CHILDRENS LITERATURE

MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE
PREPARED BY :

ANNE PRIYANKA VINCENT ASHRAFUQAL AHMAD

MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE
Many, multiple ,much

MULTI
A shared set of ideas, behaviors, discourses, and attitudes that internally and externally define a social group

CULTURE
Relating to or characteristic of a large group of people who have the same national, racial, or cultural origins, and usually speak the same language Written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc., esp works of imagination characterized by excellence of style and expression and by themes of general or enduring interest

ETHNIC

LITERATURE

MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

Literature of diversity which provides accurate representations of the lives and experiences both contemporary and historical of individuals who are members of various ethnic and racial groups in North America and around the world

DIVERSITY THROUGH LITERATURE

LITERATURE OF DIVERSITY
International Literature Inclusive Literature (Jewish, GLBT, Arabic, disability, etc.) Asian/Pan Pacific American Literature Hispanic/Latino Literature African American Literature

Native American Literature

MULTIPLE PURPOSES OF MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

Creates a bridge between people of various backgrounds and experiences

Acknowledging the personal and social issues of living within multiple and conflicting cultures

Celebrating & transmitting the distinctive aspects and richness of a culture

Reflects the realities of the cultural diversity within our society and our interconnected world

WHAT CRITERIA CONSTITUTES GOOD MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE?

Avoidance of racial or cultural stereotyping
Blacks live in the hood Hispanics are lazy Jews are business people

Cultural details that are presented accurately

Cultural authenticity

Dialects Food and clothing Customs

Those from within the culture feel that the book has accurately and honestly reflected their experiences and viewpoints giving readers an insight into the group that is depicted

TYPES OF MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

GENERIC

SPECIFIC

NEUTRAL

TYPES OF MULTICULTURAL LITERATURE

SPECIFIC
A culturally specific book illuminates the experience of growing up as a member of a particular cultural group.

Such a book delineates character, setting, and theme in part by detailing the specifics of daily living that will be recognizable to members of the group.

EXAMPLES :
Young Ju Park in A Step from Heaven Esperanza in The House on Mango Street

GENERIC
Characters of minority groups in which themes reflect common cultural ground.

Specific cultural details are absent. Books are judged on artistic and literary merit.

EXAMPLE : Dora the Explorer

NEUTRAL
Text and pictures are culturally neutral. People of color are portrayed , thereby making a statement of valuing diversity. Evaluated on accuracy, literary and visual artistry.

ISSUES IN CHILDRENS LITERATURE

Regression, sentimentality and morbidity in depicting children

The entrapment of children

Eroticizing childhood