CFP – Special Issue of Humanities: Children’s Narratives as Transnational Cultural Heritage

CALL FOR CONTRIBUTIONS TO A SPECIAL ISSUE OF HUMANITIES, an international, peer reviewed, open access journal (http://www.mdpi.com/journal/humanities)
Children’s Narratives as Transnational Cultural Heritage

Children’s narratives have often been thought to sum up national character: Nils Holgersson as an introduction into Swedish landscapes and cultures, Heidi as the epitome of “Swissness,” Hansje Brinker as a prototypical Dutch hero, etc. It is important to realize, however, that they became national icons in the eyes of non-Swedish, –Swiss and – Dutch audiences, through transnational reception, adaptation and remediation: Heidi, for example, exemplified the Swiss way of life in the eyes of a German audience. Familiarizing children with and involving them in these ongoing processes of creative transnational appropriation may help them to deconstruct national stereotypes. Positively put, it may help them to feel at home in “a wider circle of we” that allows for the coexistence of local, national and transnational identifications. Contemporary citizens may well identify simultaneously as, for instance, Bavarians, Germans, and Europeans. Heritage narratives for children may facilitate the development of such a poly-local, multidimensional sense of belonging in today’s globalizing world. Young and adult readers also actively contribute to these processes of adaptation and remediation as co-creators of heritage by, for example, participating in fan cultures, as a significant dimension of their emergent citizenship.

The aim of this special issue is to explore the viability of childhood heritage for citizenship education of 8-12-year-olds in a globalizing, multi-ethnic Europe. It seeks to address issues such as: 1) How are children’s (non-)fictional narratives constructed as local, regional, national and/or transnational heritage through dynamic processes of adaptation and remediation? 2) How can childhood heritage institutions such as museums, archives and international advocacy organizations facilitate transnational appropriations of aesthetic and educative artefacts? 3) How can children be actively engaged in the process of heritage construction as a significant dimension of their emergent citizenship?

Papers may address topics such as:

  • the trope of home in children’s narratives: stories beyond the “home-away-home” plot described by Perry Nodelman in The Pleasures of Children’s Literature
  • children’s texts in an imagological perspective
  • transnational fan practices related to children’s narratives
  • transnational memory in children’s literature
  • children’s narratives as materials for citizenship education
  • children and/or young adults as active participants in heritage construction
  • children’s literature as national and transnational heritage in institutional contexts (museums, heritage libraries, etc.)
  • international organizations advocating children’s narratives as media for fostering international understanding

Length of the article: 6000-7000 words

Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging into this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Humanities is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

The Article Processing Charges (APCs) of 350 CHF (Swiss Francs) per published paper are fully funded by institutions through the Knowledge Unlatched initiative, resulting in no direct charge to authors. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI’s English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • children’s narratives
  • childhood heritage
  • citizenship education
  • poly-local citizenship

Guest Editors

Prof. Dr. Lies Wesseling

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Centre for Gender and Diversity, Maastricht University Grote Gracht 80, 6211 SZ Maastricht, The Netherlands
Website | E-Mail
Interests: cultural construction of childhood in fiction and science; narrative models for forging kinship in global adoption; the selling, forgetting and remembering of child removal in the Dutch East Indies in the (post-)colonial Netherlands.

Dr. Justyna Deszcz-Tryhubczak

Institute of English Studies, Center for Young People’s Literature and Culture, University of Wrocław, ul. Kuźnicza 22,50-138 Wrocław, Poland
Website | E-Mail
Interests: contemporary children’s literature and culture; childhood studies; participatory research

Mr. Mateusz Marecki

Institute of English Studies, Center for Young People’s Literature and Culture, University of Wrocław, ul. Kuźnicza 22,50-138 Wrocław, Poland
Website | E-Mail
Interests: cognitive poetics; literary and musical emotions; contemporary children’s literature and culture; participatory research

2018 David Almond Fellowships for Research in Children’s Literature

Newcastle University’s School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics and Seven Stories, The National Centre for Children’s Books are pleased to announce that the application process for 2018 David Almond Fellowships is now open.

