NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
Peer reviewed Peer reviewed
Direct linkDirect link
ERIC Number: EJ1196686
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Dec
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0045-6713
EISSN: N/A
"Keeping Some Wildness Always Alive": Posthumanism and the Animality of Children's Literature and Play
Harju, Maija-Liisa; Rouse, Dawn
Children's Literature in Education, v49 n4 p447-466 Dec 2018
This article explores posthumanism as a philosophy that emphasizes human relationships with the natural world by examining representations of animality, both in children's literature (e.g. titles such as Where the "Wild Things Are," "Wild," "Virginia Wolf," and "No Fits, Nilson!") and in children's play in order to better understand the significance of philosophy in children's literature and lives. By fostering a "feeling" of "necessary wilderness," or connection to nature (Almond, 2011, p. 110), and by practicing a sense of "being" in nature, "keeping some wildness always alive" (Lerman, 2012, p. 311) through literary engagement and animal play, the authors suggest that children and adults can maintain an interconnectedness with the natural world, even when they cannot be in it themselves. Through a mixed methods approach that combines educational theory, ecocriticism, and qualitative research, we discuss links between children's stories and bodies, identifying how "becoming" animals through narrative engagement and play reflects posthumanist theory in practice, and encourages a child's embodied knowledge of nature. The authors also speak to the ways that embodied education approaches that encourage animal play and "expressive literary engagement" [Sipe, 2002, pp. 476-483]) can support a shifting and necessary worldview informed by posthumanism, suggesting that philosophical change is necessary if humanity aims to survive the ecological and technological changes to come.
Springer. Available from: Springer Nature. 233 Spring Street, New York, NY 10013. Tel: 800-777-4643; Tel: 212-460-1500; Fax: 212-348-4505; e-mail: customerservice@springernature.com; Web site: https://link.springer.com/
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A