DOCSLIB.ORG

Using Young Adult Literature to Explore the Causes and Impact of Teen Violence Jill Ellen Hathaway Iowa State University

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Using Young Adult Literature to Explore the Causes and Impact of Teen Violence Jill Ellen Hathaway Iowa State University Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2009 Using Young Adult Literature to Explore the Causes and Impact of Teen Violence Jill Ellen Hathaway Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons, and the Rhetoric and Composition Commons Recommended Citation Hathaway, Jill Ellen, "Using Young Adult Literature to Explore the Causes and Impact of Teen Violence" (2009). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 10749. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/10749 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Using young adult literature to explore the causes and impact of teen violence by Jill Ellen Hathaway A thesis submitted to the graduate faculty In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Major: English (Literature) Program of Study Committee: Donna Niday, Major Professor Amy Slagell Susan Yager Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2009 Copyright © Jill Ellen Hathaway, 2009. All rights reserved. ii Table of Contents Table of Contents ii Acknowledgments iii Abstract iv Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Chapter 2: Review of Literature 5 Chapter 3: Methodology 27 Chapter 4: Analysis 33 Chapter 5: Conclusion 84 Works Cited 100 Appendix A: Student Letter and Permission Form 103 Appendix B: Parent Letter and Permission Form 105 Appendix C: Annotated Book List 107 Appendix D: Student Interview Questions 108 Appendix E: Journal Questions 109 Appendix F: Honors LA 10 3 rd Quarter Book Project 110 iii Acknowledgments I would like to thank, first and foremost, my advisor, Donna Niday. She supported me for over a year while I struggled with finding a topic for my research. Every step, she was there for me, outlining the process and helping me along the way. She was flexible, encouraging, and positive throughout the whole experience. I am also grateful to my principal, Mr. Anthony, and superintendent, Dr. Lane, who allowed me to conduct my research in the classroom. If it were not for them, I would not have been able to finish this project. Next, I would like to thank my committee members: Susan Yager and Amy Slagell. They were extremely flexible, which was necessary because of my teaching schedule. They also offered useful feedback along the way, giving suggestions, asking questions, and pushing me to accomplish a quality study. Finally, I want to thank my family for their patience and support. They believed in me and gave me the courage to go after my dreams. To my husband, Shane, thank you for always being there for me and pushing me to do my best. iv Abstract This project addresses the use of young adult literature in the classroom to teach about teen violence. The research questions addressed are: 1. How is violence depicted in young adult literature from post-Columbine (1999) to present day (2009)? 2. How does young adult literature attempt to inform teens about the causes, effects, and warning signs of violence? 3. How do real students respond to the causes, effects, and warning signs of teen violence in young adult literature? The study was conducted in a class of 10 th grade Honors English students, who formed six literature circles to read six recent young adult books that addressed teen violence. A variety of qualitative data was collected, including interviews, journal entries, essays, and group presentations. The two major findings were that students could identify causes, warning signs, and effects of teen violence in their books, and they said they now recognize the hazards of bullying. 1 Chapter 1: Introduction I distinctly recall where I was when I learned of the Columbine shootings in 1999. As people all over the country watched the disturbing footage of high school teenagers clutching each other and crying over their lost friends, I ingested the news from my freshman college dorm room. At the time, I related to the news as a student would. The thought that such a tragedy could happen in America was terrifying to me, and I wondered what possibly could have pushed Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris to commit such a heinous crime. My heart broke for parents, teachers, students, and the rest of the community. Now, as a high school teacher, I view the calamity (and similar school shootings that have happened since) from a different perspective. I understand that there is a real possibility of extreme violence occurring in my school, despite the illusion that our school environment is safe and accommodating to all students. The reality is that violence is always a moment from happening, whether it’s another school shooting, a fight, rape, or suicide. Administrators, counselors, and teachers today must accept the possibility of violence and strive to recognize warning signs in order to take preventive measures against violent activity. Often students who are experiencing trauma that could