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What stories can/should we write? (Alexandra Bazrafshan)

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What stories can/should we write? (Alexandra Bazrafshan)

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The reading and videos this week highlighted how important it is for authentic representation in children's literature.

It is tasked primarily on the writers to create these diverse stories, but it is perhaps an even bigger issue concerning the publishing industry. For example, Sensoy & Marshall (2010) analyzed how the children's novel The Breadwinner, written by a white American author Deborah Ellis, perpetrates the harmful and monolithic views about Muslim women, and Muslims in general being in need of saving. I think any writer can choose to write what they want, if they take the time and awareness to be authentic (which, in this case is arugued that Ellis was not). The problem lies in the publishing industry: in upholding perspectives and views that are detrimental to writers of marginalized background, they gatekeep what literature readers have access to. As a result, teachers and librarians who are on the receiving end of advertising and promotion continue supporting that book. In a big way, bestselling books are made to be so. And that is where the danger of a single story (Adichie, 2009) becomes even more apparent. When a book such as Ellis's does so well, the story becomes a reference point regarding literature with Muslim characters... even when it is problematic.

The panelists in the WOTS Toronto video (2020) similarly shared the sentiment that literature should be authentic, but they framed it in a more nuanced way: writers should not tell stories that are not their own. Writers may have a close connection to a community that does not match their own identity, but that is still part of their story (for example, if they have lived in a community for an extended period of time). Because of their closeness to that community, they will have a greater responsibility to 'get it right' and create stories that have more well-rounded representation.

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The TED Talk by Chimamanda Adichie (2009) was a beautifully articulated presentation on how single-story narratives are dangerous in how they monolithically and often stereotypically depict communities and identities. It was interesting to reflect on how prevalent these single-stories are and how they are often subconsciously adopted as faithful representations of reality when they are often steeped in myths, stereotypes, inaccurate portrayals and racism (Adichie, 2009). This connected well with the reading by Sensoy and Malloy (2010). When authors and the characters within their texts share different lived experiences and cultural backgrounds, there can be a problematic disconnect that can perpetuate these single-story narratives. This is something that I would like to keep in mind when reading texts and when selecting them for the classroom – how differences in positionality (reader, author, characters) impact the reading of diverse texts and the accuracy of the content and representations therein (Sensoy & Malloy, 2010). It also reinforces the importance of including a broad range of diverse voices and perspectives to validate and consider different viewpoints.

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The Breadwinner - Missionary girl power (Alexandra Arrowsmith)

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The Breadwinner - Missionary girl power (Alexandra Arrowsmith)

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Who is allowed to write stories?

When first asked this question, you would say something along the lines of "Well, anyone can write stories!". However, this week's reading challenged that thought.

With a focus on authentic and accurate representation in children's literature, Sensoy and Marshall (2010) bring up excellent points on who gets to write about whom. The Breadwinner is a well-known book that follows the story of Parvana, a young girl living in Kabul during the occupation of the Taliban. When her father is arrested, she must disguise herself as a boy to 'save' her family. As compelling as the story may sound, the author, Deborah Ellis, is white-American, and the idea of 'missionary girl power' and that Muslims must be saved is deeply embedded in colonization. After all, colonialism "relies on the (re)telling of the colonised stories by the coloniser" (Sensoy & Marshall, 2010, pg. 298).

Funny enough, this week's readings come at an interesting time since we just started reading The Breadwinner in my grade 6 classroom. We have already had discussions as to why it is important to read stories like Parvana's, and the discussion on who gets to write about whom will also take place. Teaching in a school where 80% of students come from military families, it is essential that I have these discussions with my students since some family members have been deployed on peace missions or who know of members of the community who were, in fact, deployed to Afghanistan in the early 2000s. This week has given me a lot of food for thought, and I must bring in more stories instead of just one (Adichie, 2009). I have some work to do!

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Critically viewing the Single Story - Karen Racioppo

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Critically viewing the Single Story - Karen Racioppo

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The TED Talk given by Chimamanda Adichie perfectly described her experience in being introduced to books, an experience that many of my students are also able to identify with. Coming to the realization that she could "exist in literature", rather than reading about "foreigners and characters who were not identifiable" was when she was saved from the single story of what she believed books to be.

Postcolonial, feminist and anti-racist theory is essential for educators as it allows for the pause and reflect of who is really telling the story - is it a narrative, or a publisher's version of one? If, as Adichie states, "a people are shown as one thing over and over again, that's what they become". As a reader, it is important to remember that to write is to tell a story, one that may or may not hold truth.

It is easy to sit on one side of the world and view a culture as something we have read about, as we may never get to experience it for ourselves. The danger in that is that we are relying on others to form our opinions. As educators, we have be especially careful to ensure we remain open to the differences brought forward by the cultures represented by our students, but also to challenge our students to avoid believing a Single Story - the reason critical literacy exists. Adichie touches upon this when she was met with the statement that it was a shame that "all Nigerian men were physical abusers" like the character in her book. Her response relating her view of Americans as serial murderers after watching American Psycho was comical, yet very effective.

I took this class to remind myself of "how to pick a good book". I used to read the Breadwinner to my junior students - thinking I was introducing a new type of heroine. After reading Sensoy and Marshall's article (2010), I can see that I still do need to be critical of the literature I bring into the classroom. In this case, I would not shy away from using the book as I have (to compare struggles and survival when connected to real world issues - read alongside Fatty Legs to introduce strong female "characters"), but after reading the article and particularly the quote, "that girls in the Middle East are consistently at risk of gendered violence implicitly suggests that the girls in the 'civilized' West are immune to such threats" (p. 304), will certainly change the way I bring this information to my students. Creating a safe classroom open to discussing some of these differences hopefully helped to ensure I wasn't contributing to the Single Story, but I will definitely continue forward ensuring I don't.

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Response to Sensoy & Marshall-Emily Anzai

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Response to Sensoy & Marshall-Emily Anzai

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I found the idea that children’s literature is used as an agent for colonialism as children’s books tell and retell stories of colonialism written by the coloniser to be quite profound (Sensoy & Marshall, 2010). When books are written by authors on or about topics and characters that share different life experiences and cultural backgrounds to themselves, problematic disconnects in the story can take place (Sensoy & Marshall, 2010). This idea reminds me of the readings from last week, specifically Stagg & Robinson’s article. The reading noted that it was quite common for books published about Indigenous peoples and culture to have been written, illustrated, formatted and marketed by non-Indigenous people (Stagg & Robinson, 2020). This causes the harmful effect of sharing inauthentic Indigenous perspectives and incorrect portrayals and understandings of Indigenous knowledge and teachings. As educators, it should be our job to introduce texts in our classroom that not only portray accurate depictions of people, places, events and themes but are written by authentic voices.

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Applying a Theoretical Lens - Katy Paton

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Applying a Theoretical Lens - Katy Paton

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The TED Talk by Chimamanda Adichie focuses on the danger of a single story, and there was one section that stood out to me the most.  When talking about her American roommate and some of the statements that she made, Adichie says “In this single story there was no possibility of Africans being similar to her in any way.  No possibility of feelings more complex than pity.  No possibility of a connection as human equals”.  The article by Sensoy & Marshall similarly states “we would argue that there is no one text, story or narrative that could unproblematically represent ‘others’.” (p. 309).  Postcolonial and/or feminist theoretical perspectives can broaden our understanding of depictions of people, places and cultures in children’s literature but only when they are authentic, varied, and encompass many stories and viewpoints.  Additionally, it is important to find stories of people who may not be often represented in the mainstream media, who do not only come from similar cultures and backgrounds but instead represent people from all around the world and with different perspectives and experiences.