What is a Research Café? At Research Cafés, three Goldsmiths academics or students give a 10-minute presentation about their research in a relaxed, friendly environment. Presentations are followed by a short Q&A session. These are free public events in an accessible space with refreshments provided.

This month...

Children’s Literature in Action – Groundbreaking Research

Dr Julia Hope, Visiting Research Fellow in Children’s Literature, Goldsmiths, University of London

How do children engage with children’s literature? Surprisingly little has been written on the topic in recent times. In our new publication, Children’s Literature in Action, based on the MA module of the same name, we have gathered together the best research from students over the last seven years that seeks to address this question. In this talk I will explain the structure of the research module that inspired reader response approaches, creating innovative dialogic and multimodal projects. I will provide an outline to the book and explain the presentation of data, underpinned by theory, that runs throughout all the chapters, while selecting key moments as examples.

Comics and Children’s Text Making

Helen Jones, PhD Children’s Literature Researcher, Goldsmiths, University of London

How do children engage with comics, both as readers and writers? Comics tend to be a marginalised medium in schools, with many teachers unaware of the pedagogical potential comics have (Aleixo et al., 2020). During this talk I’ll discuss my chapter in the recent publication, Children’s Literature in Action, which explores setting up a comics library in a primary school and the impact this had. Additionally, I’ll share my current research into children’s comics making in an after-school comics club and explore the comics the children have created. Finally, I’ll suggest some ways forward for creating opportunities for children to self-publish and distribute their work.

Critical Connections and Children’s Digital Story Making

Professor Vicky Macleroy, Head of MA Children’s Literature, Goldsmiths, University of London

The Critical Connections Project (2012-ongoing) is a global digital storytelling project working with children from 6 – 18 years old across schools in Australia, Cyprus, Egypt, England, Germany, India, Italy, Malaysia, Taiwan, Turkey, Switzerland. The research connects children with their environment, cultural heritage, and languages through telling stories on issues that matter to them and imagining how things can be otherwise. In this talk I will share some of the ways children create their digital stories using children’s literature, artwork, storyboards, animation and filmmaking techniques and show a 4-minute digital story created by 9–10-year-olds, From my Window - De ma Fenêtre (June 2022).

Reading and Relationships illustration by Georgia Cowley, MA Children's Literature: Children's Book Illustration alumnus