Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults: Reflections on Critical Issues (Contributions to the Study of World Literature)

222 Pages·2002·12.32 MB·English

by  Mingshui Cai

MULTICULTURAL
LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG ADULTS
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MULTICULTURAL
LITERATURE FOR CHILDREN
AND YOUNG ADULTS
Reflections on Critical Issues
Mingshui Cai
Contributions to the Study of World Literature,
Number 116
GREENWOOD PRESS
Westport, Connecticut • London
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Cai, Mingshui.
Multicultural literature for children and young adults : reflections on critical issues /
Mingshui Cai.
p. cm.—(Contributions to the study of world literature, ISSN 0738-9345 ; no. 116)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-313-31244-3 (alk. paper)
1. Children's literature—History and criticism. 2. Young adult literature—History and
criticism. 3. Pluralism (Social sciences) in literature. 4. Multiculturalism. I. Title.
II. Series.
PN1009.A1C29 2002
809'.89282-<lc21 2002017139
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data is available.
Copyright © 2002 by Mingshui Cai
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be
reproduced, by any process or technique, without the
express written consent of the publisher.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2002017139
ISBN: 0-313-31244-3
ISSN: 0738-9345
First published in 2002
Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881
An imprint of Greenwood Publishing Group, Inc.
www. greenwood.com
Printed in the United States of America
@r
The paper used in this book complies with the
Permanent Paper Standard issued by the National
Information Standards Organization (Z39.48-1984).
10 9 8 7 6 5 43
Copyright Acknowledgments
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge permission for use of the following:
Excerpts from Cai, Mingshui, "Can We Fly Across Cultural Gaps on the Wings of Imagina
tion?" (1995). The New Advocate, 8 (1): 1-16.
Excerpts from Cai, Mingshui, "Multiple Definitions of Multicultural Literature: Is the Debate
Really Just Tvory Tower'?" The New Advocate 11 (4): 311-324.
Excerpts reprinted by permission of the publisher from Rogers, T., & Soter, A.O. (Eds.). Read
ing Across Cultures: Teaching Literature in a Diverse Society, (New York: Teachers College
Press. © 1997 by Teachers College, Columbia University. All rights reserved.), pp. 199-212.
Excerpts from Cai, Mingshui, & Sims Bishop, Rudine. (1994). "Multicultural Literature for
Children: Towards a Clarification of the Concept." In Anne Haas Dyson & Celia Genishi
(Eds.), The Need for Story: Cultural Diversity in Classroom and Community (pp. 57-71). Ur-
bana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English. Copyright 1994 by the National Council of
Teachers of English, Reprinted with permission.
To my wife, Jianrong, and son, Shuofeng
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Introduction xiii
Part I: Issues Related to the Concept of Multicultural Literature 1
1. Defining Multicultural Literature 3
Literary and Pedagogical Definitions 3
The Focal Point of the Controversy 5
Three Views on the Definition of Multicultural Literature 6
Implications for Teachers and Teacher Educators 13
2 . Classifying Multicultural Literature 19
Classification by Content and Intended Audience 20
Classification by Cultural Specificity 22
Classification by Geographical and Cultural Boundaries 25
Part II: Issues Related to the Creation and Critique of Multicultural
Literature 35
3 . Imagination, Ethnicity, and Cultural Authenticity 37
The Crux of the Issue 38
Cultural Boundaries 39
Ethnic Perspective 41
Brute Facts 42
A Comparative Study of Two Novels 46
Concluding Thoughts 48
4 . Reader Response Theory and the Author's Role in Multicultural
Literature 53
The Role of the Author in Reader Response Theory 54
The Real Author and the Implied Author 58
Vlll Contents
The Author's Cultural Identity in Multicultural Literature 62
5 . Stereotyping and the Politics of Representation 67
Definition of Stereotype 68
The Social-Political Nature of Stereotype 69
The Detrimental Effects of Stereotypes 70
The Cultural War over Image Making 72
Stereotypes as Partial Truth 74
Viewing Images in the Big Picture 75
Stereotypes and Historical Realism 78
Concluding Thoughts 81
6 . Cultural Correctness and the Evaluation of Multicultural Literature 87
Culturally Correct 88
Politically Correct 92
Emotionally Correct 94
Analyzing Content Analysis as a Means of Evaluation 96
"Overburdening" Criticism 99
Embedding Cultural Criticism in Close Literary Analysis 104
Cultural Correctness and Reader Response Theory 107
Concluding Thoughts 109
Part III: Issues Related to the Use of Multicultural Literature in
Education 115
7 . Crossing Cultural Borders 117
Defining Cultural Borders 117
Examining One Assumption 118
Critiquing One Approach 120
Reading Myths, Archetypes, and Universal Themes 123
Combating Color Bias 127
Against Borders 129
8 . From Informing to Empowering 133
Informing and Empowering 134
Starting to Empower Children from the Primary Grades 137
From Informing to Empowering in Thematic Units 139
Critique of one Approach to the Study of Multicultural Literature 143
Reading Multiculturally as a Means of Empowering 145
Opportunities for Teachers to Inform and Empower Themselves 148
9. Investigating Reader Responses to Multicultural Literature 153
A Multidimensional Model 154
Cognitive-Developmental Dimension 155
Affective-Attitudinal Dimension 15 9
Social-Communal Dimension 167
Concluding Thoughts 171
Contents IX
Appendix: Websites Related to Multicultural Literature 177
Selected Bibliography 185
Index 195