lead to violent actions display unusual behavior. They may act out, write aggressive stories, or draw sadistic pictures. They may joke or hint about their destructive intentions. An example of this can be found in the disturbing plays written by Seung-Hui Cho, who attacked students and teachers at Virginia Tech in 2007. According to an ABC News article, a professor who worked with Seung-Hui, Lucinda Roy, became so concerned about the threatening compositions that she 2 notified authorities (Tapper). If only someone had been able to get Seung-Hui psychiatric help, the tragedy may have been avoided. If those surrounding a disturbed individual can recognize the warning signs, a greater chance exists of getting that person help. In addition to adults in a school setting, other students can play a crucial part in identifying troubled individuals. Ron Avi Astor, a professor of social work at the University of Southern California, has said that, in the case of most school shootings, large groups of students know about the event beforehand (Pytel). If we can educate and encourage students to be on the lookout for depressed and psychologically disturbed individuals, I believe we can prevent many acts of violence – not only school shootings, but violence against the self as well. One way to educate our children is through literature. There have been many books addressing school violence released since Columbine. Books that address issues such as cutting, rape, suicide, and shootings tend to be of high interest to high school students because they are subjects that students are familiar with and are taboo enough that many people don’t discuss them; the students read books to learn about these issues. For instance, books like Shooter, Nineteen Minutes, and Give a Boy a Gun explore the causes and impact of bullying and the resulting violence. All of these books are written using interviews, police reports, diary entries, suicide notes, and news articles to narrate the action. In this way, students can see that there are a variety of viewpoints on the issue. These books show that there are usually multiple instances of bullying that lead the perpetrator to feel helpless and desperate to take control of his life. In my profession, I see bullying every day, and I know what a huge impact it has on children. Incidents that happen in high school leave scars and change people’s lives. The 3 intense, stifled environment of high school leaves no room for escape for children who feel trapped and alone. It is my hope that, through the use of young adult literature, teachers can encourage feelings of empathy for students who are normally picked on and stem bullying before it leads to irreparable damage. I wish to know whether young adult literature can be used to deepen teenagers’ understanding about the causes and impact of violence. Many of the authors of these books conducted extensive research before writing these novels. For instance, in Thirteen Reasons Why , the deceased protagonist (a high school girl who ends her life and leaves cassette tapes behind to explain her pain) demonstrates many traditional signs of withdrawal and depression. She changes her appearance, her grades drop, and she begins giving away cherished possessions. If I can use literature in my classroom to educate my students about how to identify students in crisis, I believe they can become strong advocates and supporters of one another. Because bullying is so prevalent, students need to see its causes and consequences. Literature is a powerful educational tool to allow people to experience the emotions and perspectives of others. In this way, literature can be used to help build empathy in teens for each other and possibly even deter them from making poor choices. 4 To learn more about the connection among students, young adult literature, and violence, I propose the following research questions: 1. How is violence depicted in young adult literature from post-Columbine (1999) to the present day (2009)? 2. How does young adult literature attempt to inform teens about the causes, effects, and warning signs of violence? 3. How do real students respond to the causes, effects, and warning signs of teen violence in young adult literature? 5 Chapter 2: Review of Literature One of literature’s primary functions is to explore real life issues. Teachers often use young adult literature, commonly abbreviated as YA literature, to broach relevant topics with their students. This chapter will explore YA literature’s definition, as well as examine the appropriateness of violence, such as school shootings and suicide, in YA literature and also analyze the causes, impact, and warning signs of teen violence.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • General Vertical Files Anderson Reading Room Center for Southwest Research Zimmerman Library
