts L 3ducation at Middlese; University in North
-ondon, UK 0ublications on childrens literature include collaborative chapters for
Chan#in# Concets o( Childhood and Childrens Literature, 8oosen L Dloebergs
"eds& +a*bridge .cholars 0ress, #$$G, $tudies in Childrens Literature 1G00-?000,
Dublin, 1reland: 7our +ourts 0ress, #$$K, The :nternational )nc*cloedia o(
Childrens Literature= !unt "ed& -ondon: ,outledge, #$$K Dictoria is also +o(+hief
3ditor of +-3: +hildrens -iterature in 3ducation 8ournal
1n an article ostensibly reviewing the publication of Derridas last se*inar series The
!east and the $overei#n "#$$)& !al 7oster cites 3ric .antners use of the ter*
B+reaturely -ife "#$$G& 9 @life abandoned to the state of e;ceptionNe*ergency[on
the threshold where life takes on its specific biopolitical intensity, where it assu*es
the cringed posture of the creatureA .antner refers to these *o*ents of intensity as
Bfissures or caesuras in the space of *eaning where power can be resisted or re(
i*aginedR *o*ents of creativity and criticality 4o picture this, 7oster cites .endaks
se*inal picturebook, where Ma; leaves the repression of ho*e in his wolf costu*e
to 7here the 7ild Thin#s Are 7oster suggests:
[perhaps it is a Euestion less of where they are( we have na*es for those
spaces, which we pro>ect inward as the unconscious or the other( than 0hen
they appear 0otentially this is right now, or whenever the sy*bolic order
cracks under political pressure 4his is not necessarily a psychotic *o*ent, or
even a ro*antic oneR it can be, as it is with Ma;, an intense i*agining, via the
creaturely, of new social links
1t is the "often unconscious& relationship of childrens literature to the sy*bolic order
cracking under political pressure that 1 wish to e;a*ine, taking a series of 7ables, or
@creaturely life,A to illustrate this genres special relationship to biopolitical intensity
2esop, arguably the :ests first e;ponent "via Godwins .ables= Ancient and +odern
of %'$F& e;e*plifies both its potential for radical *oral challenge and its risks, or
fissures 9 2esops unti*ely death and his subseEuent depiction or ideological
Bwhitewash in childrens literature as an old white *ans *oral tales rather than a
young disabled black slaves political propaganda 1n his essay b:hat !as -iterature
Got to Do with 1tA citing ani*al fables about class division and privilege, and the
seeds of revolution therein, 2chebe argues that fables carry the suggestion of the
dissolution of an inco*petent oligarchy 4he Gri** brothers L +ranes +ouse= !ird
and $ausa#e "%''#& and :addell L C;enburys .ar"er 2uc' "%))F& play ironically
with this pre*ise -assen(.eger noted that ani*al i*agery and the childNani*al
connection have been used for centuries in western culture to connote the
instinctualNuncivili?ed in contrast to the rationalNcivili?ed 4hese *ay be @non(
per>orativeA or e;ploitative *etaphorical uses of ani*al characters, and when they
feature *eta*orphosis of hu*an into ani*al, they can signal KafkaesEue
@unpleasurableA reflection of Euestionable hu*an *orality +ollodis Pinocchio "%''H&
or 6rownes Pi##*boo' "%))G& function precisely in this category 4aking a nu*ber of
classic and conte*porary works of childrens literature, 1 wish to e;plore how Mipess
@good *oral propagandaA opportunities in fable suggestive of class struggle and
radical revolution have both been avoided and occasionally taken up with relish in
childrens literature production 4his will begin with a historici?ed analysis of various
publications of 2esops tales, which e;e*plify so*e of the worst Bwhitewashes in
ter*s of illustrations or te;ts, and *ove on to *ore recent e;a*ples such those cited
and +ronins call to political consciousness Clic' Clac' +oo% Co0s that T*e "#$$H&
or Dahls .antastic +r6 .o; "%)Q$& in 2ndersens #$$) fil* version, all illustrating 9
via te;t and i*age( that inherent creativity and criticality de*anded of *aterialist
readings of childrens literature and culture
'he Poitics of 5ea"ing >the 5ight :oo&sA: +ui"ing the +ir 5ea"er in the
Victorian Perio"ica Press
Dr 6eth ,odgers, .chool of 3nglish, Sueens University 6elfast, UK
6eth ,odgers teaches in the .chool of 3nglish at Sueens University 6elfast, where
she recently co*pleted her 0hD !er thesis e;plores the construction of adolescent
girlhood across a range of genres popular in the late(Dictorian literary *arketplace,
