Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature

[English description below] Hur bejakas tystnaden i Mumindalen? Vad fyller vaggvisan egentligen för funktion? Hur ser barnboksutgivningen ut i dagens Hongkong? Och vilka strategier tar en filur som Karlsson på taket till för att tysta andra? Det är några av de frågor som tas upp i en ny internationell forskarantologi om tystnad och om att bli tystad i barn- och ungdomslitteraturen.

Forskarantologin Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature består av 19 bidrag från forskare från hela världen om tystnadens och tystandets centrala roll i barn- och ungdomslitteraturens historia. Bokens skribenter diskuterar vem som får tala och vem som inte får komma till tals, hur tystnad tar sig uttryck estetiskt och hur röster kan tystas av politiska eller kulturella skäl. Boken är ett samarbete mellan Svenska barnboksinstitutet, Malmö universitet, Stockholms universitet och Åbo Akademi i Finland och är redigerad av Elina Druker, Björn Sundmark, Åsa Warnqvist och Mia Österlund.

The concept of silence and silencing evokes questions of self in relation to others, of language and of communication, even of what it is that makes us human. It contains numerous interpretative possibilities, all highly relevant to the study of children’s literature. Focusing on silence and silencing helps us unpack the multiple ways in which books for young readers function and how complex and varied — and sometimes paradoxical — children’s literature is as a field. The relationship between children’s literature and silence suggests an intriguing tension between voicing and silencing, between speech and the unspoken. While books tend to be considered a liberating and empowering force in children’s lives, they can also be implicated in a widespread and deeply rooted discourse of silence and silencing. The theme also highlights how books for young readers can both challenge and reinforce notions about which subjects are tabooed or censored, which adds further weight to the necessity of examining the silences and lacunae within children’s literature.

Silence and Silencing in Children’s Literature addresses the multiple facets of silence and silencing, how silence is narrated, aetonormative silences, structural and societal silences and silencing, and trauma and traumatic silences. The book is edited by Elina Druker, professor at Stockholm University; Björn Sundmark, professor at Malmö University; Åsa Warnqvist, docent and research manager at the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books, and Mia Österlund, docent and associate professor at Åbo Akademi University.

Studies Published by the Swedish Institute for Children’s Books 156