    “A” – biographical Abiquiu, NM GUIDE TO THE GENERAL VERTICAL FILES ANDERSON READING ROOM CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST RESEARCH ZIMMERMAN LIBRARY (See UNM Archives Vertical Files http://rmoa.unm.edu/docviewer.php?docId=nmuunmverticalfiles.xml) FOLDER HEADINGS “A” – biographical Alpha folders contain clippings about various misc. individuals, artists, writers, etc, whose names begin with “A.” Alpha folders exist for most letters of the alphabet. Abbey, Edward – author Abeita, Jim – artist – Navajo Abell, Bertha M. – first Anglo born near Albuquerque Abeyta / Abeita – biographical information of people with this surname Abeyta, Tony – painter - Navajo Abiquiu, NM – General – Catholic – Christ in the Desert Monastery – Dam and Reservoir Abo Pass - history. See also Salinas National Monument Abousleman – biographical information of people with this surname Afghanistan War – NM – See also Iraq War Abousleman – biographical information of people with this surname Abrams, Jonathan – art collector Abreu, Margaret Silva – author: Hispanic, folklore, foods Abruzzo, Ben – balloonist. See also Ballooning, Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta Acequias – ditches (canoas, ground wáter, surface wáter, puming, water rights (See also Land Grants; Rio Grande Valley; Water; and Santa Fe - Acequia Madre) Acequias – Albuquerque, map 2005-2006 – ditch system in city Acequias – Colorado (San Luis) Ackerman, Mae N. – Masonic leader Acoma Pueblo - Sky City. See also Indian gaming. See also Pueblos – General; and Onate, Juan de Acuff, Mark – newspaper editor – NM Independent and
    [Show full text]
  • MX), Washington, D.C
    ED 347 505 CS 010 978 TITLE From Tales of the Tongue to Tales of the Pen: An Organic Approach to Children's Literature. Resource Guide. NEM 1989 Summer Institute. INSTITUTION Southwest Texas State Univ., San Marcos. Dept. of English. SPONS AGENC: National Endowment for the Humanities (MX), Washington, D.C. PUB DATE 89 CONTRACT ES-21656-89 NOTE 233p. PUB TYPE Guides - Classroom Use - Teaching Guides (For Teacher)(052) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC10 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Childrens Literature; Elementary Education; *Fairy Tales; *Folk Culture; Institutes (Training Programs); Lesson Plans; *Literature Appreciation; Multicultural Education; *Mythology; Summer Programs; Teaching Methods IDENTIFIERS Folktales; Odyssey; Southwest Texas State University ABSTRACT Developed from the activities of a summer institute in Texas that focused on "The Odyssey," folk andfairy tale, and folk rhyme, this resource guide presents 50 lesson plansoffering a variety of approaches to teaching mythology andfolklore to elementary school students. The lesson plans presented inthe resource guide share a common foundation inarchetypes and universal themes that makes them adaptable to and useful invirtually any elementary school setting. The 13 lesson plans in the firstchapter deal with on "The Odyssey." The 25 lesson plans inthe second chapter deal with folk and fairy tale (stories are ofEuropean, American Indian, African, Mexican American, and Japanesederivation; two units are specifically female-oriented).The 12 lesson plans in the third chapter encompass folk rhymes (most are from MotherGoose). The fourth chapter presents a scope and sequencedesigned to give librarians a sequential guideline and appropriateactivities for introducing and teaching mytAology, folk and fairytales, and nursery rhymes. Each lesson plan typically includes:author of plan; intended grade level; time frame clays and length of individual sessions); general information about the unit; materialsneeded; and a list of activities.
    [Show full text]
  • Elements of a Reading Workshop to Increase Stamina, Fluency, & Joy
    Elements of a Reading Workshop to increase Stamina, Fluency, & Joy Time Students need time to read in class in order to create a habit of reading and set the stage for homework reading, and teachers need reading time to confer individually with students about their choices, stamina, engagement, and goals. Students need time to discuss choices with classmates, time to analyze their progress, and time to practice fluency & comprehension strategies under the direction of the teacher. Choice Students need to make choices in reading that reflect their interests because interest drives engagement. Teachers should encourage wide reading in all genres as well as students who pursue an author or genre study. Allow students to reread favorite books and to abandon a book that no longer interests them. Response Teacher conferences are the primary tool for assessing progress, encouraging goal- setting and reflection, and analyzing student needs. Students will reflect on reading in writing (themed notebooks & writers’ notebooks), facilitate discussions in small groups, join blogs or reading sites for discussions outside of class, and respond regularly to other readers in the room. Vision Daily book talks present a wide range of voices, styles of text, categories of interest, etc. and are essential for helping students develop their own ‘to read next’ lists. We must commit to helping students define themselves as readers who like… Expectations All readers will develop the stamina to read longer and with greater fluency with daily practice. A reading rate is calculated regularly and students are expected to meet a weekly goal based on the challenge of the current selected text.
