ACLAR 2024 Conference
University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand: 27-30 November 2024Children’s Literature and Whenua (the land)
Conference Venue
The Biennial Australasian Children’s Literature Association for Research (ACLAR) conference will take place at the University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. 27-30 November 2024
Conference Theme
Our theme for the 2024 ACLAR conference is ‘whenua’. The Māori word ‘whenua’ has a number of English equivalents; most particularly ‘land’, but notably it can also refer to the placenta and/or afterbirth. The strength of this connection is reflected in the traditional Māori practice of burying the afterbirth (i.e. whenua ) of a child in the land (i.e. whenua) to which they are connected. Whenua encompasses soil, rocks, flora, fauna, and people who inhabit the land. Māori assert an ancestral relationship with the land and all it encompasses. The term Tangata Whenua refers to the Indigenous people of the land; and Mana Whenua refers to the kaitiaki (guardianship) role Tangata Whenua have for the land with which they are connected.
In this conference we will honour whenua in relation to children’s literature, particularly, but not exclusively, in New Zealand and Australian contexts. We invite submissions on topics in children’s and young adult’s literature as influenced by concepts of whenua including:
- Representations of whenua (land)
- Indigeneity
- Indigenous language(s)
- Environment
- Place
- Guardianship (kaitiakitanga)
- Ecocriticism
- Identity
- History
- Whakapapa (ancestry)
- Childbirth and family
- Postcolonialism
- Any other themes relating to whenua (land)
We welcome submissions in relation to children’s and young adult literature around these themes across a range of genres and formats: picturebooks, graphic novels, comics, fiction and non-fiction. You are also welcome to submit ideas for a different session topic aligning with the overarching theme of ‘whenua’. Presentations will be 20 minutes followed by a 10-minute discussion. You may also submit proposals for a panel of three presentations on one topic. Please ensure all proposed presenters provide a biography.
Submission details
Please send an abstract of 300 words maximum and a short biography of 100 words as two separate Word documents to: ACLAR2024@waikato.ac.nz
E-mails should have the subject line: Submission ACLAR 2024
Submissions should include the following:
- Author(s)
- Affiliation as you would like it to appear in the programme
- City and country
- E-mail address
- Theme for your presentation
- Title of proposed paper
- Abstract of paper (300 words)
- Selected bibliography with academic sources (3-5 references)
Key information
- All abstracts and papers must be in English or Māori
- Deadline for abstract submission EXTENDED to: 15 March 2024
- Notification of acceptance: 15 April 2024
- All submissions will be blind peer-reviewed
Enquiries and submissions to: ACLAR2024@waikato.ac.nz
Keynote Speakers
We are thrilled to introduce our 5 keynote speakers for ALCAR 2024, all of whom will explore links to the conference theme of whenua.
Professor Tom Roa
He aha te mea nui? What is the most important thing?
Gavin Bishop ONZM
Tōku whenua. My land
Pānia Tahau-Hodges & Eboni Waitere
Kaitiakitanga in contemporary indigenous publishing in Aotearoa
Karaitiana Tamatea
“Mā Muri, Mā Mua” (Our Past Informs Our Future)
Accommodation
When you register, you will find an option to book rooms at College Hall (one of the University’s Halls of Residence). A daily continental breakfast is included. The cost per night per person (including breakfast) is $95 (GST incl)
If you prefer to stay elsewhere there are many hotels and motels to choose from in Hamilton. Click here for further details.
