This thesis argues that the human mind recognizes within the natural world a dimension of reality that is beyond its knowledge and understanding. Nature confronts it with an ineffable power the source of which is often sensed as a numinous presence. But the divine manifested by nature also assumes the qualities exhibited by nature, and this implies beauty as well as terror. Indeed, in the literature considered in this study duality can be seen to constitute a mark of the divine. To accept the dual forces of nature as a whole, both the beauty and the terror, light and dark, as a unity, one needs the vision of the Romantic Child. The Child of Romantic conception is able to accept the dynamics of the dual forces, because he has the ability to wonder; he has not been sundered from his natural environment like modern man. The realm of Romantic Childhood is seen as a timeless place where the Child experiences a profound communion with nature. Ever since the industrial revolution this place has become a repository of ideas, tradition and literature discarded by a technologically advancing civilization that scorns the link with the past and with nature, which is in the custody of the poet, the true hero, and the Romantic Child. For this reason, the ideas germane to this study are significantly represented in works of so-called 'children's literature'. The duality of the divine is explored within various contexts - as manifested in the natures of god and goddess figures, the cycles of life and death, the dual conceptions of the man-centred pastoral garden and the god-centred wilderness, or the mind of the cultural other. From a wide array of sources, dating from different periods of time and written by authors of divergent backgrounds and stances, a seemingly unified and coherent body of Romantic teaching emerges. These sources include works by P.L. Travers, c.s. Lewis, Walter de la Mare, Richard Adams and Jamake Highwater. The coherence of their teaching attests to the poetical validity of their timeless archetypal thoughts. / Dissertation (MA (English))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / Modern European Languages / unrestricted

This thesis investigates the construction of role models, more specifically literary didactics and constructions of subject positions, in literary works with exemplary stories in Swedish 1400–1750, from the perspective of literature for children and young adults. Childhood concepts, didactic concepts and subject positions presented to the reader are analyzed from the point of view of dominance and dissonance between different characters and messages. A number of themes have been chosen for a comparative study, for example: ideas about identification, the construction of subject positions and ideals for girls, the responsibility of adults, subversive tendencies, obedience or autonomy, the immoral role model as exemplary, conflicts between different childhood concepts, adults and children as role models. A central conclusion is that there is variation when it comes to the subject positions that are constructed for children and young adults, mainly through role models. There are examples of authoritative teachings that demands the subordination and obedience of the reader/recipient, as well as encouragement of questioning and even contra conventional subject positions. One conclusion is that premodern literature for the young does not just have an authoritative tone towards the reader, but the texts also negotiates with the reader. The messages are not just about obedience and religious fidelity, but also about learning, questioning and personal, moral responsibility. A critical perspective on adults is encouraged through critizism of adults and exemplary role models. Subject positions for girls also vary in the texts. Some texts convey conventional, passive gender roles while others present active subject positions, where chastity, wisdom and manliness are presented as ideal virtues for girls.

It is the purpose of this work to compile and organize available material dealing with children's magazines published in the nineteenth century in America, and present it in a usable form.

