English Studies / M.A. (English)

Cette étude dresse le portrait des collections de littérature jeunesse à contenu LGBTQ dans les bibliothèques publiques québécoises afin de déterminer si la population est bien servie à cet égard, peu importe le lieu et la taille de la collectivité. Pour ce faire, nous avons adopté une approche qualitative et utilisé la méthode de l’évaluation par liste. Ainsi, les collections de 41 bibliothèques publiques municipales ont été examinées au moyen d’une liste de vérification de 38 titres de littérature jeunesse à contenu LGBTQ publiés de 2003 à 2018. Les données recueillies ont fait l’objet d’une analyse statistique surtout descriptive. À l’instar d’études antérieures sur les collections des bibliothèques canadiennes et américaines, la présente recherche a montré que le niveau de présence de la littérature jeunesse à contenu LGBTQ varie considérablement selon les bibliothèques et que la taille des populations, l’importance des collections et le budget consacré aux livres ne suffisent pas à expliquer toutes les fluctuations. L’analyse des données a aussi permis de révéler que les romans à contenu LGBTQ destinés aux ados étaient beaucoup plus susceptibles de figurer dans les collections que les albums et les premiers romans destinés aux enfants. De plus, l’analyse a montré que le thème de l’homosexualité masculine était largement représenté dans les collections, tandis que celui de l’homoparentalité était considérablement sous-représenté. Pourtant, selon les données recueillies, les albums pour enfants sur le thème de l’homoparentalité sont justement le type de matériel qui était le plus emprunté dans les bibliothèques au moment de l’étude. Cette étude exploratoire ne permet pas de conclure avec certitude que les collections de littérature jeunesse à contenu LGBTQ dans les bibliothèques québécoises sont suffisantes et appropriées. Toutefois, la comparaison des résultats obtenus avec ceux d’autres recherches suggère que, dans l’ensemble, les bibliothèques québécoises font plutôt bien à cet égard. / The purpose of this study is to examine the stocks of young adult and children’s literature collections with LGBTQ content made available in Québec public libraries to determine whether the population is sufficiently provided for, regardless of the location and size of the city or town where they live. To carry out this research project, we used the checklist evaluation method. Collections from a sample of 41 municipal public libraries were thus examined, using a checklist of 38 young adult and children’s literature titles with LGBTQ content, published from 2003 to 2018. The collected data was subjected to statistical analysis. As with previous studies of Canadian and American public library collections, this research has shown that the level of presence of young adult and children’s literature with LGBTQ content varies considerably in all libraries, and that the size of populations, the size of collections and the budgets for printed books can’t explain all the fluctuations. Data analysis also revealed that novels with LGBTQ content for teenagers were much more likely to be held in collections than early readers’ novels and children’s picture books. The results have also shown that male homosexuality as a theme is well represented in the collections, while same sex parenthood is significantly underrepresented. However, according to the data, the picture books for children on the topic of same-sex parenthood are exactly the type of material which was the most borrowed in the sampled libraries at the time of the study. This exploratory study alone does not entirely support the conclusion that collections of young adult and children’s literature with LGBTQ content in Québec public libraries are sufficient and appropriate. However, comparing results from this research to those from other researches suggests that, overall, Quebec libraries seem to be doing well in this regard.

