Asian Voices in the World: Asian Children’s Literature and Research
English children’s literature is often naturally world children’s literature---these texts more easily penetrate national and cultural borders than non-English works. Hence, they are more widely received, circulated and studied. It is a commonplace that English children's literature prominently occupies the children’s book market and academic journals, in English countries as well as non-English countries. However, this phenomenon does not imply nor negate the fact that in non-English countries, such as Asian countries, national children’s literature still survives and prospers both in the book market and in academia, even when most of these books remain largely unknown to English-speaking audiences.
This special issue of International Research in Children’s Literature invites scholars from around the world to contribute to the study both of Asian children’s literature and of children’s literature research in Asian countries. We welcome scholars from Asian countries to showcase their research on Asian children’s literature, andalso international scholars as well, especially those who approach the topic from a comparative perspective (such as Asian children’s literature in English-speaking countries). Possible areas of investigation may include, but are not limited to, the following:
l Children’s literature in or across Asian countries, especially those works that have won international awards; including all genres
l Asian children’s literature beyond Asia, either in translation or as cultural products, and their reception and/or criticism;
l Comparative literature studies that explore the differences between Asian and western children’s literature in terms of their cultural, intellectual, aesthetic and literary traditions;
l Differencesin children’s literature research between Asian and the west in academia, especially from a comparative perspective that tries to explain their different paradigms, resources, distribution, and evaluation;
l English children’s literature in Asian countries, including translation, reception, criticism and adaptation, and in all media, including printed books, films, apps,and games;
l Differences in the cultural atmosphere of the production of children’s literature between Asia and the west, including construction of childhood, education, etc.;
l Asian children’s literature, the print culture and the economics of book awards;
l Asian children’s literature and post-colonialism (or other appropriate theoretical approaches);
Guest editor: Professor Haifeng Hui (Huazhong University of Science and Technology, China)
Please send your abstract to the guest editor (huihf@hust.edu.cn) and the journal editor, Roxanne Harde (rharde@ualberta.ca) by 1 March 2020. Email subject: “IRCL Special Issue Asian Voices in the World.” The submission should include an abstract of no more than 300 words, a brief bio (c. 100 words) and 3-5 key words. We will send notifications of abstract acceptance by 1 April 2020.
Abstracts due: 1 March 2020;
Decision on abstract acceptance: 1 April 2020;
Completed papers: 1 December 2020;
Peer review and revisions: December 2020 to August 2021;
Publication: February 2022.