Orientadora: Eliane Aparecida Galvão Ribeiro Ferreira / Banca: Eliane Santana Dias Debus / Banca: Karin Adriane Henschel Pobbe Ramos / Resumo: Assegurar em ambiente escolar o respeito à diversidade étnico-racial por meio do trabalho com o texto literário dotado de valor estético, tornou-se o objetivo desta pesquisa que acredita no valor emancipatório da literatura para a formação do jovem leitor. Para isso, elegemos as obras do Programa Nacional Biblioteca da Escola, que se destina à formação de leitores do Ensino Fundamental II, cujas obras tratam da temática africana e afro-brasileira. Assim, a partir do levantamento dessas obras no acervo da instituição pesquisada, observamos que as histórias mapeadas eram, em sua maioria, contos e recontos provenientes da tradição oral. A partir desses dados, realizamos o trabalho de recepção com diferentes obras que apresentavam uma dialogia com a temática abordada na obra A tatuagem (2012), de Rogério Andrade Barbosa, incluída no acervo da instituição pesquisada. O trabalho de recepção foi realizado com alunos do 6o ano, do Ensino Fundamental II, de uma escola pública do município de Inúbia Paulista, situado no Estado de São Paulo. Pautamo-nos em pressupostos teóricos da teoria da Estética da Recepção, preconizados por Jauss (1994) e Iser (1996), e no Método Recepcional, de Bordini (1993) e Aguiar (1993) para o desenvolvimento da proposta. Com base nos dados obtidos, verificamos que a obra escolhida promoveu a ampliação do horizonte de expectativas dos alunos participantes, bem como promoveu um olhar mais equânime em ambiente escolar / Abstract: Ensuring in the school environment respect for ethnic-racial diversity by working with the literary text endowed with aesthetic value, became the objective of this research that believes in the emancipatory value of literature for the formation of the young reader. For this, we chose the works of the National Library of the School Program, which is intended for the training of readers of Elementary School II, whose works deal with African and Afro-Brazilian themes. Thus, from the survey of these works in the collection of the institution researched, we observed that the stories mapped were, for the most part, short stories and recounts from the oral tradition. Based on these data, we performed the reception work with different works that presented a dialogue with the theme addressed in Rogério Andrade Barbosa's The Tattoo (2012), included in the collection of the institution researched. The reception work was carried out with students of the 6th grade, Elementary School II, of a public school in the municipality of Inúbia Paulista, located in the State of São Paulo. We call for the theoretical assumptions of the Aesthetics of Reception, recommended by Jauss (1994) and Iser (1996), and in the Receptive Method, by Bordini (1993) and Aguiar (1993) for the development of the proposal. Based on the data obtained, we verified that the chosen work promoted the expansion of the expectations horizon of the participating students, as well as promoted a more equanimous look in the school environment / Mestre

No description available.

Children’s literature might be considered the “holy well” providing healing refreshment and a direct path forward for the soul of every child: a troubled youngster, a young person experiencing a life trial, or a student seeking enlightenment. Whether folklore depicting animals congregating at the water hole at their time of need, learning to share and care; or realistic fiction presenting varying “time of drought” scenarios, and the resolution or healing necessary thereto; or even non-fiction revealing humanity’s dependence on clean water, and the knowledge necessary to help budding scientists, one-day, protect water sheds, these literary genres sustain children during their formative years and beyond. Without these literary selections, children founder and do not appropriately climb developmental ladders, in fact regress into unhealthy social, emotional or intellectual states of mind. This paper contemplates three categories of children’s literature carrying the theme of spiritual development /healing and/or intellectual enlightenment: folklore, realistic fiction, and non-fiction. Books carrying themes, images, and symbols associated with the healing and life-sustaining qualities of water will especially be highlighted within these categories to reveal how each title selected for interpretation either: 1) quenches a child’s thirst for the internationalization of a life lesson or moral; 2) provides a means of resolving a problem or healing a wound; or 3) delivers knowledge necessary to the perpetuation of safe drinking water on our planet. Titles selected for examination based in this theory of sustainability, this allusion to the Irish concept of a “holy well,” will be analyzed with regard to their ability to assist children on spiritual and intellectual levels, in a lasting, long-term fashion, providing wisdom, healing, and learning for the well-being of past, present, and future generations.

No description available.

"This paper is a study of the group of books known as the 'Land of the Free' Series, published by the John C. Winston Company. There are twenty-one junior historical novels in this series, each one dealing with a different national group which has come to America to live and which has made some contribution to American culture. Stories in the series present the following nationalities or racial groups: Dutch, Irish, Greek, Negro, Basque, Viking, French, Italian, Swedish, Norwegian, Swiss, Scottish, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese, English, German, Welsh, Bohemian, and American Indian"--Introduction. / Typescript. / "August, 1958." / "Submitted to the Graduate Council of Florida State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science." / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 73-81).

