Teaching cats in Children’s Literature

Authors

  • Panagiotis Xouplidis School of Italian Language and Literature, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle University Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2020.2.311.321

Keywords:

Cat, Comparative Children´s Literature, Animal Studies, social stereotypes

Abstract

Aim. The aim of the research is the comparative study of literary cat characters in Children’s Literature texts in Greek and Spanish and their instructive function in the transmission of social stereotypes.

Methods. The research subscribes to the field of Literary Animal Studies based on the theory of Children’s Literature (Lukens, 1999) and through the intercultural perspective of Comparative Children’s Literature (O’Sullivan, 2005). Published children’s books from Greece, Spain and Spanish-speaking America were compared using textual analysis methods of Imagology (Beller & Leersen, 2007). Stereotyped variants were identified and organized in categories related to name, physical appearance, gender, behavior, and function of literary cat characters.

Results. After examining a corpus of 37 books, 23 in Greek and 17 in Spanish (Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Spain), textual analysis findings were compared, organized, and classified by language, country and readers’ age groups to locate that literary cat characters are usually pets or feral, and they remain consistently stereotyped as anthropomorphic and subversive. Cats with seven lives and magical powers are common perceptions, dominating in both cultural contexts, stereotypes extended to strong superstitions about black cats.

Conclusions. In Children's Literature texts, cats are linguistically, literally, and socially defined literary constructs, can have usually human-like features, intercultural influences, and are potentially shaped by intertextual relations. They serve also as a narrative motif for the transmission of social values about non-human animals and the textual familiarization of nonadult readers with society’s cultural stereotypes.

 

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Author Biography

Panagiotis Xouplidis, School of Italian Language and Literature, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Aristotle University Campus, 54124, Thessaloniki, Greece

Panagiotis Xouplidis holds a Ph.D in Comparative Literature (Greek-Spanish) and a Master’s degree in European Literature and Culture Studies by Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. Has a Βachelor’s degree in Spanish Language and Culture by the Hellenic Open University, Patras, Greece, and a Βachelor’s degree in Mathematics by Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece. He has published articles and studies in conference proceedings and scientific journals in Greek, English, and Spanish. His research interests include comparative children's literature, Spanish and Spanish-American literature, translation studies, semiotics, literary animal studies, and ecocritisism. He is secretary general of the Hispanohelenic Union of Language and Culture, and of the Hellenic Semiotics Society.

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Published

2020-09-11

How to Cite

Xouplidis, P. . (2020). Teaching cats in Children’s Literature. Journal of Education Culture and Society, 11(2), 311–321. https://doi.org/10.15503/jecs2020.2.311.321

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2020): Journal of Education Culture and Society

Section

EXPRESSION

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CC-BY

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