[IRSCL] Call for Papers: Education, Manipulation, and Propaganda in Literature for Children

The Department of Philology and Cultural Studies of the Faculty of Letters - the Baia Mare University Centre of the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Organizes

THE 3RD BAIA MARE CONFERENCE ON LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULTS,“Education, Manipulation, and Propaganda in Literature for Children and Young Adults”

April 24-27, 2025

Baia Mare, Romania

Plenary Speakers:

Mateusz Świetlicki, Associate Professor

Acting Vice-Dean for students affairs and extramural teaching, Faculty of

Languages, Literatures and Cultures, Department of American Literature and Culture, Institute of English Studies, University of Wrocław

Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer, Professor 

Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany

Deutsches Seminar

 Peter Arnds, Professor in Comparative Literature

Trinity College, Dublin

 Anastasia Ulanowicz, Associate Professor

Director of Graduate Student Teaching, Department of English

University of Florida

Jörg Meibauer, Professor Emeritus of German language and linguistics at the Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Mainz,

 Scientific committee:

Mateusz Świetlicki, Ph.D., University of Wrocław, Poland

Bettina Kümmerling-Meibauer, Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen, Germany

Peter Arnds, Trinity College, Dublin

Anastasia Ulanowicz, University of Florida, USA

Elisabetta Marino, Ph.D., University of Rome Tor Vergata

Dan Horațiu Popescu, Ph.D., Partium Christian University of Oradea

Daniela-Carmen Stoica, Ph.D., “Fan S. Noli” University

Adrian Oțoiu, Ph.D., Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Ligia Tomoiagă, Ph.D., Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Ioan Beniamin Pop, Ph.D., Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Anamaria Fălăuș, Ph.D., Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Ramona Demarcsek, Ph.D., Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Luminița Todea, Ph.D.,  Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Organizing committee:

Ligia Tomoiagă, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Anamaria Fălăuș, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Ramona Demarcsek, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Luminița Todea, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Ioan Beniamin Pop, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Claudiu Farcaș, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Teodora Tugui, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Bianca Koposciuc, Technical University of Cluj-Napoca

Since fairy tales became stories for children–after having entertained and informed populations for millennia–they have always fulfilled an educational task. Medieval folklore tales became a kind of survival kit for children who, more often than not, were orphaned, had to deal with very harsh conditions, and had to fight for their lives (boys in wars, girls in their quest for safety). Starting with the 19th century, stories for children became more and more specific in their educational purposes; thus, besides the adaptation of classical fairy tales, legends, and mythological sagas to a newly discovered sense of the social and the moral, writers started to dedicate texts to children directly. Many stories became didactic stories, as they were used in schools to both teach language and a stereotyped form of dealing with reality, as the mainstream narratives in schools perceived such necessity. Thus, stories for children – which were soon called children’s literature, even if they were just adult projections on what they wanted children to be – came to compliment the education children had from home and from church. They were perceived as necessary tools that teachers and parents could use to give their children sufficient examples as to what good behavior meant, as well as a good set of moral and social values.  Obviously, children can only be taught complex realities through stereotypes, at first, as it is impossible to explain such complexity to them. Consequently, such stories had a generalizing character; they presented black and white variants that were mostly dedicated to help children integrate in the society they represented. Whether in the Western canon or in other parts of the world, dedicated stories tried to persuade (manipulate) children into embracing the culture of their parents/community, by giving them the example of compelling stories and extraordinary heroes. With the expansion of empires around the world, and with the filling of white spots on the map of the globe, people started exploring other types of cultures and behaviors, which inflated the imagination of many authors. Thus, adventure stories were born, especially in the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century. It was for the first time in history when people could think about starting a new life, without the limitations of their place of birth, of their social class, of their lack of obvious chances of wealth. Many adventure books made young people dream of exotic places, of the chance to prove their courage and resourcefulness, which, again, helped teachers and parents somehow educate but also manipulate their children and youth – they could give them examples of fortitude and show them how knowledge is a powerful weapon. 