Since the late 1990s there has been an increasing interest in the representation of Balkan culture in the literary works of authors writing in English. Scholars (Bakić-Hayden 1995, Todorova 1997, Goldsworthy 1998, Norris 1999, Hammond 2010) have shown how literary representations of the Balkans have reflected and reinforced its stereotypical construction as Europe’s “dark and untamed Other. However, the contribution of translated literature in the representation of these images has rarely been considered, and in particular that of children’s literature has been seriously neglected. Thus, this study of images of the Western Balkans in translated children’s literature published in the period of 1990 2013, adds a hitherto uncharted literary terrain to the Balkanist discourses and helps shed a new and more complete light on the literary representations of the Balkans, and the Western Balkans more precisely. Children’s literature has been selected for the scope of this study due to its potential to transform and change deeply rooted stereotypes. The study approaches translations as framing and representation sites that contest or promote stereotypes in the global literary market. English has been selected as a target language due to its global position as а mediating language for the promotion of international literature, and with that also carrying stereotypes and transmitting them efficiently. This study looks at the images embedded in the texts, both source and target, and their representation in translation, including the translator’s interventions, but even more at the level of paratexts, and especially in the use of illustrations. It also examines adaptations accompanying the presentation of the translated book into the target society, such as documentaries, music scores and theatre performances. The discussion also considers how a book is selected for translation, and how different production participants contribute in the whole process of translation, including their motivations and goals, as well as their location. Using the methodology of imagology (Leerssen, 2007), and multimodal visual analysis (Kress and van Leeuwen, 1996, 2006), five case studies are elaborated, covering books from five different countries in the Western Balkans (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia, and Montenegro) and from five different types within children’s literature (non-fiction, anthology, novel, picturebook, and an e-book). The five case studies confirm the complexity of the topic at hand. Although there are no firm patterns in the production of English translations of contemporary children’s literature from the Western Balkans we can point out several observations. While the translations of the text, in most cases, closely follow the source text, with only slight interventions by some of the translators, the translated books differ quite significantly in their paratexts, especially illustrations and adaptations accompanying the book for the target culture. In terms of the representation of violence, as one of the predominant stereotypical characteristics of the Western Balkans, images vary from direct representation of violence to full erasure of violent acts. The discussion on presenting violence is analysed from two distinct points of view, the two traits of auto- and hetero- images as identifies in the case studies. In cases of self-representation, the case studies show a network of production participants in which the source author can be seen as the driving force in the process, usually recruiting friends and supporters to perform other tasks in the process translators, illustrators, publishers, etc. The auto-images take the form of ‘nesting’ Balkanisms, balancing (non)violent masculinities, or centring on love and humaneness. On the other hand, networks led by translators/editors located in the target culture will more often be motivated by commercial factors, along with representation of the source culture, thus either emphasizing the preconceived stereotypes of dominant violence in the Western Balkans, or turning towards globalizing the images of violence.

Dissertasie ingehandig by die Faculty of Arts ter vervulling van die vereistes vir die graad Magister Artium in Afrikaans aan die Universiteit van Zululand, South Africa, 1999. / Hierdie studie behels ‘n ondersoek na jeugliteratuur, wat gesien word as verhale met eiesoortige kenmerke wat moet voldoen aan die sielkundige behoeftes van die tiener. Die doelwit is 'n ondersoek na die vernuwing van maatskaplike norme in Afrikaanse jeugliteratuur vanaf 1985 tot 1995. Hoewel maatskaplike norme ‘n sisteem vorm wat as gehee! deur die lede van die samelewing beheer moet word, kan die verhouding tussen verskillende rassegroepe uitgesonder word as die maatskaplike norm wat vir dekades ln groot bron van probleme in die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing was, en nog steeds nie volkome opgelos is nie. Daar word dan in hierdie studie gekyk na die uitbeelding van die verhouding tussen verskillende rassegroepe in Afrikaanse jeugliteratuur, en die hipotese wat getoets word, is dat die veranderde norme in die samelewing gereflekteer sal word in literatuur vir jongmense ten einde hulle te help om as volwaardige volwassenes op te tree. Daar word tot die gevolgtrekking gekom dat daar nie in enigeen van die verhale wat ontleed is, enige negatiewe rassistiese voorstellings van swart of ander karakters op grand van rasseverskille voorkom nie. Die Suid-Afrikaanse samelewing word uitgebeeld as ongemtegreerd en daar word ook erkenning gegee aan die feit dat daar grense en ongelykhede bestaan tussen mense op grand van politieke en sosiale faktore. Daar word egter ook aan die ander kant erkenning gegee aan die nadelige gevolge van hierdie politieke stelsel, en dit is vera! belangrik dat karakters uit verskillende rasse- en sosiale groepe as innerlik gelykwaardig uitgebeeld word. Daar word klem gele op die sielsgenootskap tussen mense en die feit dat ons almal op die psigiese vlak dieselfde probleme en behoeftes het, en dat mense, ongeag hulle velkleur, mekaar kan help in die groeiproses tot groter lewenskennis en selfinsig.