“The Child in the Book” international conference on children’s literature, Soochow University, Taipei, Taiwan, November 16th-17th 2012. By focusing the theme for this conference, we wish to interrogate the ways in which children and childhood are constructed in texts for young people from a variety of cultures and perspectives. What ideas lay behind the representation of children in literary texts? What assumptions are made about potential readers? If childhood is a shifting idea that is ideologically constructed, then how do these ideas shift between texts written by or for people in different national contexts? Do the historical ideas of childhood that have played such an extensive role in North American and European societies translate to other societies and cultures? While issues of childhood representations in all settings are welcome, of special concern is the representation of cultures and diversity in Asian contexts as well as with Asians in non-Asian settings. Please email abstracts with fewer than 500 words and three to five keywords with brief resume to TCLRA Conference Committee (tclra101@gmail.com) Deadline for abstracts is March 1, 2012. Notification of acceptance by March 30. For further information, please go to www.scu.edu.tw/english/
The Family in Children’s Literature The focal topic of the summer 2012 issue of the journal interjuli will be “Children’s Literature and the Family.“ Possible aspects thereof are changes in the image of the family as consequences of changed ideas of childhood; educational impetus of children’s literature dealing with the subject of family; family as blood ties or elective affinities; absent parents and competent children; images of the family and ideology; religious children’s literature and the family; teenage parenthood in children’s literature; images of the family on an international level. See the journal website www.interjuli.de for manuscript submission guidelines with the deadline of 28th February 2012. Guidelines concerning formatting and editing standards will be sent out upon request. interjuli is an interdisciplinary journal dedicated to the research into literature for children and young adults.
Exploring Issues of Social Justice Through Children’s Literature The Journal of Children’s Literature invites articles for a special issue considering what are the best books to grow cultural and global awareness and sustain the critical ability of considering various points of view? How can we use books with multicultural and international themes to assist our students in coming to deep understandings of peace and social justice? Contributors are invited to share the lessons that grew such critical comprehension and understanding in their classrooms. Essays should not exceed twenty double-spaced, typed pages (including references). Use APA (6th edition) format and include an abstract of approximately 50-150 words at the beginning of the manuscript. Email manuscripts to the co-editors, Miriam Martinez, Jonda McNair, and Sharon O’Neal, at jcl@clemson.edu by 1st February 2012.
Celebrating Childhood Diversity To celebrate the 10th year of the establishment of the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth at Sheffield University, (CSCY), this conference, from 9th to 11th July 2012, addresses the theme of diversity in the lives of children and young people. Topics could include children’s and young people’s diverse social and cultural worlds; understanding identity and difference; structures and institutions as indices of childhood diversity; time, space and place; methodological innovations in childhood research; theorising similarity and difference. Email 200-word abstracts to the conference administrator, Dawn Lessels, by 31st January 2012: d.j.lessels@sheffield.ac.uk.
Towards Common Ground: Philosophical Approaches to Children’s Literature The Child and the Book conference, from 30th March to 1st April 2012 at Cambridge University, aims to examine the foundations of children’s literature criticism. Topics could include metacritical approaches to the discipline; generational transmission and educational ideals; constructions of childhood and adulthood; the big questions: love, life and death, time and space; knowledge, reason and imagination; ethics and morality; aesthetics; identity, the self, and subjectivity; nature and culture; changing notions of humanity. Papers will be made available online to all participants for the month preceding the conference in order to facilitate more fruitful questions and discussion. Email 300-500-word abstracts and brief biographies by 3rd January 2012 to Erin Spring: ees34@cam.ac.uk.
