Family, Youth, and Literature

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

October 20-22nd, 2006



 

The Youth Literature Interest Group is hosting a Fall conference titled Family, Youth, and Literature.  We welcome students and faculty, as well as librarians, teachers, and other individuals working with children or children’s literature.  Given the interdisciplinary nature of the theme, the topics cover both practical suggestions and theoretical explanations.  In addition, this weekend conference provides an opportunity for individuals who work with young people and books to meet and discuss the impact of texts, contexts, and literacy on young lives.

We begin Friday afternoon with a “Book Tasting” event, followed by dinner and the keynote speech by Hazel Rochman.  Hazel Rochman was born and raised in South Africa, where she worked as a journalist. She was a librarian at the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools, and is now a contributing editor at Booklist, where she reviews books for children and young adults. Booklist is published by the American Library Association, and is highly respected as a review journal.  Rochman's anthology, Somehow Tenderness Survives: Stories of Southern Africa was chosen a Best Book for Young Adults by the American Library Association and a Pick of the Lists by the American Booksellers Association.  A quote from Rochman describes the universality and power of reading, a key aspect of this conference, "Reading makes immigrants of us all. It takes us away from home, but, most importantly, it finds homes for us everywhere." This quote comes from a 1995 Horn Book Magazine article that can be read at http://www.hbook.com/Exhibit/article_rochman.html.

 

The conference continues Saturday and a half-day on Sunday with panel presentations designed to bridge academic research and professional practice.  The eighteen presenters include youth literature specialists from departments of English, Education, Library and Information Science, and American Indian Studies. 

Panel topics (three presenters per panel) include:

Ethnicity and Family: Inside Stories

Identity, Family and Literacy

Reconstituting the Family

Role Models and Family Roles

Families and Libraries: Getting Along

Extended Families: Reaching Out

 

*12 CPDU’s (Continuing Professional Development Units) or 1.2 CEU’s (University Continuing Education Units) will be awarded to attendees.

 

The Youth Literature Interest Group (YLIG) is a coalition of faculty and doctoral students in Education, English Studies, Library and Information Science, and American Indian Studies from the University of Illinois, Illinois State University, and Eastern Illinois University.  In the past, YLIG has organized and co-sponsored monthly reading and discussion meetings, a research showcase, and the first two in an annual series of Gryphon lectures.  This conference highlights the interdisciplinary focus of YLIG with panel speakers representing a wide variety of fields and interests.

Page last updated September 25th, 2006