CFP and Conference: Understanding the world

Multiculturality, interculturality and global citizenship in picturebooks
10th European Network of Picturebook Research Conference

Date: 17.-19. September 2025
Venue: Lisbon

The oft cited and resonating metaphor of books acting as ‘windows, glass sliding doors and mirrors’ by Rudine Sims Bishop (1990, p. ix) is now over 30 years old. It has had a huge impact on the world of children’s literature and what has become known as ‘multicultural literature’ (Short et al, 2016), ‘transnational literature’ (Arizpe, 2021) or ‘global literature’ - that which according to Hadaway and McKenna (2007) facilitates ‘reading across the boundaries of culture, race, ethnicity, language, religion, social and economic status, sexual orientation, and physical and intellectual ability’ (p. 9– 10).

Literature has long been recognized as an intercultural catalyst and picturebooks are acknowledged for their potential to promote intercultural learning (cf. Botelho & Rudman 2009; Dolan 2014; Mourão, 2023; Roche, 2015; Short et al., 2016). The concept of interculturality is defined by UNESCO as ‘the existence and equitable interaction of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared cultural expressions through dialogue and mutual respect’ (2006, p. 17). Literature can facilitate reading across boundaries, offering readers a view of the world they might otherwise never experience. Or it can disrupt this reading, challenge linear interpretations, and recognize the fractures and distortions that lead to new becomings (García-González et al., 2020). Such literature can empower readers to value cultural diversity, respect difference, and consider a set of universal values that include human dignity, human rights, democracy, justice, fairness, and equality (Council of Europe, 2018; Radar, 2018).

Global citizenship has become increasingly dominant in international discourse. It is defined by the United Nations as an ‘umbrella term for social, political, environmental, and economic actions of globally minded individuals and communities on a worldwide scale’. Global citizenship overlaps with the concept of interculturality through its focus on universal values and respect for difference but goes further in its commitment to social justice with an emphasis on civic responsibility. Children’s literature has a role to play in fostering civic responsibility, especially in a world where increasingly, local and global issues associated with climate change, sustainability and insurmountable human rights and refugee crises, often culminate in an increase in racism, marginalization and fear (Leland et al. 2013; Short, 2011).

This 10th European Network of Picturebook Research Conference wishes to disentangle how picturebooks employ their multimodality – the pictures, words, design and materiality – to become the veritable vehicles for understanding the world. The big question is ‘How do they act as mediators?’.

As with all European Network of Picturebook Research Conferences, the focus is on the picturebook rather than its reception, although it is recognized that it is difficult to separate the mediator and or the reader/researcher from the dynamics created between the object and its public. Topics and questions for consideration under the theme of multiculturality, interculturality and global citizenship in picturebooks include, but are not limited to:
What are the visual and verbal strategies in picturebooks which embody the conference theme? How do they act as catalysts or distruptors?

  • Which picturebook genres or typologies are successful (or unsuccessful) mediators/arenas of multiculturality, interculturality or global citizenship?
  • How are characters (human and non-human), spaces (real and fictional) and symbols employed in picturebooks related to the conference theme?
  • How are the following themes mediated/explored/negotiated through picturebooks:
    • diversity, cultural hybridity or cultural erasure?
    • identity or alterity?
    • inclusion, marginalization or oppression?
    • perceptions, prejudices or stereotypes?
    • assimilation or rejection?
    • migration and refugee stories and the portrayals of such experience(s)?
    • environmental issues?
  • How is authenticity and or translation considered in picturebooks related to the conference
    theme?
  • How do wordless or multilingual picturebooks (in their many formats) mediate the
    conference theme?
  • How do comparative studies across time, languages and cultures contribute to the
    conference theme?

Proposals

Contributions to the conference are welcome in the form of oral presentations (20 min. + 15 min. discussion). Proposals should be prepared in a Word document and include the following information:

  • Full name(s) of presenter(s) with affiliation(s) and contact email(s)
  • A title
  • Five keywords
  • An abstract (max 300 words)
  • Selected bibliography with academic sources (max. 5 references) (APA 7th Edn.) – these are not included in the word count.
  • A bio sketch of 100 words

Your submission should be sent by email to picturebookresearch2025@gmail.com, with the
subject line: Submission Picturebook Conference.