including girls *aga?ines, childrens books and the New :o*an novel
4his paper will consider the reading guidance offered to the adolescent readers of a
nu*ber of late(Dictorian girls *aga?ines 4he closing decades of the late nineteenth
century witnessed a boo* in the *arket for girls books :ritten by prolific, popular
@hackA authors and published in increasingly affordable for*s, these books caused
great concern to a nu*ber of co**entators at the ti*e, who e;pressed horror at the
Bindiscri*inate reading habits of young girls Girls *aga?ines occupy an interesting
position a*id such debate, being potentially controversial reading *aterial in their
own right 6y providing literary pages, essay co*petitions, reading clubs and author
profiles, *aga?ines atte*pted to adopt a position of guidance and wisdo* on this
topic 6ut this is not >ust a *atter of reco**ending specific te;ts and authors 9 such
articles provided the opportunity to intervene and guide girls in a particular direction
2s a result, *uch can be deter*ined about the agenda and politics of such
*aga?ines by an analysis of the ways in which reading is pro*oted within the* 9 not
least, for e;a*ple, their position in ter*s of class and nationality 6y e;a*ining the
literary pages of a nu*ber of popular girls *aga?ines of the period 9 the 1irls /0n
Paer= Atalanta= 1irls )"ire= and the 1irls Real" 9 this paper will interrogate how
these *aga?ines construct their version of the ideal girl reader while si*ultaneously
negotiating their own precarious place a*id debates about appropriate and
inappropriate reading for girls .uch concerns over girls reading habits suggest there
is a dyna*ic relationship between reading *aterial and the construction of the so(
called @*odern girlA in the late(Dictorian period
'he Chi"ren)s :oo&: Not Suitabe for Chi"renF
0rofessor David ,udd, University of 6olton, UK
David ,udd is 0rofessor of +hildren=s -iterature at the University of 6olton, where he
runs an M2 in +hildren=s -iterature and +ulture !e has published two *onographs
on children=s literature, plus about %$$ articles Most recently he edited The
Routled#e Co"anion to ChildrenCs Literature "#$%$& and a special issue of
ChildrenCs Literature Association 3uarterl* to reconsider the work of 8acEueline
,ose, The Case o( Peter Pan, or The :"ossibilit* o( ChildrenCs .iction "%)'K&, #F
years on !e is editor of ChildrenCs Literature in )ducation
My title resonates with a nu*ber of discourses in childrens literature 8acEueline
,ose, as ever, hovers over it all, with her provocative hypothesis:
.uppose [ that 0eter 0an is a little boy who does not grow up, not because
he doesn=t want to, but because so*eone else prefers that he shouldnt
.uppose, therefore, that what is at stake in 0eter 0an is the adult=s desire for
the child 1 a* using desire to refer to a for* of invest*ent by the adult in
the child, and to the de*and *ade by the adult on the child as the effect of
that invest*ent, a de*and which fi;es the child and then holds it in place
",ose, %)'K, p #&
,oses words also see* to touch on a nu*ber of the*es e;plored by 2. 6yatt in a
book that is also alluded to in *y title: a book ironically called The Childrens !oo'
but which is, decidedly, not for children 1ndeed, this irony is dra*atically played out
in 6yatts te;t, which itself acts like a pali*psest, beneath whose surface we detect a
nu*ber of childrens books, their writers, and *ost significantly, their fctedNfated
children 3 Nesbit is *ost overtly there, but so too are others: ,udyard Kipling and
8ack, 8M 6arrie and the -lewellyn Davies boys, Kenneth Graha*e and his son,
2lastair, 22 Milne and +hristopher ,obin, 2lison Uttley and 8ohn 4aylor 9 to na*e
>ust the *ost fa*ous and sensationalised parent(child authorial relationships 6yatts
novel e;plores a notion, then, that chi*es with ,oses thesis: that childrens writers
versions of childhood, though idyllic and utopian for *any "and perhaps especially
adults&, *ight be *ore claustrophobic and confining than they realise, in fi;ing and
holding the child in place 4his, *ore pathological side of writing "or righting& the child
will be e;plored in this paper
$iffe #iffe %eain: Strategies of !-%o/er-ent in the No(es of 2aGEa +uHne
,uth .cales, National University of 1reland, Galway
,uth .cales is an 1,+!.. scholar at the National University of 1reland, Galway,
where she is engaged in 0hD research on childrens fiction e*erging fro* the