Past Conferences
2022
‘Owning our Voices: Authenticity, Legitimacy, and Agency in Children’s and Young Adult Literature’
Online and in Perth, Western Australia
Keynote speakers: Mavis Reimer, Doris Wolf, Melanie Braith, Grace Braniff, Amanda Laverdure and
Benjamin Roloff; Kate Eltham, Alice Boer-Endacott, Jared Thomas, Rebecca Lim, Rachel Bin Salleh:
2018
‘Houses of Learning: Education in Chidren’s Literature and Children’s Literature as Education’
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 12-14 July 2018
Confirmed keynote speakers: Associate Professor Marah Gubar, Kate de Goldi, Miranda Harcourt and Stuart McKenzie
2016
‘Shifting Landscapes: Diversity, Text and Young People’
Charles Sturt University, Wagga, Wagga
2014
‘Emotional Control: Affect, Ideology and Texts for Young People’
Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor John Stephens, Dr Juanita Feros Ruys
Guest speaker: Jackie French, Australian Children’s Laureate
2012
‘If We’re Being Honest… The Facts and Fictions of Children’s Literature’
The University of Canberra/National Library of Australia, ACT, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor Clare Bradford, Professor Kerry Mallan, Mr Shaun Tan
2010
‘Children’s Literature and its Politics: Representation and the Rules of Engagement’
The University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor Mavis Reimer, Professor Jean Webb
2008
‘Other Worlds in Children’s Literature: Fantasy, Reality and Imagination’
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Keynote speakers: Professor Roderick McGillis, Professor Jerry Griswold
2006
‘Children’s Literature at the Edge: New Texts, New Technologies, New Readings, New Readers’
Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia
Keynote speaker: Professor Kerry Mallan
2004
‘Imaging Childhood’
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor Perry Nodelman and Mr Shaun Tan
2002
‘Seriously Playful’
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
2001
‘Cinderella Transformed’
Christchurch College of Education, Christchurch, New Zealand
1999
‘Children’s Literature Matters’
Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1998
‘Something to Crow About’
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
1997
‘Old Neighbours, New Visions’
University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
Past Conferences
2022
‘Owning our Voices: Authenticity, Legitimacy, and Agency in Children’s and Young Adult Literature’
Online and in Perth, Western Australia
Keynote speakers: Mavis Reimer, Doris Wolf, Melanie Braith, Grace Braniff, Amanda Laverdure and
Benjamin Roloff; Kate Eltham, Alice Boer-Endacott, Jared Thomas, Rebecca Lim, Rachel Bin Salleh:
2018
‘Houses of Learning: Education in Chidren’s Literature and Children’s Literature as Education’
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, 12-14 July 2018
Confirmed keynote speakers: Associate Professor Marah Gubar, Kate de Goldi, Miranda Harcourt and Stuart McKenzie
2016
‘Shifting Landscapes: Diversity, Text and Young People’
Charles Sturt University, Wagga, Wagga
2014
‘Emotional Control: Affect, Ideology and Texts for Young People’
Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor John Stephens, Dr Juanita Feros Ruys
Guest speaker: Jackie French, Australian Children’s Laureate
2012
‘If We’re Being Honest… The Facts and Fictions of Children’s Literature’
The University of Canberra/National Library of Australia, ACT, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor Clare Bradford, Professor Kerry Mallan, Mr Shaun Tan
2010
‘Children’s Literature and its Politics: Representation and the Rules of Engagement’
The University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor Mavis Reimer, Professor Jean Webb
2008
‘Other Worlds in Children’s Literature: Fantasy, Reality and Imagination’
Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand
Keynote speakers: Professor Roderick McGillis, Professor Jerry Griswold
2006
‘Children’s Literature at the Edge: New Texts, New Technologies, New Readings, New Readers’
Australian Catholic University, Melbourne, Australia
Keynote speaker: Professor Kerry Mallan
2004
‘Imaging Childhood’
University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Keynote speakers: Professor Perry Nodelman and Mr Shaun Tan
2002
‘Seriously Playful’
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
2001
‘Cinderella Transformed’
Christchurch College of Education, Christchurch, New Zealand
1999
‘Children’s Literature Matters’
Deakin University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
1998
‘Something to Crow About’
Charles Sturt University, Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, Australia
1997
‘Old Neighbours, New Visions’
University of South Australia, Adelaide, South Australia
