Dr. Linda Sexson's Guest Lecture

Dr. L Sexson's lectures this past week on morality in Children's lit were really fascinating. I enjoyed myself on both days and felt that I really learned something about the nature of "text" for children's lit.

Firstly, attempting to define "child" was more difficult than I had expected. I really thought that I could do it, but the more I thought about the limitations of each definition, the more I decided that "child" is one of those indefinite terms. Similarly, so is "adult." "Adolescent." "Young Adult." Do these have to do with maturity? Age? Experience? I don't really know what I think about that, but, it seems that we should at least know "child" to know the literature associated with it? Right? Secondly, how do we define literature? Is it imaginative or informative? True or false? These are big questions and I don't know...Just thinking things through. :O)

Our discussion of the Religions of the Books' views on children were quite interesting. Dr. Sexson argued that:
1. Children fulfill the patriarchal promise: I can see this. Men, especially it seems of certain ethnic backgrounds, view the conception of a son as a comment on masculinity. I think that men more often than women seem to be disappointed by the lack of a son. They want their sons to be able to continue on as rulers of the society (patriarchy).
2. Children are the pleasure of one's old age: I agree here in a way. The children are more like caretakers than joys. I think grandchildren are the joys. What if one has no children though? I suppose this speaks to why children were so valued and, arguably, necessary to these societies.
3. Children are a risk: DEFINITELY! What if parents invest thousands of dollars into their child's college education and he decides he wants to be a struggling artist. That's, potentially, a lot of money lost. But, I think that the potential joys would outweigh the potential risks of parenthood in most cases.

The history of the early Primers was also really intriguing. The Protestant Reformation lesson brought me way back to AP European History in 10th grade. That was exciting. But it's interesting to see the progression from pre-printing press onward with all of the integral steps in the birth of a literature for children.

More on this later.