Call For Papers
Book: Theorizing Multiculturalism in Children's and Young Adult
Literature.
To be edited by June Cummins and Michelle Martin.
Currently, children's literature has become a site for aggressive,
optimistic use of texts deemed "multicultural" for both pedagogical and
scholarly purposes. While the recognition of diversity is important, some
scholars are concerned that multiculturalism is not being critically
examined or theorized. That is, when educators, from preschool teachers
to college professors, "celebrate diversity" they often do not consider
what these two ubiquitous words mean. Scholars who write about
multicultural literature for adults employ theoretical apparatuses that
interrogate notions of difference, "otherness," and power. Our anthology,
Theorizing Multiculturalism in Children's and Young Adult Literature,
seeks to query what "multiculturalism" means in books for young readers.
Approaches from a wide variety of theoretical angles, including but not
limited to race studies, feminist studies, postcolonialism, psychoanalytic
theory, poststructuralism, and border studies, are welcome.
The child, positioned either as a character in books, a reader of such
books, or a student in a classroom, has become the repository of
multicultural desires and demands. This position needs to be
interrogated and examined in light of its necessarily conflicted and
possibly exploited status. Our goal is not simply to point out
deficiencies in multicultural literature and literary curricula but to
enrich the developing field through analyses of the definition, uses,
and understanding of multiculturalism within children's and young adult
literature studies.
Many people submitted abstracts to our MLA panel on this topic. We
welcome any of you who previously submitted to re-submit, and of course
we encourage new submissions. Abstracts or papers are due August 10,
2001. Inquiries are encouraged at any time. A major publisher in the
field of children's literature studies is very interested in this
project and has encouraged us to move quickly. We likewise encourage
your early submissions but want to hear from you in any case, even if
you are just beginning to write your article. Please notify us of your
intentions.
Please contact us through e-mail at these adddresses:
mmichel@CLEMSON.EDU
jcummins@mail.sdsu.edu
Thank you for your interest.
Michelle Martin and June Cummins
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