Changing a-genders in children's literature
The next children’s literature conference at the University of Hertfordshire
July 9th & 10th 2010
Including guests Babette Cole and Meg Rosoff
Attitudes to gender have changed radically in the past fifty years – in some cultures. In others, the degree of social and political freedom exercised by some girls and women in the Western world is highly problematical ; there are also new issues in the gender debate.
How has children’s literature presented the gender agenda at different historical points, and what are writers for children offering now, in this increasingly complex continuing field?
We hope that the conference will address issues such as;
- Comics
- children’s fiction
- publishing
- picture books
- children’s theatre
- annuals
- graphic novels
- school stories
The Hertfordshire conferences have focused on perspectives on children’s literature including Marxist, psychoanalytic and political. Our intention is to bring together a body of challenging and innovative cross-disciplinary research, of interest to all those who live and work with children but also to academics from other research fields. We would particularly welcome contributions from the LGBT perspectives.
Please send abstracts of 250 words, by March 31st 2010, to:
Dr Jenny Plastow
School of Education
University of Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Herts AL1 4QW.
Papers chosen for inclusion at the conference may also be selected for publication in the 2010 Annual.