Dr Lucy Pearson, Lecturer in Children's Literature

Personal reflections

One of our key goals was to create a space for an ‘own voices’ discussion among those gathered together for the Diverse Voices? symposium, especially important (and challenging) given that both Newcastle University and Seven Stories' staff are predominantly white. I found listening to a discussion about diversity in children’s literature which included such a wide range of experiences really beneficial in helping me consider how these issues can be incorporated into scholarship which (like mine) is not directly ‘about’ diversity or race. It will directly inform my forthcoming research on the CILIP Carnegie Medal. 

Outcomes at Newcastle

More broadly, the symposium has helped to prompt our thinking on how to support research in this area, and underpins a number of forthcoming initiatives:

Confirmed

• Special issue of International Research in Children’s Literature on ‘Curating National Literatures’, edited by Dr Lucy Pearson, Professor Karen Sands-O’Connor and Dr Aishwarya Subramanian. This will include some discussion of the symposium in the context of a wider focus on how national canons are created and what they include and exclude.

• AHRC/NPIF-funded 6-month postdoctoral project on ‘Networked Voices’, led by Dr Aishwarya Subramanian and supervised by Dr Lucy Pearson. 

• AHRC Northern Bridge funded PhD project: ‘Negotiating the tensions between forms of alienation and belonging for refugee children in the work of Beverley Naidoo’. Doctoral student Helen (who attended the symposium, along with Beverley Naidoo) will be supervised by Dr Lucy Pearson (English), Dr Kyle Grayson (Politics) and John Coburn (Seven Stories).

In progress

• AHRC Research Network on ‘National Children’s Literature Collections’, which will consider what it means to create a collection that truly represents the nation, including how such collections and exhibitions can be inclusive and what responsibilities are inherent in claiming ‘national’ status. We are currently putting together a funding bid for this project. (Contact us if you know of academics or museums and archives professionals who would be interested in participating).

Planned

• Northern Bridge Partnership Awards: this is a scheme for PhD funding which allows us to advertise for students who might complete PhDs in partnership with Seven Stories. We plan to highlight the potential for work on issues of diversity in future calls.

• We run various author events in collaboration with Seven Stories and are making a commitment to actively seek a wider range of speakers, and especially to think more creatively about how speakers are billed (i.e. not inviting ‘diverse’ speakers only to speak on diversity).

• Seeking / supporting opportunities for a wider range of scholars to work on children’s literature, and for more work on issues associated with diversity. There are various opportunities for scholars to come and work at Newcastle and we would welcome enquiries from prospective Leverhulme Fellows, Newton Fellows, etc., whose work aligns with the kind of expertise at Newcastle University and would benefit from a period working here.