Friday, February 12, 2010

Twilight & Harry Potter to be Studied in Cambridge

According to BBC news, Twilight, Harry Potter and video games as works of literature, will be some new additions for the study of children’s literature in Cambridge.

BBC News:

Professor Maria Nikolajeva, who will be the centre’s first director, said it was important to get an understanding of what was influencing young people.

She said: “It’s easy to say that these things are just kids’ fashions or that they’re trash, but I don’t believe that’s good enough.

“If what we regard as trash is popular with young people, we need to know why and whether, as researchers and teachers, we can offer them something that addresses the same needs but also deals with these themes in a critical and ethical way.”

She added many trainee teachers did not understand the significance of the latest children’s books or films when they went into the classroom.

“Studying this can help us deal with questions which are important not only for the children themselves, but for adults as well,” she added.

I think not everybody will agree about this, in fact some said its a "trash". The concept of teaching these new literature is to study about the ideas children pick up from books as well as other sources the university's new centre for the study of children's literature.

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