In our day to day lives the term Children’s Literature might not carry so much of importance. But we must not forget that it is the children’s literature which had shaped us into who we are today. Thus our day to day life is actually designed and developed on the basis of Children’s Literature with which we have grown.
At present Children’s literature has grown into a huge academic domain. Honestly speaking there is no specific definition of the term any longer. It now acts like a blanket term which accommodates various literary genres as well as oral narratives and songs. In academia, especially in the field of higher education and research Children’s literature has currently emerged as a very powerful domain, which covers many other fields of research like translation, phonetics, creative writing, arts and drawing and so on. Some well known organizations, like the British Council uses Children’s literature to organize English language teaching as well as creative writing workshops for the students.
Today the field of Children’s literature has also emerged as a powerful avenue in the publication industry. For instance around 10, 000 children’s books are published annually in UK alone. Popularity of Children’s Literature among the publishers clearly indicates job opportunities in this field. Also for a long time Children’s Literature remained a western dominated arena. Now the scenario is changing. Researchers and academicians are looking for the Children’s literature in various non western parts and communities around the world.
This changing trend has opened up new job opportunities. A requirement of translators in huge number is felt currently in the publication industry to translate the Children’s Literature of other regional languages into English and vice-versa so that they can be published and reach out to a bigger readership. Being Indians most of us are trilingual on an average. Indian students of English Language and Literature with good knowledge of Children’s Literature may nail such jobs in the publication industry in India and abroad.
For obvious reasons in the field of research and higher education Children’s Literature has gained a lot of importance with time. Many celebrated universities like, University of London, University of Alberta, Deakin University and many more have introduced Children’s literature as an important paper and some even have turned it into a separate department altogether.
Following the current footsteps of the international trends in higher education the Department of English Language and Literature of Adamas University also offers an important elective paper for its Master Degree students. As a response to this every year almost hundred percent of the existing students take up this paper as their favorite elective. The students enjoy the reading materials of this course for obvious reasons. They enjoy reading the good old stories under a new light and a new perception.
Children’s Literature is now a vibrant area of research. As it is already mentioned earlier that it is interlinked with various other disciplines like phonetics, linguistics, psychology, art, music and even politics, Children’s Literature offers an immense scope for the young researchers. In foreign universities as well, young scholars have the scope to pursue their research in this field.
Children’s literature though sounds very innocent and is meant for the innocent is actually not that innocent. From the time immemorial Children’s literature has remained an active field of politics. It has always acted as a medium of education and instruction. Children’s Literature has the power to shape a community and a nation. History has witnessed the use of Children’s Literature by the oppressors to oppress and impose stereotypes on the oppressed community and to stop the oppressed community from asking questions. On the other hand it has also witness a reverse motion where the Children’s Literature is used by the oppressed community to tell its own story and to train the children of the community to question their oppressors.
Children’s Literature is also used to make comment on the contemporary social and political issues like racism, gender, sexual harassment and so on. Such an active and vibrant filed of Children’s Literature always offers immense scope for jobs as well as for research. In both cases the student is free to explore the international avenues as well. Our childhood may end but our journey with Children’s Literature may never end.
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