Key information

  • All abstracts and papers must be in English
  • Deadline for abstract submission: 30 November 2024
  • Notification of acceptance: 1 February 2025
  • All submissions are blind reviewed

Further information can be found on the Conference Website.

Doctoral workshop
The doctoral workshop will be held on the first morning of the 10th European Network of Picturebook Research Conference at the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon. It aims to give early career researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their picturebook-related doctoral projects with renowned scholars working in the field of picturebook research. All topics within picturebook research are relevant.

The procedure for applications is as follows:

1. Submission information
Submission should be a 1000-word abstract and a short biography as two separate Word documents. The abstract should give an overview about the main topic and argumentation of the study in progress and should be complemented by a selected bibliography (primary and secondary sources). Your submission should include the following information:
i) Name and affiliation
ii) E-mail address
iii) Title of proposal
iv) 1000-word abstract
v) Areas of interest
vi) Six keywords.

2. Where to send the submission
Your submission should be sent by email to picturebookresearch2025@gmail.com, with the subject line: Doctoral workshop abstract submission.

3. Deadline
The deadline for proposals is 15 December 2024. Further information can be found on the Conference Website.

References

  • Arizpe, E. (2021). Transnational. In P. Nel, L. Paul, & N. Christensen (Eds.), Keywords for children’s literature (2nd Edn.), (pp. 187-90). New York University Press.
  • Botelho, M.J. & Rudman, M.K. (2009). Critical multicultural analysis of children's literature: Mirrors, windows, and doors. Routledge.
  • Council of Europe (2018). Reference framework of competences for democratic culture, (Volume 1). Council of Europe.
  • Dolan, A. M. (2014). You, me and diversity. Picturebooks for teaching development and intercultural education. Institute of Education Press.
  • García-González, M., Veliz, S. & Matus, C. (2020). Think difference differently? Knowing/becoming/doing with picturebooks. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 28(4), 543-562, DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2019.1667858
  • Hadaway, N. L. & McKenna, M. J. (2007). Breaking boundaries with global literature. celebrating diversity in K-12 classrooms. International Reading Association.
  • Leland, C., Lewison, M., & Harste, J. (2013). Teaching children’s literature. It’s Critical! Routledge.
  • Mourão, S. (2023). The effectiveness of picturebooks for intercultural awareness in foreign language education: A scoping study. Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 28(1), 173-209.DOI: https://doi.org/10.48694/zif.3620
  • Rader, D. (2018). Teaching and learning for intercultural understanding. Engaging young hearts and minds. Routledge.
  • Roche, M. (2015). Developing children’s critical thinking through picturebooks. A guide for primary and early years students and teachers. Routledge.
  • Short, K. (2011). Children taking action within global enquiries, The Dragon Lode, 29(2), 50-59.
  • Short, K., Day, D. & Schroeder, J. (2016). Teaching globally. Reading the world through literature. Stenhouse
    Publishers.
  • Sims Bishop, R. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 1(3), ix–xi.
  • UNESCO, (2006) UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education. UNESCO.

Organising Committee
Sandie Mourão (CETAPS, Nova University Lisbon)
Ana Margarida Ramos and Inês Costa (CLLC, University of Aveiro)

In collaboration with: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon

With support from: Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas (DGLAB), Biblioteca Nacional, and Plano Nacional de Leitura (PNL)

Conference illustrator is André Letria

 

(Quelle: kinderundjugendmedien.de)

CfP: 37. Jahrestagung der GKJF 2025

Spiel und Spielkultur. Konstruktionen und Konstellationen des Spielens in Kinder- und Jugendmedien

Spielen, so beschreibt es das Deutsche Wörterbuch von Jacob und Wilhelm Grimm, „bezeichnet im allgemeinen eine thätigkeit, die man nicht um eines resultats oder eines praktischen zweckes willen, sondern zum zeitvertreib, zur unterhaltung und zum vergnügen übt: spiel, ludus, jeu. überhaupt ein thun, so zur belustigung und zeitvertreib“.

