Legally Scripted Fictions: Representations of Fathers and Fatherhood in Picture Books About Refugee Children

• In Event: 67.070 - Sheraton Roundtable 14 - Grand Centre
  In Roundtable Session: 67.070-8 - (Re)Creating Possibilities With Curriculum Within Constrained Times, Spaces, and Materials

Abstract

The experiences of children labeled as refugees are increasingly politicized across local and global contexts, influencing teachers’ assumptions about this student population and consequent inclusion of specialized children’s literature in the classroom (Hope, 2015). Drawing from critical multicultural perspectives and methods of critical content analysis, we investigate depictions of refugee fathers and fatherhood in 40 picture books, examining thematic and ideological significances (Stephens, 1992). Findings suggest that representations of fathers and fatherhood closely reflect their legal refugee status and related economic policies, and that narratives discursively situate agency and power with those who force refugee families to leave and those who resettle them. We suggest that teachers’ inclusion of refugee-themed picture books must be supported by systematic, critical analyses.

Authors

• Ekaterina Strekalova-Hughes, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• Nora Peterman, University of Missouri - Kansas City