In this paper, I study the silence in Bart Moeyaert’s two novels Kärleken vi inte förstår (eng. It’s Love We Don’t Understand, 1999) and Alla är ledsna nuförtiden (eng. Everyone’s Sorry Nowadays, 2018) with the help of Maria Nikolajeva’s theories of narrative perspective. I examine the narrative perspective in relation to the other characters’ appearances – focusing on the narrator’s priorities and voice – as well as how the silence is portrayed. Furthermore, by using a method of close-to-text reading I seek answers to the following questions: how is silence portrayed in Kärleken vi inte förstår and Alla är ledsna nuförtiden? What is the role of silence in the previous novels? The last question refers to in what way Moeyaert uses the silence in his novels. Finally, I concluded that the silence in Kärleken vi inte förstår is ambiguous. On the one hand, it is used by the characters as a tool of communication, and on the other hand, it works as a storytelling technique to withhold information from the reader as well as amplify the atmosphere or mood. Moreover, the silence in Alla är ledsna nuförtiden rather has the function of a theme or a motif as it forces the story to move forward. / I denna uppsats studerar jag tystnaden i Bart Moeyaerts romaner Kärleken vi inte förstår (1999) och Alla är ledsna nuförtiden (2018) med hjälp av Maria Nikolajevas teorier om berättarperspektiv. Jag utforskar berättarperspektivet i relation till hur de andra karaktärerna framträder – med fokus på berättarens prioriteringar och röst – liksom hur tystnaden gestaltas. Vidare söker jag svar på följande frågor genom att göra textnära läsningar av ovan nämnda verk: hur gestaltas tystnad i Kärleken vi inte förstår och Alla är ledsna nuförtiden? Vilken funktion har tystnaden i de ovanstående verken? Slutligen kom jag fram till att tystnadens funktion i Kärleken vi inte förstår är dubbel; å ena sidan används den av karaktärerna som ett verktyg för att kommunicera, å andra sidan som ett sätt att, av Moeyaert, undanhålla information från läsaren samt förstärka stämningar. Fortsättningsvis fungerar tystnaden i Alla är ledsna nuförtiden snarare som ett tema eller ett motiv då den tvingar historien framåt.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Humanities, Department of English, 2007. / Bibliography: p. 239-289. / Introduction -- Fantastic metamorphosis as childhood 'otherness' -- The metamorphic growth of wings : deviant development and adolescent hybridity -- Tenors of maturation: developing powers and changing identities -- Changing representations of werewolves: ideologies of racial and ethnic otherness -- The desire for transcendence: jouissance in selkie narratives -- Conclusion -- Bibliography -- Appendix: "The great Silkie of Sule Skerry": three versions. / My central thesis is that fantastic motifs work on a metaphorical level to encapsulate and express ideologies that have frequently been naturalised as 'truths'. I develop a theory of motif metaphors in order to examine the ideologies generated by the fantastic motif of metamorphosis in a range of contemporary children's and young adult fantasy texts. Although fantastic metamorphosis is an exceptionally prevalent and powerful motif in children's and young adult fantasy literature, symbolising important ideas about change and otherness in relation to childhood, adolescence, and maturation, and conveying important ideologies about the world in which we live, it has been little analysed in children's literature criticism. The detailed analyses of particular metamorphosis motif metaphors in this study expand and refine our academic understanding of the metamorphosis figure and consequently provide insight into the underlying principles and particular forms of a variety of significant ideologies. / By examining several principal metamorphosis motif metaphors I investigate how a number of specific cultural beliefs are constructed and represented in contemporary children's and young adult fantasy literature. I particularly focus upon metamorphosis as a metaphor for childhood otherness; adolescent hybridity and deviant development; maturation as a process of self-change and physical empowerment; racial and ethnic difference and otherness; and desire and jouissance. I apply a range of pertinent cultural theories to explore these motif metaphors fully, drawing on the interpretive frameworks most appropriate to the concepts under consideration. I thus employ general psychoanalytic theories of embodiment, development, language, subjectivity, projection, and abjection; poststructuralist, social constructionist, and sociological theories; and wide-ranging literary theories, philosophical theories, gender and feminist theories, race and ethnicity theories, developmental theories, and theories of fantasy and animality. The use of such theories allows for incisive explorations of the explicit and implicit ideologies metaphorically conveyed by the motif of metamorphosis in different fantasy texts. / In this study, I present a number of specific analyses that enhance our knowledge of the motif of fantastic metamorphosis and of significant cultural ideologies. In doing so, I provide a model for a new and precise approach to the analysis of fantasy literature. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / [12], 294 p