banlieues of 0aris 0reviously, she co*pleted an M2 in 2dvanced -anguage .kills at
NU1G, where she specialised in the translation of childrens fiction
4he situation in the 7rench banlieues 9 7rances *aligned urban periphery 9 is such
that its residents are co**only viewed rather negatively by the 7rench public
1ndeed, whenever these regions are discussed internationally it is usually as a result
of the periodic violence, clashes with police and spates of car burnings that erupt in
these ?ones fro* ti*e to ti*e 7rench republican values reEuire assi*ilation of
i**igrants, who are e;pected to efface all cultural difference and adopt the nor*s of
7rench society 7ailure to do this co*pletely *eans that they re*ain highly visible in
7rench society, which is not regarded positively in 7rance 9 and has led to *uch
public debate and discussion about the role of i**igration in conte*porary 7rance
+ultural *e*ory therefore beco*es *ore i*portant to the i**igrant co**unities as
a *eans of trans*itting their heritage and background to their "often& 7rench(born
children 2uthors for children e*erging fro* these regions de*onstrate this by
*aking liberal use of 2rabic words and e;pressions, referring often to the custo*s
and practices of the @ho*e countryA and freEuently discussing 9 whether in a positive
or negative light 9 the bled6 Drawing on work by 2lec !argreaves, Mireille ,osello,
Ki*berley ,eynolds and MichXle 6acholle(6odkovie, this paper will show how the
novels of 7aP?a GuXne contribute to the creation of a *uch *ore positive identity
and, by addressing adolescents in their own @youthA language as well as referencing
the cultural practices of their forebears, act as a for* of e*power*ent for the youth
populations of these ?ones
5ea"ing Blin# an% Caution an" Moon Over Manifest /ith !cocritica !yes
3rin .pring, University of +a*bridge, UK
3rin .pring is a +anadian, second year 0hD student at +a*bridge University !er
research is concerned with the correlation between geographical places and identity
construction 6orrowing theory fro* ecocriticis*, cultural geography and identity
theory, she is investigating the role of place in the lives of young adults, along with
te;tual representations of place
My research is concerned with the correlation between physical places and identity
construction, inside and outside of te;ts 4he first part of *y research considered the
representation of place(identity within +anadian picturebooks, and young(adult te;ts
4he perspectives of ecocriticis*, cultural geography and identity theory infor*ed *y
analysis !aving begun to recogni?e the i*portant and diverse role of place and
identity construction within these te;ts, the second stage of *y research probes the
connections between our reading identities and our self(identities, and the ways in
which both are influenced by e;periences with physical and social worlds 1n 8anuary
#$%#, 1 will have visited two secondary schools in geographically diverse parts of
+anada "one rural, and one urban& 1n each school, a discussion group will be for*ed
of fifteen(year old students, who will read two young adult te;ts 9 +oon /ver
+ani(est by +lare Danderpool and !lin' and Caution by 4i* :ynne 8ones 9 chosen
for their place(based the*e 4hrough these discussions, 1 wish to consider in which
ways these readers respond to place(related issues in two conte*porary young adult
fiction te;ts, and to what e;tent these te;ts affect their own perceptions of place 2t
the 1..+- conference 1 propose to present a brief ecocritical analysis of *y two
chosen te;ts, and a rationali?ation for why 1 feel they articulate the placeNidentity
correlation 1 also wish to offer a gli*pse of the early data that 1 have collected
pertaining to the Euestions posed above, concerning young adult readers and their
capacity to read ecocritically
An I"eoogy of In"i(i"uais-F !"/ar" Lear)s Nonsense Poetry
Clga .pringer, D22D(-ektorin, Dublin +ity University
Clga .pringer currently works as D22D(-ektorin in the .chool of 2pplied -anguage
and 1ntercultural .tudies at Dublin +ity University 7ro* #$$' to #$%$, she worked on
her doctoral thesis on @2*biguity in +harlotte 6rontZ=s <illetteA, having co*pleted her
M2 "@Magister 2rtiu*A& in 3nglish -iterature and +o*parative -iterature Clgas
research interests include Dictorian literature, a*biguity in language and literature,
detective fiction and the novels of Ngaio Marsh
