Michaelmas Term 2008 Schedule

Welcome back to another exciting term of talks and discussions with the University of Oxford Children's Literature and Youth Culture Colloquium. We meet every second week on Thursdays at 5:00 PM in Room 11 of the English Faculty Building. All are welcome!



WEEK 2 (October 23rd):
De-Gnoming the Garden: Colonialism, Xenophobia, and Little People in The Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter
Maria Cecire, Keble College
Keble graduate student and CLYCC convener Maria Cecire presents a segment of her doctoral thesis on Oxford-based children’s fantasy and the medieval tradition, drawing from one of her chapters on race and multiculturalism.


WEEK 4 (November 6th):
Meet the New Boss....Same as the Old Boss: Narratives, Strategies, and the Children’s Literature Police
Dr. Diane Purkiss, Keble College
Keble Fellow and children’s author Diane Purkiss discusses how writing for children and young adults is increasingly directed by a central consensus among authority figures while being presented as liberal. Addresses the work of C.S. Lewis, Philip Pullman, and Jenny Downham.


WEEK 6 (November 20th):
Pullman’s Land of the Dead
Dr. Margaret Kean, St. Hilda’s College
St. Hilda’s Fellow and Milton scholar Margaret Kean considers Philip Pullman’s depiction of Hell in His Dark Materials.




WEEK 8 (December 4th):
Adolescence and Ideology in the Disney Pre-Teen Empire
Ryan Richard Thoreson, Hertford College
Hertford graduate student Ryan Richard Thoreson examines the ideology of the Disney Channel's pre-teen lineup, paying special attention to the way that programs like Hannah Montana, The Suite Life of Zach and Cody, and High School Musical develop and supplement traditional Disney themes for children growing into adolescence.