RESOURCES
Scholarly Associations
Listservs
Journals
Research Centres
Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Employment Opportunities
Additional Resources
Scholarly Associations
Children’s Literature Association (ChLA)
History of Children and Youth Group (Canadian Historical Association) (HCYG)
International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL)
Society for the History of Children and Youth (SHCY)
Listservs
Child_Lit — Theory and Criticism of Children’s Literature “Child_Lit is an unmoderated discussion group convened for the express purpose of examining the theory and criticism of literature for children and young adults. The list exists for anyone interested in discussing aspects of these broad fields, including authorship, illustration, publication, promotion, readership, reception, criticism and literature’s changing social functions and implications. child_lit is specifically conceived to foster the sharing of ideas by researchers engaged in original scholarship.”
Exploring_childhood_studies — A list for the field of Childhood Studies, hosted by the Department of Childhood Studies, Rutgers University-Camden ” This is a list for exchanging information and discussion in the field of Childhood Studies. We welcome both academics and practitioners who work with children and/or study issues around children and childhoods. We appreciate CFP’s, announcements, resources, and networking opportunities in this multi-disciplinary field.”
H-Childhood “is an edited electronic network focused on the history of childhood and youth. Subscriptions to H-Childhood are free. The H-Childhood network is co-sponsored by the Society for the History of Children and Youth (SHCY) and H-Net.”
Journals
For Children’s Literature journals, please see the excellent list at http://www.childlitassn.org/lit_journals.html .
Research Centres
Canadian Children’s Book Centre The Canadian Children’s Book Centre (CCBC) is a national, not-for-profit organization, founded in 1976. It is dedicated to encouraging, promoting and supporting the reading, writing, illustrating and publishing of Canadian books for young readers. Its programs, publications, and resources help teachers, librarians, booksellers and parents select the very best for young readers.
Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies (University of Wollongong) The Centre for Canadian-Australian Studies (CCAS) is the leading university centre for the promotion of Canadian Studies in Australia and New Zealand. It is a multidisciplinary and cross-faculty Centre based in the Faculty of Arts, the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Education at the University of Wollongong. It is dedicated to comparative and interdisciplinary study related to Canada and particularly to comparative study between Australia and Canada.
Center for Children’s Literature and Culture (University of Florida) The Center for Children’s Literature and Culture is an interdisciplinary center based in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Florida. Members of the Center include faculty and researchers from the University community; teachers, librarians, media specialists, and others working directly with children; and artists and writers creating works for children in print and other media.
Its purpose is to encourage the exploration of this vital area of cultural life through scholarly and critical investigations; through meetings, symposia, and seminars; and through the development of innovative ways to make the research and concerns of its members available to the general public.
Centre For Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures (University of Winnipeg The Centre for Research in Young People’s Texts and Cultures (CRYTC) supports scholarly inquiry into literary, media, and other cultural texts for children and youth. Providing a focus for research in the field in the Department of English and more broadly at the University of Winnipeg, the Centre also houses the journal Jeunesse: Young People, Texts, Cultures, facilitates the development and management of collaborative national and international research projects, hosts visiting speakers and researchers, and maintains links with other research centres in children’s studies internationally.
The L.M. Montgomery Institute is housed in the Robertson Library at the University of Prince Edward Island (UPEI), a post-secondary institution whose forebears were St. Dunstan’s University and Prince of Wales College (Montgomery’s own alma mater).
The L.M. Montgomery Institute is dedicated to helping students and scholars learn about and study L.M. Montgomery’s life, works, and influence. The Institute is a centre for Montgomery studies with a focus on academic scholarship and a centre for the promotion of L.M. Montgomery with a focus on education, teaching, and increasing awareness of the author.
Undergraduate and Graduate Programs
Please see the excellent lists of undergraduate and graduate programs in Children’s Literature and Children’s and Childhood Studies maintained by the Children’s Literature Association:
Undergraduate Programs: http://www.childlitassn.org/studying_undergraduate.html
Graduate Programs: http://www.childlitassn.org/studying_graduate.html
Childhood Studies Associations and Centres: http://www.childlitassn.org/programs_centers.html
Children’s Literature Organizations and Centres: http://www.childlitassn.org/lit_org.html
See also the University of Edinburgh’s MSc Childhood Studies and PhD Programs. “The MSc in Childhood Studies is an established programme — we have our 10th anniversary this year — specialising in advanced methods of undertaking direct research with children and young people, children’s rights, and policy analysis. We offer an intensive, interdisciplinary programme of taught courses and independent investigation, taking 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time.
The degree is a proven route for those who want to work in local, national or international policy, with children and young people directly, and to take up research and participation positions specialising in working with children and young people. It is recognised as the first year of research training, for those who want to go onto a PhD.”