4his paper will consider the representation of individualis* in the li*ericks of 3dward
-ear 2l*ost all of the poe*s revolve around the conflict between individual priorities
and the wishes and e;pectations of the co**unity, such as the li*erick about @4he
Ioung -ady of -uccaA "cf -ear F)&, >ust to na*e one of *any possible e;a*ples 1
will analyse a selection of -ears li*ericks, focusing on A !oo' o( Nonsense
published in %'KG, and originally written for the children of the earl of Derby in %'KF
4he very title of the volu*e, A !oo' o( Nonsense, gives the te;ts a subversive and
eccentric status, denying the reader the security of a stable and reliable centre of
*eaning 2s 3dward .trachey writes in his %')K introduction to -ears Nonsense
$on#s and $tories:
1t Tsense, C.U is a constitutional tact, a keeping touch with all around it, rather
than a conscious and deliberate action of the intellect 1t al*ost see*s the
*ental outco*e and e;pression of our five sensesR and perhaps it is for this
reason, as well as because the sense of the individual always ai*s at
keeping itself on the average level of his fellows, that we usually talk of sense
as +o**on .ense
4he Euotation closely links the notions of sense and nonsense to the relationship
between different individuals 4he paper will co*pare the ways the relationship
between co**unity and individual are represented, both in the te;ts and in the
drawings acco*panying the li*ericks 6y *eans of a close reading approach, 1 will
analyse the roles of the speaker, the protagonist and the @theyA or @the peopleA
freEuently *entioned in the poe*s and the different ideologies they represent 4he
speakers of the poe*s are i*plicitly characterised by their choice of words and
especially the ad>ectives to be found in the final line, as a see*ingly conclusive
@>udg*entA about the respective protagonists "for e;a*ple @4hat futile Cld 0erson of
,hodesA "-ear FG&R @4hat whi*sical Man of 2puliaA "-ear K)&& 4he linguistic and
conceptual construction of the notion of eccentricity and individuality in the poe*s will
be e;a*ined 1n a final step, this paper will consider the notions of individual freedo*
e;pressed in 3dward -ears poe*s in the conte;t of Dictorian political and
psychological thought, as for e;a*ple reflected on by 8ohn .tuart Mill in /n Libert*
"%'F)&
Puritan an" :ourgeois I"eoogies in 0a-es 0ane/ay)s A To#en for Chil%ren
>17?13?2A an" 0ohn Ne/bery)s A Little &rett!'&oc#et Boo# >1?@@A9
,oisin .tronach, 4rinity +ollege Dublin
,oisin .tronach has a 62 in 3nglish -iterature and Mathe*atics fro* 4rinity +ollege
Dublin .he is currently a student on the taught M 0hil in +hildrens -iterature at the
sa*e university
1 propose to present a paper on the relationship between the introductions and the
*ain body of the te;t in two early books for children, 8a*es 8aneways A To'en (or
Children and 8ohn Newberys A Little Prett* Poc'et-!oo' 7ollowing a short
introduction to both te;ts and their authors, 1 will focus on how the double
introductions to these te;ts, one for adults and one for children, co*plicate the issues
of intended readership and didactic intent 4hese are particularly interesting as the
child introductions and the *ain te;t can be co*pared to show the differences in
style when presenting the ideologies in each for* 2lso, the adult introductions show
how the author *anipulates the adult buyer into purchasing the book for the child
using the ideologies the author upholds while also inculcating the adult buyer as well
as the child reader in these ideologies 1n relation to A To'en (or Children, 1 will
discuss the differences and si*ilarities between the introduction for adult parents and
teachers and the preface for the child reader before e;ploring how the ideologies
espoused in these introductions are represented in the te;t itself Moving to A Little
Prett*-Poc'et !oo', 1 will co*pare the adult introduction with the letters fro* Jac'
the 1iant Ailler for the child reader before e;a*ining how these relate the
representation of ideology in the *ain te;t 4he paper will conclude with a discussion
of the i*portance of ideology to early childrens literature
Distant Districts an" Dar& Days: Nationa I"entity in The Hunger (aes
.usan 4an, University of +a*bridge, UK
.usan 4an is a 0hD +andidate at the University of +a*bridge .he recently
co*pleted a Masters thesis on sacrificial childhood in The &un#er 1a"es trilogy, for
