Transnational Subjectivity of the Korean War in U.S. Children’s Literature

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Critically Examining Historical and Current Social Justice Topics in Fiction and Nonfiction Texts (Table 2)

Abstract

This study explores the textuality of the Korean War in select children’s fiction books, as theoretically informed by transnatioal critical literacy, the concept of implied readers,and intergenerationality. The findings indicate that Korean War subjectivity evolved from national stereotypes to empowering vehicles as part of family narratives and storytelling’s support of protagonists’ troubled realities, such as immigrant family life and mental health issues in response to bullying and racism.

Authors

• Yoo Kyung Sung, University of New Mexico

• HeeYoung Kim, West Texas A&M University