Ideology and Children s Literature an article by Peter Hollindale

1. Ideology and Children�s Literature�an article by Peter Hollindale Presentation by Sandra Beals CHL 518 History of Children�s Literature Professor A. Wannamaker Fall 2009

2. Definition: Ideology A systematic scheme of ideas, usu. relating to politics or society, or to the conduct of a class or group, and regarded as justifying actions, esp. one that is held implicitly or adopted as a whole and maintained regardless of the course of events. Oxford English Dictionary Hollindale begins his article with this definition. I needed more information about ideology to understand the article, so I�m guessing you will too.Hollindale begins his article with this definition. I needed more information about ideology to understand the article, so I�m guessing you will too.

3. Ideology: A Brief Guide John Lye, a professor of English at Brock University in Ontario, presents a more complete description of ideology, with information about the history of the concept, see handout. Points to remember: Marxist tradition Maximum control with minimum conflict Not deliberate Values, conceptions of the world, symbol systems used to legitimize the current order Inculcated through socialization and teaching, formally and informally Ideology is inherently conservative; it seeks to legitimize and perpetuate itself.

4. Catherine Belsey, Critical Practice �. . . ideology resides in common-places and truisms, as well as in philosophical and religious systems. It is apparent in all that is �obvious� to us . . . If it is true, however, it is not the whole truth. Ideology obscures the real conditions of existence by presenting partial truths. It is a set of omissions, gaps rather than lies, smoothing over contradictions, appearing to provide answers to questions which in practice is evades . . .� (53) Language carries ideology whether we are aware of it or not. We absorb ideology as we learn to speak. Language, and thus the ideology inscribed in it, shapes our thinking, in part by making some things seem natural, true, or right. Ideology has the effect of hiding some aspects of reality, especially the fact that some aspects are hidden. Mention Hollindale article.Mention Hollindale article.

5. Peter Hollindale�Ideology and Children�s Literature� (1988) Book People Lean toward valuing the aesthetic aspects of language and rhetoric that are acquired through study. Tend to see children�s literature as a genre Understand how literature can comment on, challenge, and highlight ideology Child People Lean toward correcting what is wrong with the current ideology: racism, sexism, classism, etc. Tend to see children�s literature in terms of its readership Understand how the current dominant ideology disempowers many people

6. A problem & a solution: According to Hollindale, the stereotyping and general polarization between these two groups is unproductive at best. He suggests that instead of perpetuating a battle of values within the field, we should all focus on becoming skilled at detecting the ideology in texts and teaching children to do the same.

7. Three levels of ideology 1. Intended surface ideology 2. Unexamined beliefs of the writer that slip into the text unnoticed 3. The reality of ideology �hovering over us� that herds writers and readers alike toward meanings that are consistent with it.

8. Learning to read a novel While it may be difficult to change society through literature, because the current ideology is deeply embedded in the language we use, we can focus on skillful reading of texts in a way that brings the priorities of both book people and child people together and empowers children to resist the subtle influences of ideology. The the key suggestion offered by Hollindale in his article is that we can do, and teach children to do, what critics do--read critically, �so that to the limits of each child�s capacity that child will not be at the mercy of what she reads� (Hollindale 19) [emphasis in original].

9. Fifty ways to leave your lover . . .or rather, eight ways to �lift ideology off the page� (Hollindale 22).

10. 1. Transpose elements or reassign parts.

11. 2. Consider the ending. Example: Jo�s marriage. Readers wanted Jo to marry Laurie. This would have satisfied the prevailing view of what constitutes a happy ending for a woman. Alcott tried to �rewrite� this. Did she succeed?

12. 3. Check for grouping or packaging of values in �familiar� ways. Example: Truth, Justice, & the American Way

13. 4. Look at different levels of meaning. Does the work �test and undermine some of the values which [it] superficially appear[s] to be celebrating?� (Hollindale 20) Hollindale points to Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer; another example would be Machiavelli�s The Prince.

14. 5. Look for �moral symmetry� in the work. Are nice, easy-going people associated with �good� values or groups, and unpleasant or difficult characters left to embody the �wrong� values or groups? NB: This distinction is about ideology and temperament; the reader will naturally judge the attitudes and beliefs of the �good guys� as positive, and those of the �bad guys� as unacceptable.

15. 6. Look for a difficult decision that illustrates the tension between socially accepted behavior and a �new� value that the book is �teaching.�

16. 7. Notice if identifiable groups are judged, as groups, to have higher value than others. Are the �good guys� all white, or girls, or members of the football team? In a book that is meant to show gender equality, do both parents have jobs outside the home but only the mother is shown doing housework?

17. 8. Omissions and invisibility. Who or what is missing?