| Popis: |
This article concerns itself with the debate regarding the politics of children’s and young adult literature. It calls into question some general assumptions on this issue, in particular a pair of oppositions: the assumption, on the one hand, that literature that encourages children to question authority bears on the development of their critical thinking, and on the other, the assumption that literature that does not include any form of emancipatory thinking is connected to conformism. Further assumptions scrutinised in this article include the notion that children’s literature is obligated to provide positive role models, and the view that the critical potential of literature lies within a realistic depiction of events or in the reader’s creative appropriation. The critical approach adopted herein challenges both ad usum Delphini stances as well as their counterstances. The analysis will consider positions from all sides of the debate, which will subsequently be contrasted with selected findings from an earlier study, that investigated the Harry Potter Heptalogy and its reception from the point of view of critical theory. |
