CFP Evil Kids in Children’s Literature (1/15/15; ALA Boston 5/21-24/15)

CALL FOR PAPERS
Children’s Literature Society
American Literature Association
26th Annual Conference
May 21-24, 2015
The Westin Copley Place
10 Huntington Avenue
Boston MA 02116-5798

Nobody Understands Me. Evil Kids in Children’s Literature

Do researchers understand evil kid characters? In children’s literature, the evil kid school
of thought changes with history. Authors write the Puritan notion of the sinful kid school,
the Lockean ignorant but educable kid, and the Romantic idealized innocent virtuous
redeeming somewhat helpless kid. Modern, Postmodern, and New Sincerity “evil” kids
range from bullies to baby vampires to misunderstood villains like Gregory Maguire’s
character Elphaba from his book Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the
West (1995).

This panel examines evil children in literature. Are we seeing an increase in such
representations in contemporary children’s literature? Are independent rational thinkers
with agency represented as evil? Do evil children have more freedom to color outside of
the lines? Are actions evil, not people? Has the idea of evil changed in children’s
literature?

Please include academic rank and affiliation and AV requests
Please send abstracts or proposals (around 250 words) by Thursday, January 15, 2015 to
Dorothy Clark (Dorothy.g.clark@csun.edu), Linda Salem (Linda.salem@yahoo.com)