    [Show full text]
  • Reading and the Boy Crisis : the Effect of Teacher Book Talks, Interactive
    The University of San Francisco USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center Doctoral Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects 2010 Reading and the boy crisis : the effect of teacher book talks, interactive read-alouds, and students' unrestricted choice of books for independent reading on fifth-grade boys' reading attitude, reading self-efficacy, and amount of reading and fifth-grade teachers' reading beliefs and practices Cheryl Wozniak Follow this and additional works at: https://repository.usfca.edu/diss Recommended Citation Wozniak, Cheryl, "Reading and the boy crisis : the effect of teacher book talks, interactive read-alouds, and students' unrestricted choice of books for independent reading on fifth-grade boys' reading attitude, reading self-efficacy, and amount of reading and fifth- grade teachers' reading beliefs and practices" (2010). Doctoral Dissertations. 391. https://repository.usfca.edu/diss/391 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, Capstones and Projects at USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of USF Scholarship: a digital repository @ Gleeson Library | Geschke Center. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The University of San Francisco READING AND THE BOY CRISIS: THE EFFECT OF TEACHER BOOK TALKS, INTERACTIVE READ-ALOUDS, AND STUDENTS’ UNRESTRICTED CHOICE OF BOOKS FOR INDEPENDENT READING ON FIFTH-GRADE BOYS’ READING ATTITUDE, READING SELF-EFFICACY, AND AMOUNT OF READING AND FIFTH-GRADE TEACHERS’ READING BELIEFS AND PRACTICES A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the School of Education Learning and Instruction Department In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education by Cheryl L.
    [Show full text]
  • Children's Literature Will Include Methods for Reading Literature to Children and Fostering Children's Language and Literacy Development
    MIDDLESEX COMMUNITY COLLEGE BEDFORD MASSACHUSETTS LOWELL Strategies for Success COURSE GUIDE Classics in Children’s Literature Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education Title III Grant, Strategies for Success: Increasing Achievement, Persistence, Retention & Engagement, 2008-2013. Title III Strengthening Institutions Project Strategies for Success: Increasing Achievement, Persistence, Retention and Engagement The Strategies for Success Title III initiative is a major, five‐year project (2009‐2013) funded by a two million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education. This initiative is intended to transform Middlesex Community College by improving the academic achievement, persistence, retention, and engagement of its students. The project focuses on reformed curricula and comprehensive advising. Reformed Curriculum involves the design of developmental and college Gateway courses and learning communities embedded with Core Student Success Skills related to critical thinking, communication, collaboration, organization, and self‐assessment. Overall, 45 courses will be impacted over the five years of the project. Comprehensive Advising involves the design of integrated advising services to include identification of academic and career goals, creation of realistic educational plans, and continuous tracking and intervention with an emphasis on the Core Student Success Skills. Comprehensive Advising Services will be specifically tailored to each program of study. Cross‐division curriculum and advising design teams composed of faculty and staff are designing, piloting, and assessing the curriculum and advising initiatives. The Title III grant provides resources to support faculty professional development related to designing and piloting new curriculum and advising students. The grant also supports the purchase of advising software programs and the hiring of a Pedagogical Instructional Designer, Learning Engagement Specialist, Advising Coordinator, and two academic advisors.
    [Show full text]
  • Minneapolis Public Library Annual Report of The
    MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENTS, COMMUNITY LIBRARIES, ATHENAEUM 2001 Volume I MINNEAPOLIS PUBLIC LIBRARY ANNUAL REPORT VOLUME! ADMINISTRATION CENTRAL LIBRARY SERVICES TECHNICAL SERVICES ATHENAEUM 2001 Director's Annual Report Director's Office ........................................................................................................ 1 Finance Office ......................................................................................................... 11 Public Affairs Office ............................................................................................... 15 Associate Director ........................................................................................................... 20 Buildings ................................................................................................................. 25 Human Resources Office ......................................................................................... 27 Chief of Central Library Services ................................................................................... 32 Art/Music/Video ...................................................................................................... 40 Business/Economics ................................................................................................ 44 Collections Maintenance ......................................................................................... 52 Humanities ..............................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • ENG 3405-001: Children's Literature Fern Kory Eastern Illinois University
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep Fall 2016 2016 Fall 8-15-2016 ENG 3405-001: Children's Literature Fern Kory Eastern Illinois University Follow this and additional works at: http://thekeep.eiu.edu/english_syllabi_fall2016 Recommended Citation Kory, Fern, "ENG 3405-001: Children's Literature" (2016). Fall 2016. 57. http://thekeep.eiu.edu/english_syllabi_fall2016/57 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the 2016 at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Fall 2016 by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Professor Fern Kory ENG 3405, Fall 2016 office: Coleman Hall 3365 Office Hours: M 1-2:30, T 12-1:30; W 9-10 (mailbox across the hall) & by appointment *e-mail: [email protected] phone: 581.6291 English 3405: Children's Literature MWF 12:00 - 12:50 Coleman Hall 3691 • TEXTBOOK Essentials of Children's Literature (ECL) 7th ed., Lynch-Brown & Tomlinson TRADE BOOKS Picture Books Sam's Cookie, Lindgren (illus. Eriksson) Last Stop on Market Street, de la Pena (illus. Robinson) The Lion and the Mouse, Pinkney This ls Not My Hat, Klassen Where the Wild Things Are, Sendak Knuffle Bunny,Willems Down, Down, Down, Jenkins Easy Readers We Are in a Book!, Willems Frog and Toad Together, Lobel Chapter Books Charlotte's Web, White (illus. Williams) Locomotion, Woodson El Deafo, Bell Ella Enchanted, Levine +self-selected books Course Overview The audience for "children's literature" is usually defined as birth to age twelve. Accordingly, we will start with books for the youngest readers (picture books) and end with novels.
