"Disability Issues in Children's and Young Adult Literature"
Children's Literature Association Sponsored Session
2008 MLA Convention
San Francisco, December 2008
Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 1, 2008

English studies is increasingly concerned with the representation of disabilities and of individuals with differing abilities; literature for children and adolescents are especially vibrant locations for a variety of conversations, for a variety of purposes, about such concerns as blindness and visual acuity; Deafness and Deaf culture; HIV and other disease related illnesses; congenital illnesses; cognitive differences including learning disabilities; mobility and access issues; fatness, anorexia, bulimia and body image distortions; and psychiatric concerns such as depression, anxiety and SIB.

The chairs of this panel seek submissions that offer readings of representations of differing abilities and disabilities in Children's or Adolescent Literature.   We welcome a variety of critical and theoretical approaches or methodologies.

Email a 500 word abstract or eight-page paper and brief CV or inquiries and questions to:

Jennifer Miskec: jennifer.miskec@cnu.edu
or
Keith Dorwick: kdorwick@louisiana.edu