The awards recognise both David Almond’s contribution to children’s literature and his connections with these partner institutions: he is a patron of Seven Stories and an honorary graduate of Newcastle University.

The Fellowships aim to promote high-quality research in the Seven Stories collections that will call attention to their breadth and scholarly potential. The two awards of £300 each are to facilitate a research visit to the Seven Stories collections in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK of at least two days by a bona fide researcher working on a relevant project. Applications will be considered from candidates in any academic discipline. The successful applicants will have a clearly defined project that will benefit from having access to the Seven Stories collections (please see indicative information about the collections below). All applicants should consult the Seven Stories catalogue as part of preparing their applications: http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection/. A well-developed dissemination strategy will be an advantage. Priority will be given to the importance of the project and best use of the Seven Stories collections as judged by a senior member of the Children’s Literature Unit in the School of English Literature, Language and Linguistics at Newcastle University and a senior member of the Collections team at Seven Stories.

Some previous David Almond Fellows have gone on to take up fully-funded PhD studentships at Newcastle University, others have disseminated their research into the collection through book chapters, peer-reviewed journals and conference papers. One of our former Fellows said of her visit that it was “a wonderful opportunity to work in the archive of Seven Stories… it is undoubtedly an invaluable asset for researchers internationally, and something the city can be extremely proud of.”

Eligibility for the award
Applicants must hold a first degree or higher from a recognised institution of higher education.

Note: non-EEA applicants are reminded that to take up a Fellowship they must hold an appropriate visa. Neither Newcastle University nor Seven Stories can help with this process. Please see the UK visas website for more information: http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk/en/howtoapply

Responsibilities
Fellowships must be taken up before the end of December, 2018. Recipients are expected to spend at least two days in Newcastle and are encouraged to time their visits to enable them to participate in events organised jointly or separately by the Children’s Literature Unit and Seven Stories. (Please note: successful applicants must contact Seven Stories and agree a date for the visit prior to making travel arrangements; normally a minimum of two weeks’ notice is required before any research visit.) Acknowledgement of the Fellowships must accompany all dissemination activities arising from the research.

The Seven Stories Collection
Seven Stories is the only accredited museum specialising in children’s books in the UK. Its collections are a unique resource for original research, particularly insofar as they document aspects of the creation, publication and reception of books for children from the 1930s to the present day. The steadily growing archive contains material from over 250 authors, illustrators, editors, and others involved in the children’s publishing industry in Britain.

Researching the Seven Stories collection could enhance a number of research topics. Examples of research areas and relevant collections:

Makers of children’s literature: children’s book history 1750-2000
Children’s books have been under-represented in book history scholarship. Seven Stories’ holdings can be used to investigate the forces which have shaped the children’s book. Areas of interest include editing and publishing, education and bookselling, diversity and race and changing technologies. Key archival holdings include the David Fickling Collection, the Aidan and Nancy Chambers / Thimble Press Collection, and the Leila Berg Collection. The recently catalogued Noel Streatfeild Collection also provides fascinating insights into the life and times of a leading children’s author during the mid-twentieth century.

New adults: the growth of teenage literature
Seven Stories’ holdings represent the opportunity to investigate the development of teenage literature from a number of perspectives: holdings include detailed evidence of the process of composition from early draft to published text; evidence of socio-political contexts, and evidence of the publishing contexts. Key archival holdings include the Aidan and Nancy Chambers / Thimble Press Collection, the Diana Wynne Jones Collection, the Philip Pullman Collection, the Beverley Naidoo Collection, and the Geoffrey Trease Collection.

Inclusion and diversity
Seven Stories is particularly interested in supporting studies which explore themes of inclusion and diversity within our archives: race and heritage, disability, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, religion and culture. Projects in this research field might be cross-cutting, looking at a number of different archives within the Seven Stories Collection.

