Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature

• The concept of silence and silencing evokes questions of self in relation to others, of language and of communication, even of what it is that makes us human. It contains numerous interpretative possibilities, all highly relevant for the study of children’s literature. Aiming the searchlight at silence and silencing points at the multiple ways in which children’s literature functions, and how complex and varied – and sometimes paradoxical – children’s literature is as a field. The relationship between children’s literature and silence suggests an intriguing tension between voicing and silencing, between speech and the unspoken. While children’s literature tends to be considered a liberating and empowering force in children’s lives, it can also be seen as implicated in a widespread and deeply rooted discourse of silence and silencing, which draws on the idea that children should be seen but not heard. The theme also draws attention to how children’s literature can both challenge and reinforce notions of which subjects are tabooed or censored, which further points to the necessity of examining the silences and lacunae within children’s literature.This volume springs out of a global congress, IRSCL Congress 2019: Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature, organized by the editors of this volume in Stockholm, Sweden. The volume includes the five keynotes of the congress as well as a selection of studies sprung from congress presentations. It is divided into five sections: Multiple Facets of Silence and Silencing, Narrating Silence, Addressing Aetonormative Silences, Structural and Societal Silences and Silencing, and Trauma and Traumatic Silences. The book is edited by Elina Druker, Professor at Stockholm University, Sweden; Björn Sundmark, Professor at Malmö University, Sweden; Åsa Warnqvist, Docent and Research Manager at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books, Sweden, and Mia Österlund, Associate Professor at Åbo Akademi University, Finland.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturvetenskap (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- General Literary Studies (hsv//eng)

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Litteraturstudier (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Specific Literatures (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Children's literature and young adult fiction

Children's literature research

Silence

Silencing

litteraturvetenskap

Literature

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

sam (subject category)