In der frühen Spielphilosophie steht, spätestens seit Schillers berühmtem Diktum, der Mensch sei „nur da ganz Mensch, wo er spielt“, das Spiel im Zentrum von Überlegungen zum Wert des Kinderspiels und dem Spielen als Kulturtechnik zwischen Freiheit und Sozialisation sowie als Denk- und Gegenfigur zur Arbeit auch im Zentrum der konstruierten Unterscheidung von kindlichem und erwachsenem Handeln, was von Huizinga (1938/2001) in die Figur des Homo ludens als Gegenstück zum Homo faber überführt wurde. Mit den Überlegungen Huizingas und Scheuerls (1979) kommen zudem Aspekte hinzu, die das Spiel um des Spielens willen als eine Kulturpraktik jenseits des normalen und alltäglichen Lebens verorten, die Handlungs- und Denkformen des Alltags außer Kraft setzt.

In den Kinder- und Jugendmedien finden sich diese Funktionen von Spiel seit den Anfängen, im Märchen wird mit goldenen Bällen, echten und fantastischen Kindern und Tieren gespielt, im 19. Jahrhundert wird Kriegsspiel ebenso zentral wie Puppenspiel und Spielzeug steht insbesondere in Weihnachtserzählungen als Markierung von Bürgerlichkeit sowie von geschlechterspezifischen Sozialisationsschwellen beständig im Mittelpunkt. Viel später beschreibt Michael Ende (1984) seine Literatur für Kinder als dadurch motiviert, ein Spiel in Gang zu setzen und markiert damit die Übertragung eines zentralen literaturtheoretischen Anliegens der Postmoderne in die Kinder- und Jugendliteratur seiner Zeit.

Auch in der Jugendliteratur ist das Spiel seit jeher ein essenzielles Erzählmoment, oft markiert das Spielen einen (letzten) Ort der Kindheit und Raum des Rückzugs vor der Arbeits- und Erwachsenenwelt; ein zentrales Moment des Spiels ist dabei seine spezifische Differenz zu dieser ‚Erwerbswelt‘. Als Ermöglichungsstruktur für Jugendkultur, Eskapismus und Freiheitssuche wird das Spielen zudem spätestens im 21. Jahrhundert auch an die Kultur der Digitalität gekoppelt und um ganz neue Formen des Spielens via Computer, Smartphone und Konsole sowie in Techtopien innovativ in immersiven virtuellen Erscheinungsformen sichtbar gemacht.

In den Kinder- und Jugendmedien, insbesondere im Bilderbuch und seinen Erweiterungen, zeichnet sich zudem zunehmend eine neue Spielkultur ab, die das Erzählen von geschlossenen hin zu offenen Formen transformiert, Erzählformen spielerisch digital, multimodal und interaktiv erweitert, aber auch cross- wie transmedial in kommerzialisierten Erzählwelten weiterverarbeitet.

Die hier skizzierten synchronen wie diachronen Formen, Konstruktionen, Genres und Motiv- wie Erzählkonstellationen des Spielens in Kinder- und Jugendmedien möchte die Jahrestagung der Gesellschaft für Kinder- und Jugendliteraturforschung (GKJF (e.V.) vom 26. bis 28. Juni 2025 im Arbeitnehmer-Zentrum Königswinter aus literaturwissenschaftlicher Sicht in den Blick nehmen. Für die Keynote konnte Prof. Dr. Rolf F. Nohr (HBK Braunschweig) gewonnen werden.

Mögliche Themen – immer mit Bezug auf aktuelle und historische Kinder- und Jugendmedien aller Gattungen und Genres – sind:

  • Erzählen als Spiel
  • Funktion von Spiel und Spielzeug als Trope, Metapher, Motiv
  • Sprachspiele in KJM (Lyrik etc.)
  • Räumliche, systematische, gesellschaftliche und strukturelle Konstellationen von Spiel
  • Spiel als Kulturtechnik
  • Ludische Elemente in Medienverbünden
  • kultur-, literatur- und medientheoretische Zugänge zur Inszenierung von Spiel
  • Digitale Spielkulturen
  • Neue Formen der Rezeption sowie materialitätsorientierte Zugänge (Spielbücher etc.)
  • Intersektionalität und Spiel
  • Theaterspiel und Performance
  • An die Toy Studies sowie an die Game Studies anschlussfähige Vorträge sind erwünscht.

