Brytyjska literatura dziecięca a edukacja wielokulturowa

Abstract

The article examines the position of children’s literature classics in the wake of the emergence of multicultural society in post-war Britain. Given that the so called Golden Age of children’s literature coincided with the high point in the development of the British Empire in the second half of the 19th century, it is hardly surprising that many novels, particularly adventure stories set in exotic locations, convey the imperialist spirit of the day and, more or less wittingly, prepare juvenile readers for the role of empire-builders. However, because of their implication in the imperial past and European superiority these classical works can be problematic to the point of being unwelcome in contemporary libraries and classrooms, as they tend to contain racial bias offensive to diverse ethnic groups forming today’s multicultural Britain. Since the label of classics affords these texts some critical reverence or caution, the debate concerning their presence in multicultural education relates less to the question whether but rather how to read them.