Children on stage: twentieth century children’s theatre
Seven Stories holds the complete archive of David Wood, one of the most prolific and influential playwrights for children in Britain. Projects based in this archive may approach the topic of children’s theatre from a number of perspectives, including theatre history and adaptation. Other relevant holdings include the Michael Morpurgo Collection and the recently acquired David Almond Collection.

More information can be found on the Collection pages of the Seven Stories website – http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection. Most of the artwork and manuscript collections are fully catalogued, and the catalogues can be searched online via the link provided on the website. A list of many of the authors and illustrators represented in the collection can be found at: http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/collection/authors-and-illustrators. (NB this is not a complete list of the collections).

Please see also the Seven Stories Collection Blog: http://www.sevenstories.org.uk/news/collections-blog, containing a variety articles describing or inspired by the Collection.

Application process
Applicants are asked to submit the following items by 1 June 2018:

  • an application form
  • a curriculum vitae
  • a brief proposal (of 1,000 words maximum)
  • one confidential letter of recommendation (sealed and signed; confidential letters may be included in your application packet or recommenders may send them directly)

Applications may be submitted by email or post.

Email: Kim.Reynolds@ncl.ac.uk
Post: David Almond Fellowships, 73 Houndean Rise, Lewes, East Sussex BN7 1EH, UK

Call for Chapter Proposals – Girls in Global Development: Theoretical Contestations, Empirical Demands

Call for Chapter Proposals
Girls in Global Development: Theoretical Contestations, Empirical Demands

Over the last several years scholars from the range of disciplines associated with girlhood studies have critiqued neocolonial assumptions embedded in international development agendas that exceptionalize poor, racialized adolescent girls in the Global South as ideal sites for intervention based on regimes of truth which authorize their potential to multiply investment, interrupt intergenerational poverty, and predict economic growth. Scholars have also critiqued how girls in the Global North are problematically positioned as “empowered” relative to girls in the South through affective appeals to (post)feminist (neo)liberal sensibilities that reinforce the status quo rather than disrupt geopolitical relations of power. By attending to the cultural production of girlhood(s), this interdisciplinary literature sheds important light on the ideological operations that enable the “girl-powering” of development. According to these arguments, all girls in a global system are variously targeted by a complex web of institutional actors including multinational corporations, bilaterial aid agencies, multilateral financial institutions, and transnational non-governmental organizations with uneven effects. Girls and their girlhoods in the context of global development as a transnational process are now the subjects of inquiry across a range of empirical sites, theoretical frameworks, and institutional domains, indicating the “coalescing” of “Girls in Development” as a distinctive body of discourses.

The editors of the proposed collection take as our starting point the need to map this theoretical and empirical terrain. We propose GID (Girls in Development) as an emergent knowledge paradigm and category of analysis for thinking about the production of girlhoods and girls’ lives transnationally that overlaps with and also diverges from the enduring, and contested, conventional paradigms for thinking about women, gender and global development: WID (Women in Development) and GAD (Gender and Development). A primary goal of the collection is to develop a critical genealogy of GID, map its theoretical and empirical scope, and address its possible futures.

This collection will consider the impact and implications of GID in a variety of geo-political locations. Taken together, contributions will define, refine, and frame what GID means presently and speculate about its future(s). We look to bring together disparate readings of GID as an analytic framework, while simultaneously investigating how GID informs development work and activism involving girls across global systems of power. We encourage inter/transdisciplinarity approaches and seek contributions that decenter the Global North while acknowledging the powerful role Western nations play in shaping global development paradigms, policies, practices, discourses. Finally, this collection will take a critical transnational feminist approach to GID. We see this collection as an opportunity to complicate normative assumptions about girls and girlhoods in global development discourses and practices beyond the increasingly hegemonic edict to “invest in girls” as “smart economics.”

Against this backdrop, the editors seek abstracts for chapters that examine and engage broad, interrelated, and mutually informing foci:

1. Conceptual analyses that historicize and theorize what we are calling GID (Girls in Development), particularly as this paradigm relates to WID and GAD (and WAD), and related concepts such as empowerment, agency, race, mainstreaming, and so on, including theorizations of GID futures.