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“Is féidir linn! [Yes we can!]: Politics and Ideology in Children’s Literature” Biennial conference of the ISSCL, Dublin City University, 25th – 26th February 2012. Deadline for proposals:18th November 2011. Download our call for papers here. Contact: aine.mcgillicuddy@dcu.ie
“Forbairt Litríocht agus Chultúr na nÓg: An Dara Comhdháil Idirnáisiúnta” Coláiste Phádraig, Droim Conrach, 23-24 Márta 2012. Gairm ar pháipéir a íoslódáil anseo. Seol teideal an pháipéir agus achoimre (250 focal) chuig litriochtnanog@gmail.com roimh an 19 Nollaig, 2011. Tuilleadh eolais: http://litriochtnanog.blogspot.com
New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship Articles are invited for the next edition of the New Review of Children’s Literature and Librarianship. This is an international journal designed to explore the range of issues of current concern to those working in the field of children’s literature and librarianship around the world, including critical assessments of children’s and adolescent literature, the management of library services to children and adolescents, education issues affecting library services, Information Technology, collection development and management, research in literature and library services for children and adolescents. Further details of the journal and instructions for authors can be found at http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals/titles/13614541.asp The deadline for full-length papers is Friday 2nd December 2011, to be emailed to Sally Maynard at: s.e.maynard@lboro.ac.uk
“Revisitar o Mito / Recycling Myths”, Faculty of Letters, University of Lisbon, 2nd – 4th May 2012. View the call for papers here. Deadline for proposals (individual papers and thematic panels) 20th November 2011.
“Family Ties: Recollection and Representation” Institute of Germanic and Romance Studies, London, 8-9 March 2012. Deadline for proposals: 4 October 2011 http://igrs.sas.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/events/conference/Family_Ties_Conference_CFP.pdf
“Magic is Might 2012: An International Academic Conference Exploring the Cultural Influence of the Harry Potter Books and Films” Hosted by the University of Limerick Department of Sociology in collaboration with the UL Interaction Design Centre, Dept. of Computer Science and Information Systems. Limerick, 23-24 July 2012. Deadline for abstracts: 1 October 2011http://magicismight2012.blogspot.com/p/call-for-papers.html
Call for papers for IBBY Conference, London, 23-26 August 2012 “Crossing Boundaries: Translations and Migrations” Deadline for proposals: 30 June 2011. http://www.ibby.org/index.php?id=1182
“Multistoried” Children’s Book Council of Australia biennial National Conference, Adelaide, 17-19 May 2012. Expressions of interest invited here. See also http://cbca.org.au/
American Periodicals is currently seeking submissions for a special issue on children and periodicals, guest-edited by Courtney Weikle-Mills. The journal is devoted exclusively to scholarship and criticism relating to American magazines and newspapers of all periods. It includes essays on all aspects of American periodicals, from the earliest 18th-century magazines to the 21st-century ‘zines and e-journals. Writers for the special edition might address: periodicals and/or periodical pieces aimed at children; representations of children or childhood in periodical literature; serialized children’s works; child-authored or edited periodicals (including amateur works); child contributors and/or correspondents; child readers of periodicals; visual images of children in periodicals; the editorial policy, financing, production, illustration, circulation, and/or design of children’s periodicals; the role that periodicals might play in excavating or understanding children’s culture; the circulation of ideas and assumptions about children and childhood through periodicals.
Professor Weikle-Mills would be delighted to speak to scholars about the possible fit of their work with the special issue. She can be reached at cweikle@yahoo.com. Completed essays will be due August 31, 2011 to the same address. All submissions should conform to the style of American Periodicals (see http://americanperiodicals.osu.edu/submissions.htm) and will undergo peer review in keeping with the procedures of the journal. The issue will appear in the fall of 2012.
Interdisciplinary Methodology: The Case of Comics Studies
Papers are invited for this conference which will take place on Friday 14 – Saturday 15 October 2011 at the University of Bern. The purpose of this event is to reduce the stark discrepancy between the popularity of Comics Studies on the one hand and the virtual lack of encompassing methodological reflection on the other. Papers should stimulate reflection on the methodological issues Comics Studies and Intermediality Studies raise, as well as on possibilities to tackle these issues. If you would like to present a paper or have questions, please contact hoppeler@ens.unibe.ch or etter@iash.unibe.ch.