After WWII, when teenagers became a notable social category, as education was prolonged with new types of technology, more and more books were written to address issues of this group, with the problems and dreams they had. Fantasy sagas, technoloical utopias or dystopias, a new way of understanding childhood and teenage – with all the phenomena that accompany school years – constituted “the proper stuff for fiction”. Sometimes, though, this type of positive manipulation – in stereotype/educational books for children and young adults – started to change into propaganda books, by which ‘educators’ and writers wanted to indoctrinate the young and younger generation. In totalitarian regimes (the Cultural Revolution in China, the Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, during the Nazi regime in Germany, etc.) such propaganda was present based on the assumption that children do not have enough knowledge to make the difference and to judge things for themselves. Thus, they presented history, other peoples, ethnic or racial groups as enemies, which children had no reason not to believe. In 1984, Orwell showed that those who control the historical narratives will also control the future of the population. 

Today, we notice that ideologies also tend to exaggerate certain realities and find ways to penetrate stories for children. If formerly books for children had a rather non-ecological vision on animals, making them ‘good’ or ‘bad’,according to the cultural heritage of their ancestors and their experience and needs in their territories, now the anthropomorphism goes to the other extreme, and children cannot tell how dangerous some animals really are. If before children were supposed to trust adults and respect them, now they are taught to question the intentions of any adult and resist as if they were all dangerous. If history was presented as the adventures of a mythical gallery of heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives for their nation, now they are presented as horrible actors in the war for wealth and supremacy. From one type of ideology to another, from one extreme to the other, some books forchildren are reflective of the authors’ beliefs and try to annihilate children’s critical thinking and propagate ready-made ideas that might indoctrinate them and brainwash them. 

Our conference aims to deal with all variants of propaganda and manipulation, from the older ones, which could be labeled as ‘beneficial manipulation’, to the ones that were elaborate brainwashing stories told in totalitarian regimes, from the ones that tried to ignore certain issues to those who over-reflect such issues (young people’s mental health, for instance), from historical forms of ideological propaganda to contemporary indoctrination worldwide. We invite contributions along the following lines (but without restricting them to such indications), coming from philologists and writers, artists, psychologists, sociologists, philosophers, specialists in popular culture and the media, in folklore and anthropology, etc.

• Stories for children and young adults as survival kits and as guides to the story of cultures and knowledge

• Children’s literature with didactic purposes – types, variants, and tropes

• Literature for teenagers and young adults as a means of reflecting the inhibitions, exuberance, and insecurities of that age.

• Historical and political propaganda in literature for children and young adults

• Contemporary forms of ideological content in stories for children and young adults

Our conference will take place in Baia Mare just the first morning; then, we will move to a village, and have the experience of North Romania, in the mountains, where we will meet with ancient traditions, folklore, and architecture, but also with the more recent history of totalitarianism and the horrors of the communist regime. Plenary speakers will give their presentations in specific places – the Elie Wiesel Muesum, the Memorials of the Anti-Communist Resistance, the Museum of Romanian Noble Families of Maramures, while panels will take place in the village school. We want to give the rural community a sense of belonging and self-worth, so we will also visit the town’s house of culture and library, where we will invite local crafts-artists to present their work. We will also plunge into the ethnic diversity of our region. As accommodation is somehow restricted, we will book the place for you, and we also will include the price for all meals. So the conference fee will cover local transportation, accommodation, food, coffee breaks, programs, and publication of selected papers.  

Abstracts of no more than 150 words will be sent to Luminita TODEA - luminitatodea@yahoo.com by January 15, 2025. Accepted contributors will be notified by January 30, 2025. 

Conference fees: Romanian contributors - 700 RON; foreign contributors €250, to be paid by March 20, 2025. 

All details regarding accounts, accommodation, venue, etc. will be available on the conference site, starting with January 8, 2025.