Call for Chapters - Posthuman Pooh: Edward Bear after 100 Years
Call for Chapters: Posthuman Pooh: Edward Bear after 100 Years
Deadline for Submissions: August 31, 2017
Editor: Jennifer Harrison, East Stroudsburg University, USA
I am currently seeking chapter submissions for an edited volume celebrating the centenary in 2026 of A. A. Milne’s The World of Pooh. As classics from the “golden age” of children’s literature, Milne’s Pooh stories have received considerable attention from critics and fans over the years; however, less critical attention has been devoted to the continuing relevance of the Pooh phenomenon in contemporary children’s culture. As recent critics have discussed, the Pooh stories are complex and multifaceted, written in many different modes and employing a vast array of different narrative styles and techniques; they have also undergone transformation and adaptation into a plethora of related cultural artefacts.
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of The World of Pooh, therefore, this volume will explore Pooh in light of cutting-edge children’s literature and culture theory, with a particular focus on the stories as addressing the fundamentally modern posthuman concern with interrogations of the boundaries between the human and the non-human, the material and the immaterial. Anticipated publication of this volume is for 2020 - the birthyear of Christopher Robin, and the year in which the real "Winnie" was adopted by London Zoo.
Submissions of an interdisciplinary nature are particularly welcome, as are submissions which examine the relationship between the texts and modern adaptations and artefacts. Some potential areas of exploration might include:
- The blurring of human-animal-toy boundaries
- Explorations of space and place within the stories
- Adaptations for film and TV
- The marketing of the Pooh franchise
- Explorations of time within the stories
- Material culture and artefacts within the stories
- Bodies and identity within the stories
- Postcolonial and ecocritical readings
However, this list is nowhere near exhaustive and I am happy to consider any submission which focuses on the Pooh stories and their role in modern children’s culture.
I hope to include chapters by authors from a variety of disciplines and viewpoints, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of current studies in children’s literature and culture, as well as the diverse relevance of the Pooh stories in modern children’s culture. Please submit a 500-word chapter abstract and a biography of no more than 250 words by August 31, 2017, to: jharriso11@esu.edu
You can also see a digital version of the CFP at: http://quantum.esu.edu/faculty/jharrison/2017/06/20/call-chapters-posthuman-pooh-edward-bear-100-years/.
All proposed abstracts will be given full consideration, and submission implies a commitment to publish in this volume if your work is selected for inclusion. If selected, completed chapters will be due by December 30, 2017.
All questions regarding this volume should be directed to: jharriso11@esu.edu