    [Show full text]
  • Book Club Resource Guide
    Resource Guide 467 Using Book Club to Build a Love of Reading Table of Contents Read and Respond Form for Reading Wings ............ 1 Read, Reflect, Respond Form for the Reading Edge ........ 2 Independent Reading Response Form ............... 3 Blank Travel Brochure ........................ 4 Story Map ............................. 6 Book Club Shared Assessment ................... 7 Book Review Form ......................... 8 Magazine Review Form ....................... 9 Sample Forms from Beyond Book Reports ............. 10 • Interest Sheet ....................... 11 • Books I Really Want To Read! ............... 12 • Genre Toppings ...................... 13 • Character Comparison Sheet ............... 14 • Venn Diagram ...................... 15 • Story Sheet ........................ 16 • Remarkable Reviewer ................... 17 © 2014 Success for All Foundation 467 | Using Book Club to Build a Love of Reading | i Read and Respond Name: Date: Date: Listener: Listener: Title/Pages: Title/Pages: Reaction: Reaction: Vocabulary Vouchers • Listen for your vocabulary words. Name: • Write down the word and the sentence you read or heard it in. Word: • Put the voucher in the Vocabulary Vault in class. Sentence: • Successfully explain the word to earn team celebration points. • Write the word on your team score sheet. © 2011 Success for All Foundation 25119 HBP0311 © 2014 Success for All Foundation 467 | Using Book Club to Build a Love of Reading | 1 The Reading Edge: Levels 4–8+ Introductory Guide 29 Read, Refl ect, Respond Name _____________________________________________________
    [Show full text]
  • Using Multi-Level Young Adult Literature in the Middle School American Studies
    Using Multi-Level Young Adult Literature in the Middle School American Studies A modified version was published by the Social Studies Journal, Heldref Publications, January/February 2000 © 1999 by Andi Stix, Ed.D. and Marshall George, Ed.D. Talk to middle school teachers about the challenges of teaching today, and you are likely to be barraged with a long list of factors that make their jobs difficult. Class size, lack of materials, poor attendance-- the list of problems facing today’s teachers sometimes seems endless. We often hear middle school teachers from all subject areas complain that, “It is so difficult to motivate students today.” Another complaint, often made by teachers is, “My students read on so many different levels, it’s hard to reach the students with average, high and low reading abilities in a mainstreamed inclusive classroom.” Added to these comments, social studies teachers often suggest that, “students just aren’t interested in the social studies curriculum. They don’t see the relevance of my class.” It seems that these observations are somewhat interconnected. If teachers “teach to the middle” by using only grade level materials, students who read above grade level are not being challenged and will get frustrated. Students reading below grade level may find the material to be daunting, and are likely to be frustrated and unmotivated to learn. Likewise, many traditional social studies textbook series are simply not interesting nor motivating to students on any reading level (Beck & McKeown, 1991). Indeed, researchers have criticized social studies textbooks as being overwhelming or “encyclopedic” (Sewall, 1988; Tyson & Woodward, 1989).