2. Visual and textual analyses of “girlhood” as a constructed category produced within and through international development processes.

3. Empirical studies of girls’ lives and experiences as a part of global development processes (e.g. education, health, microfinance, post-conflict reconstruction and so on) in any geopolitical location.

Chapters should engage the multifaceted and complex experiences of girls in development and/or the production of girlhood(s) in these processes across a range of sites including digital or social media, film and television, marketing or consumption practices, fundraising and awareness raising campaigns as well as through funding mechanisms and development projects (e.g. workshops, trainings, school curricula, girls’ clubs, sports, etc.), development policies and practices at multiple (and interrelated) scales (local, national, transnational), across development sectors (e.g. education, health, micro-finance, political participation, etc.), and in any geopolitical location.

Possible topics for chapters include:

  • Historical research that attends to the legacies/reconstitution of colonialism in contemporary global development processes focused on girls and/or girlhoods.
  • Analyses of girlhood(s) in global development processes as constructed in film, television, and/or digital media.
  • Analyses of girlhood(s) as constructed in development policies, programs, etc. at any scale (local, national, transnational).
  • Examinations of adolescence as a gendered, racialized, and biosocial process in the context of global development policies and processes (e.g. constructions of “adolescence” in development discourse; examinations of how “adolescent” girls experience “adolescence”).
  • The intersections of specific social categories based on social location with girlhood(s) (e.g. class, caste, age, sexuality, dis/ability, ethnicity, linguistic community, nationality, indigeneity, religion, refugee or displaced person status, combatant, marital status, motherhood, migrant, etc.) in the context of global development processes.
  • Examinations of (in)visibilities produced by development discourses and processes (e.g. disabled girlhood; queer girlhood; transgirlhood; affluent/elite girlhood; pregnant schoolgirlhood; girl-motherhood).
  • Critical examinations of development discourses around girls’ rights, empowerment, leadership, agency, opportunity (e.g. Can these concepts be reclaimed for radical purposes?).
  • Critical examinations of the role of celebrity humanitarianism in girl-centered development agendas.
  • Critical examinations of girls’ activism and/or girl-driven social justice movements (e.g. “young feminism,” #youngfems) that focus on global development.
  • Analyses that attend to affect(s) in global development sites, processes, practices.
  • Elaborations of methodological innovations for researching girls, and girlhoods, in global development processes.

We welcome individual and co-authored abstracts and chapters from established and emerging scholars internationally, including graduate students and scholars outside traditional academic spaces.

Abstracts of 200-250 words (not including works cited) are due on April 30, 2018. We anticipate notifying selected contributions by May 15, 2018. Full length final chapter submissions of 6,000 – 8,000 words (including notes and references) are due on August 1, 2018.

Please submit chapter abstracts to the editors of the collection: Dr. Heather Switzer, Dr. Karishma Desai, and Dr. Emily Bent at girlsindevelopment2018@gmail.com with the subject line: Chapter Abstract.

This edited collection will be considered as part of a new blind peer-reviewed book series by Berghahn Press entitled, Transnational Girlhoods, edited by Claudia Mitchell (McGill University); Ann Smith (McGill University); Bodil Formark (Umea University); and Heather Switzer (Arizona State University).

Please find a link to this Call for Chapter Proposals here: https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/4d83803a-4636-453f-93b9-c565e94ee020

Lecturer in Fantasy and Children’s Literature at University of Glasgow

Lecturer in Fantasy and Children’s Literature
University of Glasgow – School of Critical Studies
Salary: £42,418 to £49,149
Hours: Full-Time
Contract Type: Permanent
Closes: 7 May 2018
Job Ref: 020893

Job Purpose

To undertake high-quality research and research supervision in Fantasy and Children’s Literature within English Literature in the School of Critical Studies in the College of Arts to teaching at undergraduate and postgraduate level in English Literature and to undertake administration as requested by the Head of School.

Standard Terms & Conditions

The salary will be on the Research and Teaching Grade, level 7/8, £34,520 – £38,833 / £42,418 – £49,149 per annum, depending on experience.

