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https://theconversation.com/this-course-examines-the-dark-realities-behind-your-favorite-childrens-stories-210329>
"We examine books from different periods in time. The texts range from the
bawdy Latin plays written for medieval schoolboys to contemporary works like
Jacqueline Woodson’s “Brown Girl Dreaming,” an autobiography written as a
series of poems for young readers.
The course also explores how cultural biases shape people’s assumptions about
what books are appropriate for children. We examine the ways race, gender,
sexuality, class, ethnicity and age show up in children’s stories. We also
explore shifts in capitalism, parenting, sexuality and mental illness that are
reflected in texts such as “The Little Prince” and “Peter Pan.”
I ask students to define childhood, what it looks like and what its purpose is.
Students’ answers tend to reflect current cultural norms, describing childhood
as a time of innocence in which we learn, play and make mistakes, under the
protective gaze of caring adults. But as we read the course texts, it becomes
clear just how varied childhood is and has been. Time has changed what people
expect childhood to look like. For instance, a 17th-century version of
“Sleeping Beauty” has a king impregnating a sleeping young lady. In a
19th-century version, however, there’s no king but a prince, and no sex but a
kiss."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
