A query regarding pre-twentieth century children's literature and childhoods:
I am in the process of compiling a list of scholars, curators, and collectors who work in pre-twentieth century children’s literature and related fields. We are defining “children’s literature” broadly to include manuscript materials (including children’s writing), ephemera such as broadsides, chapbooks, and periodicals, and pedagogical materials like hornbooks and textbooks.
Our current list contains 87 scholars working in fields ranging from medieval texts to Victorian depictions of circuses. It is our hope that it may one day serve as a starting point for other mechanisms for encouraging collaboration and scholarly engagement: listservs, working groups, caucuses and (someday) perhaps an organization solely devoted to early children’s literature.
For now, it is a mailing list that scholars can use when looking for panelists, contributors, or collaborators. In order for it to be most effective, participants should supply their names, e-mail addresses, list all relevant organizations to which they belong, and supply the following descriptive information about their work:
- the period in which you work
- national/linguistic origin of your texts
- special media (e.g. broadsides, textbooks, periodicals)
- themes or areas of interest
For example, my descriptor entry reads:
British/American pre-Victorian didactic lit.; juvenilia; school stories; periodicals
Please send this information directly to me at kkittredge@ithaca.edu before July 31st. I will add it to the current spreadsheet, and send an updated list in early August.
Thank you for your help with this project,
Katharine Kittredge
Professor of English
Ithaca College