The successful applicant will be eligible to join the Universities’ Superannuation Scheme. Further information regarding the scheme is available from the Superannuation Officer, who is also prepared to advise on questions relating to the transfer of Superannuation benefits.

All research and related activities, including grants, donations, clinical trials, contract research, consultancy and commercialisation are required to be managed through the University’s relevant processes (e.g. contractual and financial), in accordance with the University Court’s policies. Relocation assistance will be provided where appropriate.

Apply here.

CFP – Storytelling and Trauma: An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference

Storytelling and Trauma: An Inclusive Interdisciplinary Conference
6 to 7 October 2018
Budapest, Hungary

Storytelling is inextricably linked to the history of human beings in a bewildering variety of oral and visual formats. Storytelling is a fundamental tool in recording personal, familial, communal and national narratives. But it can also be linked to a process of expressing and working through trauma, of breaking silence, of finding a voice for suffering and pain as witnessed in the growth of “communal digital storytelling” embodied, for example, in the rise of shared storytellings of trauma such as #MeToo and #TimesUp. The ability to tell other people about what has happened to you brings into focus the uses of storytelling as narrative therapy for traumatic experiences from childhood to adulthood as well as from the personal to the collective.

Storytelling and Trauma seeks to explore both Storytelling and Trauma with particular focus on the inter-relatedness of the two. Stories and images of trauma surround us all the time, to the point of almost desensitising us to the suffering of others and the empathy and compassion we should naturally feel. Storytelling and trauma forces us to face, confront and resolve the suffering and pain of others—a process that involves the acknowledging of the trauma/traumatic event, bearing witness and a working through the trauma and the disruption caused to and in their lives. Thus the response to Storytelling and Trauma engages all levels of human living and thinking, individually and collectively, locally and globally.

Bringing the two together implies an interdisciplinary engagement with a spectrum of disciplines, art forms, geographical and historical contexts as well as multi-lingual and multi-cultural perspectives. Our first global gathering aims to examine the dynamics of Storytelling and Trauma in all its permutations. We welcome and encourage interdisciplinary proposals from all disciplines, professions, NGOs, voluntary sector, artists, scholars, workers, professionals, musicians, to name a few. It is the aim of the conference meeting to provide an interdisciplinary nexus which binds all these layers of theories and practices together in a safe and respectful sharing space.

Unlike other conferences or gatherings, our Event proposes to step outside the traditional conference setting and offer opportunities for artists, photographers, practitioners, theorists, independent scholars, academics, performers, writers, and others to intermingle, providing platforms for interdisciplinary interactions that are fruitful and conducive to broadening horizons and sparking future projects, collaborations, and connections. We are excited to accept proposals for presentations, displays, exhibits, round tables, panels, interactive workshops and more. Below is an indicative but not exhaustive list of possible approaches, all of them residing at the point of connection between Storytelling and Trauma:

  • Oral / written / visual narratives of identity, belonging, im/migrations
  • Literary, artistic and filmic storytelling
  • Life writing genres (autobiography, memoirs, letters, ethnography, etc.)
  • Testimony as storytelling trauma: fiction vs. non-fiction, official history vs. reality
  • Truth and Reconciliation
  • Private and personal storytelling and trauma
  • Public, political, religious, activist storytelling and trauma
  • Social media: twitter, Facebook, Youtube
  • Trauma and memory
  • Writing trauma: healing and transformation
  • Healing: survival and resilience; forgiveness and reconciliation
  • Therapy
  • Abuse, bullying; the workplace
  • Dis/abilities
  • Sex and sexuality; rape, sex crimes, gender crimes
  • Empathy, allyship, solidarity, activism
  • Popular culture and media
  • Social justice and human rights: war, civil war, conflict
  • Violence, torture, and atrocity
  • Pedagogy, education, and social awareness
  • Digital spaces
  • Comics, graphic novels, animation
  • Young adult literature; children stories
  • Power, resistance, rebellion, revolution
  • Shame, taboo, and suffering
  • Wounding, loss, death, grief and mourning
  • Spectral spaces, haunted geographies, memorialization
  • Fake news

If you don’t see something here that you think belongs, please tell us! We are happy to entertain other ideas that examine the rich, generative and exciting space that these fields create.