which she received the 8acEueline :ilson 2ward !er doctoral research focuses on
conte*porary I2 dystopias .he is particularly interested in studying issues of
violence and power in young adult dystopian works
1 propose to e;a*ine ideas of place and cultural *e*ory in The &un#er 1a"es
trilogy The &un#er 1a"es presents us with a vision of an 2*erican future, a society
of distorted values unco*fortably re*iniscent of our own 4aking place in the ruins of
the United .tates, the trilogy e*erges as cultural critiEue, relying on historical and
geographic references to establish its connection with our current world 2*erican
traditions such as the holiday of 4hanksgiving are invoked, albeit, in distorted for*s
.i*ilarly, the thirteen districts of 0ane*, evocative of the founding thirteen colonies,
e;ist in the ruins of identifiable locations, each district correlating to a distinct and
recogni?able location within the United .tates 4he world of The &un#er 1a"es is
*eant to be a fa*iliar one 2t the sa*e ti*e, the pre*iu* placed on nation and
setting in the series is >u;taposed with a stark historical uncertainty 0ane* is
characteri?ed by a co*plete absence of historical *e*ory, a period only described
as the @Dark DaysA, which saw the dissolution of our current world and the for*ation
of the +apitol and Districts 2s geography in 0ane* fir*ly roots The &un#er 1a"es
in what was once our world, the @Dark DaysA nebulously deny us any cultural
knowledge of that world 1 intend to e;plore this tension between concrete notions of
place and frag*ented notions of cultural *e*ory 1 would like to suggest that the
dichoto*y between the two points to a larger crisis of national identity, as a dystopia
is used to e;plore current culture and national concerns Ulti*ately, 1 will argue that
this pull reflects a*bivalences and deeply rooted concerns about 2*erican national
identity, as co*ing(of(age is en*eshed in this frag*ented and highly troubled vision
of nationhood
'he Absent ,a"e 2esh: 'he Poitics of 5ace in ,aorie :ac&-an)s )oughts
an% Crosses 'riogy
Dr .arah :ood, .chool of 3nglish, 6ir*ingha* +ity University, UK
.arah :ood is a .enior -ecturer in 3nglish -iterature at 6ir*ingha* +ity University
where she convenes an undergraduate course on +hildrens 7iction !er research
interests include childrens literature, wo*ens writing and science fiction and she
has published on writers such as Cctavia 6utler and Nalo !opkinson
1t has been popularly supposed that, in large part because of its i*plied audience,
childrens fiction is either ideologically neutral or, at best, not concerned with the
structures and politics of the conte*porary "adult& world 6ut, as critics such as 0erry
Nodel*an and Maria Nikola>eva have argued, +hildrens -iterature is as *uch
suffused with the ideological conditions of our age as is fictional writing for adults
3ncoding ideological positions into the cultural co**odity of childrens literature is
nowhere *ore apparent than in the representation of race and racial identity
Treasure :sland, Little !lac' $a"bo and, indeed, 6lytons Three 1olli0o#s all
represent the racial other as either e;otic, strange, frightening or benign Iet, whilst
the politics of racial identity are clearly not absent fro* the pages of childrens fiction
it is the way in which the genre can counter do*inant historical representations of
race that this paper is interested in +an writing for children beco*e an effective
contesting voice in the ideological struggle for racial eEualityO 4o what e;tent can it
e;pose structures of powerO Do the generic conventions of childrens literature
*ilitate against the deconstruction of entrenched representations of race and powerO
2nd thus how far can childrens literature facilitate a rei*agining of the construction
of racial identityO 1n an effort to e;plore these Euestions this paper will focus on the
work of the 6lack 6ritish writer Malorie 6lack*an 1n her best known work, the
Nou#hts and Crosses trilogy, 6lack*an e;plores the construction of race and
atte*pts to decode do*inant assu*ptions and stereotypes which support the edifice
of power sanctioning racial ineEuality 7unda*entally reversing structures of power
fro* our e*pirical world his paper will e;plore how and to what effect 6lack*an
deploys the techniEues of dystopian fiction within the conte;t of childrens literature to
e;pose and e;plore the ideological basis of race and identity in our conte*porary
world