Organising Committee
Sandie Mourão (CETAPS, Nova University Lisbon)
Ana Margarida Ramos and Inês Costa (CLLC, University of Aveiro)
In collaboration with: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon
With support from: Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bibliotecas (DGLAB), Biblioteca Nacional, and Plano Nacional de Leitura (PNL)
Our conference illustrator is André Letria
The oft cited and resonating metaphor of books acting as ‘windows, glass sliding doors and mirrors’ by Rudine Sims Bishop (1990, p. ix) is now over 30 years old. It has had a huge impact on the world of children’s literature and what has become known as ‘multicultural literature’ (Short et al, 2016), ‘transnational literature’ (Arizpe, 2021) or ‘global literature’ - that which according to Hadaway and McKenna (2007) facilitates ‘reading across the boundaries of culture, race, ethnicity, language, religion, social and economic status, sexual orientation, and physical and intellectual ability’ (p. 9– 10).
Literature has long been recognized as an intercultural catalyst and picturebooks are acknowledged for their potential to promote intercultural learning (cf. Botelho & Rudman 2009; Dolan 2014; Mourão, 2023; Roche, 2015; Short et al., 2016). The concept of interculturality is defined by UNESCO as ‘the existence and equitable interaction of diverse cultures and the possibility of generating shared cultural expressions through dialogue and mutual respect’ (2006, p. 17). Literature can facilitate reading across boundaries, offering readers a view of the world they might otherwise never experience. Or it can disrupt this reading, challenge linear interpretations, and recognize the fractures and distortions that lead to new becomings (García-González et al., 2020). Such literature can empower readers to value cultural diversity, respect difference, and consider a set of universal values that include human dignity, human rights, democracy, justice, fairness, and equality (Council of Europe, 2018; Radar, 2018).
Global citizenship has become increasingly dominant in international discourse. It is defined by the United Nations as an ‘umbrella term for social, political, environmental, and economic actions of globally minded individuals and communities on a worldwide scale’. Global citizenship overlaps with the concept of interculturality through its focus on universal values and respect for difference but goes further in its commitment to social justice with an emphasis on civic responsibility. Children’s literature has a role to play in fostering civic responsibility, especially in a world where increasingly, local and global issues associated with climate change, sustainability and insurmountable human rights and refugee crises, often culminate in an increase in racism, marginalization and fear (Leland et al. 2013; Short, 2011).
This 10th European Network of Picturebook Research Conference wishes to disentangle how picturebooks employ their multimodality – the pictures, words, design and materiality – to become the veritable vehicles for understanding the world. The big question is ‘How do they act as mediators?’.
As with all European Network of Picturebook Research Conferences, the focus is on the picturebook rather than its reception, although it is recognized that it is difficult to separate the mediator and or the reader/researcher from the dynamics created between the object and its public. Topics and questions for consideration under the theme of multiculturality, interculturality and global citizenship in picturebooks include, but are not limited to:
What are the visual and verbal strategies in picturebooks which embody the conference theme? How do they act as catalysts or distruptors?
- Which picturebook genres or typologies are successful (or unsuccessful) mediators/arenas of multiculturality, interculturality or global citizenship?
- How are characters (human and non-human), spaces (real and fictional) and symbols employed in picturebooks related to the conference theme?
- How are the following themes mediated/explored/negotiated through picturebooks:
- diversity, cultural hybridity or cultural erasure?
- identity or alterity?
- inclusion, marginalization or oppression?
- perceptions, prejudices or stereotypes?
- assimilation or rejection?
- migration and refugee stories and the portrayals of such experience(s)?
- environmental issues?
- How is authenticity and or translation considered in picturebooks related to the conference
theme? - How do wordless or multilingual picturebooks (in their many formats) mediate the
conference theme? - How do comparative studies across time, languages and cultures contribute to the
conference theme?
Proposals
Contributions to the conference are welcome in the form of oral presentations (20 min. + 15 min. discussion). Proposals should be prepared in a Word document and include the following information:
- Full name(s) of presenter(s) with affiliation(s) and contact email(s)
- A title
- Five keywords
- An abstract (max 300 words)
- Selected bibliography with academic sources (max. 5 references) (APA 7th Edn.) – these are not included in the word count.
- A bio sketch of 100 words
Your submission should be sent by email to
subject line: Submission Picturebook Conference.
Key information
- All abstracts and papers must be in English
- Deadline for abstract submission: 30 November 2024
- Notification of acceptance: 1 February 2025
- All submissions are blind reviewed
Further information can be found on the Conference Website.
Doctoral workshop
The doctoral workshop will be held on the first morning of the 10th European Network of Picturebook Research Conference at the Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon. It aims to give early career researchers the opportunity to present and discuss their picturebook-related doctoral projects with renowned scholars working in the field of picturebook research. All topics within picturebook research are relevant.
The procedure for applications is as follows:
1. Submission information
Submission should be a 1000-word abstract and a short biography as two separate Word documents. The abstract should give an overview about the main topic and argumentation of the study in progress and should be complemented by a selected bibliography (primary and secondary sources). Your submission should include the following information:
i) Name and affiliation
ii) E-mail address
iii) Title of proposal
iv) 1000-word abstract
v) Areas of interest
vi) Six keywords.
2. Where to send the submission
Your submission should be sent by email to
3. Deadline
The deadline for proposals is 15 December 2024. Further information can be found on the Conference Website.
References
- Arizpe, E. (2021). Transnational. In P. Nel, L. Paul, & N. Christensen (Eds.), Keywords for children’s literature (2nd Edn.), (pp. 187-90). New York University Press.
- Botelho, M.J. & Rudman, M.K. (2009). Critical multicultural analysis of children's literature: Mirrors, windows, and doors. Routledge.
- Council of Europe (2018). Reference framework of competences for democratic culture, (Volume 1). Council of Europe.
- Dolan, A. M. (2014). You, me and diversity. Picturebooks for teaching development and intercultural education. Institute of Education Press.
- García-González, M., Veliz, S. & Matus, C. (2020). Think difference differently? Knowing/becoming/doing with picturebooks. Pedagogy, Culture & Society, 28(4), 543-562, DOI: 10.1080/14681366.2019.1667858
- Hadaway, N. L. & McKenna, M. J. (2007). Breaking boundaries with global literature. celebrating diversity in K-12 classrooms. International Reading Association.
- Leland, C., Lewison, M., & Harste, J. (2013). Teaching children’s literature. It’s Critical! Routledge.
- Mourão, S. (2023). The effectiveness of picturebooks for intercultural awareness in foreign language education: A scoping study. Zeitschrift für Interkulturellen Fremdsprachenunterricht, 28(1), 173-209.DOI: https://doi.org/10.48694/zif.3620
- Rader, D. (2018). Teaching and learning for intercultural understanding. Engaging young hearts and minds. Routledge.
- Roche, M. (2015). Developing children’s critical thinking through picturebooks. A guide for primary and early years students and teachers. Routledge.
- Short, K. (2011). Children taking action within global enquiries, The Dragon Lode, 29(2), 50-59.
- Short, K., Day, D. & Schroeder, J. (2016). Teaching globally. Reading the world through literature. Stenhouse
Publishers. - Sims Bishop, R. (1990). Mirrors, windows, and sliding glass doors. Perspectives, 1(3), ix–xi.
- UNESCO, (2006) UNESCO guidelines on intercultural education. UNESCO.
[Quelle: Pressemitteilung]