Estado de la cuestión sobre la perspectiva poscolonial: Subversión de conceptos en literatura infantil y juvenil actual

Authors

  • María Luisa Alonso Soroa Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

Abstract

This article is based on the analysis of recent emblematic works on postcolonial theory as well as existing critical works about its application in the field of children’s literature. It aims to draw attention to two facts. Firstly, it underscores the need to apply postcolonial theory to children’s literature in order to reevaluate a distorted understanding of multiculturalism. Secondly, it leads us to recognize how useful this approach is when analyzing the construction of world-views in contemporary children’s literature in Western societies. This paper begins with an explanation of critical postcolonial theory and analyzes its relation to immigration trends, as well as to the notion of cultural hybridity, to explain why this approach should be extended to contemporary children’s literature. It then concludes with a children’s poem to illustrate how its author breaks away from traditional imperialistic discourse (between colonizer and colonized) and introduces a non-stereotypical image of childhood.

Keywords

Postcolonialism, children’s literature, multiculturalism

References

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Author Biography

María Luisa Alonso Soroa, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona

María Luisa Alonso es licenciada en Ciencias Políticas y Master en didáctica de la lengua y literatura y en libros infantiles y juveniles. Reside en Luxemburgo donde trabaja para una biblioteca infantil intercultural coordinando sus actividades, animando talleres de lectura para niños y promocionando la literatura infantil y juvenil en este país. En la actualidad está preparando una investigación doctoral dirigida a analizar comparativamente textos contemporáneos para jóvenes lectores escritos por grupos poscoloniales residentes en Europa.

Published

2012-02-28

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