Childrens texts offer models for ways of living in the world by positioning children to identify with characters who want certain things and who behave in specific ways that lead them to success. Never innocent of politics, narratives presented to children tell them about the world and their place within broader cultural institutions. Using theories that interrogate the construction of power and mechanisms of control in contemporary societies, this unit looks at the role childrens texts play in inducting children into value systems. Students will analyse the extent to which childrens texts express or contest the politics of our time.
