The Medieval in Children's Literature

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Medieval Association of the Midwest (MAM)

Organizer Name

Kristin Bovaird-Abbo

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Northern Colorado

Presider Name

Kristin Bovaird-Abbo

Paper Title 1

Medieval "Distory": Historicity and Disney-on-Ice Fairy Tales

Presenter 1 Name

Wendy A. Matlock

Presenter 1 Affiliation

Kansas State Univ.

Paper Title 2

Questioning Gender and Sexuality in Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales through the Young Adult Novel Sometimes We Tell the Truth

Presenter 2 Name

McKenzie Peck

Presenter 2 Affiliation

Univ. of Missouri-Columbia

Paper Title 3

Beetle/Alyce of The Midwife's Apprentice: A Feminist Version of Medieval Romances' Noble Male Heroes

Presenter 3 Name

Dainy Bernstein

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Graduate Center, CUNY

Paper Title 4

Thinking Like a Wizard: Medievalism in Young Adult Literature

Presenter 4 Name

Jes Battis

Presenter 4 Affiliation

Univ. of Regina

Start Date

11-5-2019 3:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 1155

Description

This session invites papers that explore how recent children's literature authors extend their treatment of the medieval beyond the conventional heroes of Britain, and Europe in general. Authors retell tales of Beowulf, Robin Hood, and King Arthurs with female and non-binary protagonists, filling in gaps of traditional narratives, and creating new characters to engage with these older themes. We particularly seek papers that address issues of diversity in race, gender and sexuality, religion, and/or geography in children's literature that treats of the medieval, both Western and non-Western. Alison Langdon