Chapter 7
Dynamics of age and power in a children’s literature research assemblage
The link between age and power in children’s literature has been explored through various lenses in recent years, with some scholars emphasizing the adult’s power and others focusing on the child’s power. To add to the current debate, this chapter analyses empirical qualitative data from readers’ reflections on their own age and the age of characters in the Dutch children’s book Iep!, written by Joke van Leeuwen. The chapter aims to adopt a “post-age” (Haynes & Murris 2017) perspective, with the participants’ individual experiences of Iep! becoming entwined and changed through encounters with human beings and matter.
Article outline
- New materialism and power
- Age and power in children’s literature
- Shaping the interviews
- Negotiations of age and power in the research assemblage
- Age, characters, and power
- Closing thoughts and future potential
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Acknowledgements
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Notes
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References