Edinburgh Research Explorer Picture-Book Professors Citation for published version: Terras, M 2018, Picture-Book Professors: Academia and Children's Literature . Elements in Publishing and Book Culture, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK . https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 Digital Object Identifier (DOI): 10.1017/9781108529501 Link: Link to publication record in Edinburgh Research Explorer Document Version: Publisher's PDF, also known as Version of record General rights Copyright for the publications made accessible via the Edinburgh Research Explorer is retained by the author(s) and / or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing these publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. Take down policy The University of Edinburgh has made every reasonable effort to ensure that Edinburgh Research Explorer content complies with UK legislation. If you believe that the public display of this file breaches copyright please contact [email protected] providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 09. Oct. 2021 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 Elements in Publishing and Book Culture edited by Samantha Rayner University College London Rebecca Lyons University of Bristol PICTURE-BOOK PROFESSORS Academia and Children’s Literature Melissa M. Terras University of Edinburgh The Element is also available, with additional material, as Open Access. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India 79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge. 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ISBN 978-1-108-43845-2 Paperback ISSN 2514-8524 (online) ISSN 2514-8516 (print) The Element is also available, with additional material, as Open Access at www.cambridge.org/Picture-Book-Professors Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate. Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 Picture-Book Professors Academia and Children’s Literature DOI: 10.1017/9781108529501 First published online: October 2018 Melissa M. Terras Abstract: How is academia portrayed in children’s literature? This Element ambitiously surveys fictional professors in texts marketed towards children. Professors are overwhelmingly white and male, tending to be elderly scientists who fall into three stereotypes: the vehicle to explain scientificfacts,thebaffled genius, and the evil madman. By the late twentieth century, the stereotype of the male, mad, muddlehead, called Professor SomethingDumb, is formed in humorous yet pejorative fashion. This Element provides a publishing history of the role of academics in children’s literature, questioning the book culture which promotes the enforcement of stereotypes regarding intellectual expertise in children’smedia. The Element is also available, with additional material, as Open Access. Keywords: Children’s Literature, Academia, English Literature, Gender Studies, Diversity, Representation © Melissa M. Terras 2018 ISBNs: 9781108438452 (PB), 9781108529501 (OC) Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/coreISSNs: 2514-8524. (online),IP address: 80.113.15.100 2514-8516 (print), on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 Contents 1 Introduction 1 2 Related Research: Representation, Vocation and Higher Education 7 3 Research Methodology 25 4 An Analysis of Academics in Children’s Illustrated Literature 45 5 Pedagogical, Baffled or Mad: Building Stereotypes 146 6 Conclusion 192 Appendix A: Children’s Books Included in the Analysis 212 Appendix B: Academics Identified in Children’s Literature, Listed Chronologically 232 Appendix C: Potential Books Identified (But Unavailable) 251 Bibliography 253 Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 1 Picture-Book Professors 1 Introduction How is academia portrayed in English language children’s literature? From The Water-Babies1 to Tom Sawyer Abroad,2 Professor Branestawm,3 The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,4 and on to Northern Lights5 and the Harry Potter series,6 professors are established as central characters in children’s books: yet this role has been hitherto unexamined. In this ambitious Element, the representation of fictional academics – individuals teaching or researching within a university or higher education context, or with titles that denote a high rank within the academic sector – is analysed, concentrating on illustrated texts marketed towards children. Focussing on graphic depictions of fictional academics allows the gathering of a corpus which enables a longitudinal analysis: 328 academics were found in 289 different English language children’s illustrated books published between 1850 and 2014, allowing trends to be identified using a mixed-method approach of both qualitative and quantitative analysis of overall bibliographic record, individual text and illustration. This establishes a publish- ing history of the role of academics in children’s literature, while highlighting and questioning the book culture which promotes the construction and 1 C. Kingsley, The Water-Babies: A Fairy Tale for a Land-Baby, 1885 edition illustrated by Linley Sambourne (London: Macmillan and Co., 1863, 1885). 2 M. Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad (London: Chatto and Windus, 1894). 3 N. Hunter, The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1933). 4 C. S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950). 5 P. Pullman, Northern Lights. ‘His Dark Materials’ series, volume 1 (London: Scholastic Children’s Books, 1995). 6 J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. ‘Harry Potter’ series, volume 1 (London: Bloomsbury, 1997). Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 80.113.15.100, on 29 Oct 2018 at 19:02:17, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108529501 2 Elements in Publishing and Book Culture enforcement of stereotypes regarding intellectual expertise in media marketed towards children. It is academics – teachers and scholars