What’s so Special About Progressive Connexions Events?
A fresh, friendly, dynamic, format – at Progressive Connexions we are dedicated to breaking away from the stuffy, old-fashion conference formats, where endless presentations are read aloud off Powerpoints. We work to bring you an interactive format, where exchange of experience and information is alternated with captivating workshops, engaging debates and roundtables, time set aside for getting to know each other and for discussing common future projects and initiatives, all in a warm, relaxed, egalitarian atmosphere.

A chance to network with international professionals – the beauty of our interdisciplinary events is that they bring together professionals from all over the world and from various fields of activity, all joined together by a shared passion. Not only will the exchange of experience, knowledge and stories be extremely valuable in itself, but we seek to create lasting, ever-growing communities around our projects, which will become a valuable resource for those belonging to them.

A chance to be part of constructing change – There is only one thing we love as much as promoting knowledge: promoting real, lasting social change by encouraging our participants to take collective action, under whichever form is most suited to their needs and expertise (policy proposals, measuring instruments, research projects, educational materials, etc.) We will support all such actions in the aftermath of the event as well, providing a platform for further discussions, advice from the experts on our Project Advisory Team and various other tools and intellectual resources, as needed.

An opportunity to discuss things that matter to you – Our events are not only about discussing how things work in the respective field, but also about how people work in that field – what are the struggles, problems and solutions professionals have found in their line of work, what are the areas where better communication among specialists is needed and how the interdisciplinary approach can help bridge those gaps and help provide answers to questions from specific areas of activity.

An unforgettable experience – When participating in a Progressive Connexions event, there is a good chance you will make some long-time friends. Our group sizes are intimate, our venues are comfortable and relaxing and our event locations are history-laden and suited to the event.

What to Send
The aim of this interdisciplinary conference and collaborative networking event is to bring together academics, professionals, practitioners, NGO’s, voluntary sector workers, in the context of a variety of formats: papers, seminars, workshops, panels, q&a’s, etc.

300 word reviews of your proposed contribution (paper abstracts, proposals for workshops, collaborative works or round tables, overviews of artistic projects or any other relevant forms of participation you are interested in) should be submitted by Friday, 11 May 2018.

All submissions will be minimally double reviewed, under anonymous (blind) conditions, by a global panel drawn from members of the Project Advisory Team and the Advisory Board. In practice our procedures usually entail that by the time a proposal is accepted, it will have been triple and quadruple reviewed.

You will be notified of the panel’s decision by Friday, 25 May 2018.

If your submission is accepted for the conference, a full draft of your contribution should be submitted by Friday, 7 September 2018.

Abstracts and proposals may be in Word, PDF, RTF or Notepad formats with the following information and in this order: a) author(s), b) affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme, c) email address, d) title of proposal, e) body of proposal, f) up to 10 keywords.

E-mails should be entitled: Storytelling and Trauma Submission

Where to Send
Abstracts should be submitted simultaneously to the Organising Chair and the Project Administrator:

Organising Chair: Cristina Santos: cristina@progressiveconnexions.net

Project Administrator: budapeststory@progressiveconnexions.net

Ethos
Progressive Connexions believes it is a mark of personal courtesy and professional respect to your colleagues that all delegates should attend for the full duration of the meeting. If you are unable to make this commitment, please do not submit an abstract or proposal for presentation.

Please note: Progressive Connexions is a not-for-profit network and we are not in a position to be able to assist with conference travel or subsistence, nor can we offer discounts off published rates and fees.

Enquiries: budapeststory@progressiveconnexions.net

For further details and information please visit the conference website: http://www.progressiveconnexions.net/interdisciplinary-projects/health-and-illness/storytelling-and-trauma/conference/