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This literary study presents an analysis of literary constructs of African American childhood in the 1930s in American children’s literature. The purpose for such a study is to determine, identify, and analyse the constructions of African American childhood offered in such books. The critical approach employed involves theories based in post structuralism and post colonialism. The literary constructions of African American childhood are influenced by the society in which they were produced; hence this thesis includes a contextualisation of the historical time period in relationship to the works discussed. Furthermore, this thesis considers constructions offered through illustration in equal terms with textual constructions. Representations of African American childhood are also presented through the use of dialect. The position adopted considers dialect as African American patois since such written dialect is pre-proscriptive African American Vernacular English rules. Analysis has been carried out of the ways in which language written in African American patois constructed African American childhood rather than focusing on the linguistic aspects of the written dialect. Finally, four key texts, all written after 1965 and set in the 1930s have been evaluated: Sounder (1970) by William Armstrong, Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry (1976) by Mildred Taylor, Tar Beach (1991) by Faith Ringgold, and Leon’s Story (1997) by Susan Roth. These contemporary writers offered a different view of the 1930s since they are ‘writing back’ into the previously assumed stereotypes. In conclusion, this thesis demonstrates that in the 1930s, positive progression was achieved, bridging ideologies concerning the African American community fostered in the Harlem Renaissance and the search for African American identity for children and adults. While negative stereotypes established before the 1930s were included in some publications, defiance of mainstream views, resistance to overt racism, and a complication of representation of African American childhood is present in American children’s literature in the 1930s.

The category of young adult (YA) fiction encompasses a wide range of genres; but despite this generic diversity, it has so far failed to represent the full range of communities that make up contemporary British society. Discussions are ongoing between professionals in the publishing industry and campaigning individuals and organisations who are aiming to redress this imbalance. Writers making new work are in a position to help effect a change, but acknowledging and responding to the call for inclusion can be far from straightforward, with questions being raised such as: ‘how far can a writer stray from their own lived experience?’ and ‘how can a writer avoid tokenism or cultural appropriation when writing for inclusion?’ This thesis consists of a new YA contemporary novel, Sea Change, and an accompanying critical essay, which reflects on the challenges I encountered while aiming to write for inclusion. Set in the Scottish Highlands, Sea Change is a contemporary YA crime novel, in which the world of the sixteen-year-old protagonist, Alex, is thrown into turmoil when he discovers a dead body next to his fishing boat. The decisions Alex makes following this discovery set in motion the plot of the story. The narrative, as it unfolds, facilitates the exploration of themes frequently associated with adolescence, such as friendship, risk-taking and the maturation into an adult identity, along with themes specifically linked to Alex’s status as a member of marginalised communities because of his sexuality and social class, such as prejudice, acute stress brought on by economic pressure, and low self-esteem. This thesis, then, reviews the opinions and recommendations being expressed by campaigners for greater diversity, and exposes the uncertainties and challenges a writer faces when aiming to write for inclusion.

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This thesis shows to what extent the study of Italian children's literature can benefit from an attentive analysis of the parallel corpus of translated works and of the interaction between the two. The first chapter argues that ignoring translated literature means we are telling only half of the story, since translations have had a strong impact not only on the development, but also on the formation of Italian literature for children. The second chapter disputes the assumed internationalism which suggests children's classics can cross linguistic and cultural boundaries 'naturally', employing research tools offered by Translation Studies: the mechanisms of transfer which can be observed when classics for children move from one culture into another reveal the many changes and adaptations that these books have undergone in order to be accepted in the target cultures, and also their transformation over time within their own source cultures. The third chapter explores links between translation, women's writing and children's literature by looking at the work of a limited number of significant Italian women translators of children's literature, whose contribution to Italian literature is still largely ignored. The historical period of Fascism provides a context for the observation of norms applying to literature for children in the fourth chapter. The idea that children would be much more ideologically pliable than adults led the regime to try to impose on children's books a set of norms conforming to its political aims. Following a broadly chronological line brings us, in the last chapter, to look at the way in which the penetration of innovative literary models and ideas through translation greatly influenced the development of indigenous children's literature in post-war Italy, as well as at the impact of globalisation from the 1980s onwards, both on Italian production and on imported children’s books, their distribution and reception.

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No description available.