"But the Soldier's Remains Were Gone": Thought Experiments in Children's Literature

Autor/in	Sainsbury, Lisa
Titel	"But the Soldier's Remains Were Gone": Thought Experiments in Children's Literature
Quelle	In: Children's Literature in Education, 48 (2017) 2, S.152-168 (17 Seiten)Infoseite zur Zeitschrift PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0045-6713
DOI	10.1007/s10583-016-9274-6
Schlagwörter	Childrens Literature; Educational Philosophy; Teaching Methods; Heuristics; Thinking Skills; Cognitive Processes; Intuition + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? 'Children''s literature'; Kinderliteratur; Bildungsphilosophie; Erziehungsphilosophie; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Heuristik; Denkfähigkeit; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess
Abstract	In this article thought experiments are uncovered as key stimuli of philosophical potential in children's literature and their presentation and function is examined in a selection of focal texts, including: Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) and "Through the Looking-Glass" (1871); "Even the Parrot" by Dorothy Sayers (1944); Nina Bawden's "Carrie's War" (1974); and "A Game of Soldiers" (1985) by Jan Needle. The thought experiment is a device common to science and philosophy and has been recognised as an heuristic tool in literature generally, but here children's literature is drawn into the conversation, revealing that--as a dynamic mechanism of children's narrative--thought experiments have a long-standing and particular role to play in books for young people. This paper connects with a recent turn in children's literature discourse toward the conditions of power in books for young readers; it moves on the debate by demonstrating that the apparatus of thought experimentation places the implied child reader in a position of philosophical responsibility and forward thinking. Presenting thought experiments in different ways, formal properties of the thought experiment--such as conversational mode, double engagement and modal positioning--are identified and shown to open up a philosophical space of subsequence in children's texts. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01