Die GKJF hofft auf Ihr reges Interesse und bittet um Zusendung von Vortragsangeboten (von maximal 30 Minuten Dauer) bis zum 17.1.2025.

Bitte beachten Sie bei der Einreichung Ihrer Abstracts (von ca. 300 Wörtern) folgende Anforderungen: Die Abstracts sollen in einer kurzen inhaltlichen Zusammenfassung den Bezug zu theoretischen Positionen herstellen sowie die Literatur und ggf. Primärquellen nennen, auf die sich der Vortrag stützt. Damit die Vorträge zu einem Programm zusammengestellt werden können, sollte sich der geplante Vortrag einem der oben aufgelisteten Schwerpunkte zuordnen lassen.
Bitte senden Sie Ihre Vorschläge per E-Mail an Prof. Dr. Julia Benner: bennerjuhu-berlin.de

Weitere Informationen finden Sie hier.

(Quelle: Website GKJF)

CFP: Digital Childhoods – New Online Magazine From the Society for the History of Children and Youth

The Society for the History of Children and Youth is excited to introduce its new online magazine Digital Childhoods. A companion to the society’s peer-reviewed Journal for the History of Childhood and Youth (JHCY), Digital Childhoods offers a more informal and free-form space for sharing ideas and discoveries in the field. They hope this online space will grow to be a lively and accessible place that you will return to regularly.

There are currently three sections to the magazine:

Childish Things is an online gallery of objects that tell us something about childhood and youth around the world, from all periods of history. Each object or image has been chosen by a historian, curator or artist – sometimes from public museums and archives, and sometimes from their own lives and personal collections.

The Interview feature is an opportunity to hear more about the people and process behind articles in the JHCY. They discuss how authors discovered their topics, their frustrations and joys in writing, and hear their tips for researchers.

The Reviews section casts a considered eye onto works of contemporary public history, art, literature, podcasts, and more that deal with themes of youth and childhood.

Please do share the link to Digital Childhoods with others and consider contributing.

The Society for the History of Children and Youth cannot wait to hear your ideas!

Contact Information: Alice Sage and Hannah Stamler (<joomla-hidden-mail is-link="1" is-email="1" first="ZGlnaXRhbGNoaWxkaG9vZHM=" last="c2hjeS5vcmc=" text="ZGlnaXRhbGNoaWxkaG9vZHNAc2hjeS5vcmc=" base="">digitalchildhoods@shcy.org)</joomla-hidden-mail> 
https://shcydigitalchildhoods.org/dir/

 

(Quelle: Homepage kinderundjugendmedien)

CfP: Encyclopedia Entries – Canonical Children's Texts and Authors

The Children’s Literature Group is currently interested in proposals for entries on texts, authors, illustrators, editors, and librarians often considered canonical, crucial to historical study of children’s literature, and taught in college courses.

Possible Topics:

  • Beverly Cleary
  • Arnold Lobel
  • Augusta Baker
  • Beatrix Potter
  • Dr. Seuss
  • Eric Carle
  • Mildred D. Taylor
  • Eric Kimmel
  • Robert Munsch
  • Margaret Wise Brown
  • Ezra Jack Keats
  • Jon Scieszka
  • Jane Yolen

For more information or to propose an entry, email Dainy Bernstein at dainybernstein@gmail.com.
Include: person or text of proposed entry, your CV a writing sample.

The Literary Encyclopedia publishes biographies of writers, illustrators, editors, librarians, etc.; scholarly descriptions of significant texts; and essays on literary, cultural, historical, and social contexts in which this writing was produced.

(Quelle: kinderundjugendmedien.de)