    [Show full text]
  • ENG 619: YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE Course Description
    We Must Read and Write as if Our Lives Depended on It--Because They Do--Adrienne Rich, poet ENG 619: YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE English SUNY College at Cortland English Companion NING http://englishcompanion.ning.com/group Spring, 2011 - TH--4:20, G09 /yalitbookclub http:englishcompanion.ning.com/ Karen Stearns, Ph.D. group/adolescentliterature 114B Old Main, x 2072 (cell: 315-456-8654) Off. Hours: T/Th afternoon ENG 619 NING [email protected] http:yalitcrit.ning.com Formatted http://Taskstream.com (be sure you have an acct. at this address) Every society has its own regime of truth, its general politics of truth: that is the types of discourse which it accepts and makes function as true. -- Foucault in Power/Knowledge (1980) . critical literacy helps us to understand whose interests are served by the stories we are told and the stories we tell. -- Hilary Janks in Literacy and Power (2010) Course Description: Students in ENG 619 read widely and familiarize themselves with the growing body of literature/genres written for and marketed to adolescents including literature that focuses on diverse cultures. We will read and discuss books related to gender, difference, sexual and cultural identity, cultural diversity, race and class, dystopic visions, friendship, coming of age, voice and silence, technology, and a range of other social and psychological themes. Students will share responsibility for facilitating discussion of whole class texts and read independently as participants in and facilitators of book club and literature circles. In addition, the course will emphasize exposure to and understanding of a variety of critical/theoretical approaches to reading appropriate for secondary ELA classrooms.
    [Show full text]
  • African-American Folktales and Their Use in an Integrated Curriculum
    Curriculum Units by Fellows of the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute 1993 Volume II: Folktales African-American Folktales and their Use in an Integrated Curriculum Curriculum Unit 93.02.08 by Joyce Patton Folktales take us back to the very beginnings of people’s lives, to their hopes and their defeats. American black folktales originated with peoples, most of whom long ago were brought from Africa to this country against their will. These peoples were torn from their individual cultures as they left the past, their families and their languages and customs behind. The black peoples coming to America before the end of the Civil War entered as slaves, and they were forcibly suppressed by the white slave holders. They were not supposed to speak their own languages. The slave owners made them speak American English but forbade them to read or write. They were compelled to do hard labor and exhorted never to run away. Alone and helpless, the slaves lived under conditions as brutal as any group of people has ever endured. It is amazing that the former Africans could ever smile and laugh, let alone make up riddles, songs, jokes and tall tales. As slaves, they were forced to live without citizenship, without rights, as property—like horses and cows belonging to someone else. But no amount of hard labor and suffering could suppress their power of imagination. Out of the contacts the plantation slaves made in their new world, combined with memories and habits from the old world of Africa, came a body of folk expressions about the slaves and their experiences.
    [Show full text]
  • From Silencing Children's Literature to Attempting to Learn from It: Changing Views Towards Picturebooks in P4c Movement
    doi: 10.12957/childphilo.2020.45025 from silencing children's literature to attempting to learn from it: changing views towards picturebooks in p4c movement morteza khosronejad1 shiraz university centre for children's literature studies, iran orcid id: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1110-9434 soudabeh shokrollahzadeh2 shiraz university centre for children's literature studies, iran orcid id: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7093-9430 abstract This paper investigates critically the approaches to picturebooks as used in the history of philosophy for children (P4C) movement. Our concern with picturebooks rests mainly on Morteza Khosronejad's broader criticism that children's literature has been treated instrumentally by early founders of P4C, the consequence of which is abolishing the independent voice of this literature (2007). As such it demands that we scrutinize the position of children's literature in the history of this educational program, as well as other genres and forms, including picturebooks as a highly valued artistic-literary form to educationalists. In our inquiry, we probe, therefore, the transition of approaches to picturebooks concomitantly with the investigation of the transition of approaches to children's literature. This research evinces that some later scholars and practitioners of P4C have departed significantly not only from Lipman's approach to children's literature and picturebooks, but also from his conceptualization of childhood and philosophy for children. Meanwhile, it demonstrates that in spite of P4C scholars' taking effective steps to address children's literature in general and picturebooks in particular, there are some steps for them to take in order to fully recognize this literature as an independent branch of knowledge and picturebooks as artistic-literary unique works.
    [Show full text]