Those interested can contact Professor Kay Tisdall at +44 (0) 131.650.3930 or K.Tisdall@ed.ac.uk.
Employment Opportunities
The University of British Columbia holds an international reputation for excellence in advanced research and learning. It is located in Vancouver, Canada, one of the world’s most beautiful and culturally diverse cities. SLAIS, the iSchool at UBC, is pleased to invite applications for the first Dodson Visiting Professorship named in honour of Suzanne and Earl Dodson.
This is a competitive position that provides funds to enable the successful candidate to spend a term engaged in Teaching and Research at the iSchool and with the UBC Community. Academics at all levels from all countries are encouraged to apply. Applicants will normally hold a doctoral degree, and currently be employed in an institution of higher education.
This inaugural position will be for a Visiting Professor in the field of Children’s Literature, who will bring expertise and an active record of scholarship in children’s or young adult literature or a related field. Preference will be given to candidates who have a proven track record of high quality research productivity and experience in teaching. This is an opportunity to work with the Chair of our Master of Arts in Children’s Literature, who is an award-winning researcher in the area of Canadian literature for children.
This Visiting Professorship opens the opportunity to teach, interact, and mentor students in the Master of Arts in Children’s Literature Program by teaching two classes in this multidisciplinary field.
Expertise in the area of children’s or young adult literature or media and an understanding of the issues surrounding children’s or young adult literature scholarship are required. This research will be showcased at a colloquium, which will be open to all faculty, librarians, students and alumni.
The Dodson Visiting Professorship funds this position for one term in the amount of $15,000, and can be supplemented with teaching (up to 2 courses) to $30,000.
Address all enquiries and applications comprising a letter of interest and a current CV to:
Professor Caroline Haythornthwaite
Director – SLAIS, the iSchool at UBC
The University of British Columbia
The Irving K. Barber Learning Centre
Suite 470, 1961 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1 CANADA
Closing date: Review of applications will begin on March 1st 2012 and continue until the visiting professorship has been awarded.
Start date: Either September 4th 2012 or January 3rd 2013
Additional Resources
African Canadian Children’s Books Online An online information resource presented by the Centre for the Study of Black Cultures in Canada
Anne of Green Gables Centenary A resource presented by Ryerson University, including exhibit, book and gallery information about the centenary anniversary of the publication of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s iconic novel Anne of Green Gables
Art of Illustration A resource for information about The Art of Illustration: A Celebration of Contemporary Canadian Children’s Book Illustrators, an exhibition held at the National Library of Canada from April 24 to December 7, 1997
Canadian Children’s Illustrated Books Project The Canadian Children’s Illustrated Books Project website has over 300 annotated print, audiovisual and electronic links to resources, associations, etc. on Canadian children’s literature and international illustration.
Canadian Children’s Literature Database The PIKA database provides a unique window on Canadian children’s literature. Contained in the database are records for all children’s books held in the National Library’s Canadian Children’s Literature Service Collection — over 35 000 titles. The collection contains Canadian children’s books in English, French and other languages, dating from the 19th century to the present day.
Canadian Review of Materials CM: Canadian Review of Materials is an electronic reviewing journal. It reviews Canadiana of interest to children and young adults, including publications produced in Canada, or published elsewhere but of special interest or significance to Canada, such as those having a Canadian writer, illustrator or subject.
CRYTC Homelessness Research Bibliography (Login Required)
Children’s Literature Service Canadian Children’s Literature Service is meant for: parents, children and young adults;librarians, teachers and students; authors, writers, illustrators, publishers and booksellers; independent researchers from Canada and elsewhere; and fans of Canadian children’s literature.
Communication-Jeunesse Communication-Jeunesse est un organisme culturel d’envergure nationale, à but non lucratif. Il a vu le jour en 1971, grâce à une poignée d’artistes et d’artisans des milieux de la culture et de l’éducation qui se sont regroupés et ont fondé une association dans le but d’encourager et de soutenir la création de productions culturelles pour la jeunesse, et de rendre celles-ci accessibles aux jeunes d’ici. Le cheval de bataille de Communication-Jeunesse a toujours été la défense de la littérature québécoise et canadienne-française pour la jeunesse.
Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books, Toronto Public Library The Osborne Collection of Early Children’s Books had its beginnings in a visit by a British librarian, Edgar Osborne, to Toronto Public Library’s Boys and Girls House branch in 1934. Osborne was impressed by the range and quality of children’s services established and flourishing under TPL’s first head of children’s services, Lillian H. Smith. Osborne donated his personal collection of some 2,000 rare and notable children’s books to Toronto Public Library in 1949, as a research collection in historical children’s literature.
Portolan Portolan is an annotated bibliography of Atlantic Canadian books for children and young adults. Atlantic Canada consists of the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia.
