In the opening chapter of Peter Pan Barrie writes of Mr Darling ‘He was one of those deep ones who know about stocks and shares. Of course no one really knows, but he quite seemed to know.’ The passage is reflective of the tone often adopted in children’s literature, where questions of economics are often a part of an adult world (what Nodelman calls the 'shadow text') of which children are awere but to which they have little access. This does not mean, of course, that children are unaffected by flows of capital. Money is a force with tremendous power to shape children’s lives. This special issue of Literature Compass aims both to consolidate and to advance criticism in literature, film, philosophy, and cultural studies by attending to some incarnations of debt and analyzing their wider implications.
Abstracts of 250 words are invited on any aspect of economics as represented in literature, film, and other media. The editors are particularly, although not exclusively, interested in papers which address the question of debt in children’s literature or depictions of childhood. Suitable papers will be published in a special issue of the peer-reviewed e-journal Literature Compass (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1741-4113).
Possible themes and topics:
Capitalism
Capital
Inheritance
Faith
Credibility
Chance
Marxism
Interest
Commerce
Trade
Liberalism
Finances
Housing
Rent
Mortgage
Banks
Credit
Debit
Ranking
Poverty
Labour
Forgiveness
Cash
Stocks
Forgery
Political Economy
Colonialism
Wealth
The first deadline for submissions is January 15, 2020. Queries and proposals may be directed to editors Dr.s Tom Ue at ue_tom@hotmail.com and Philip Smith at philipsmithgraduate@gmail.com.