Courage, Defiance, and Resistance: (Non-)Fictional YA Activist Texts in Eng-lish Language Education

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Abstract

This paper takes a closer look at recent (non-)fictional texts about activists and activism written for a young adult audience (including handbooks, essay collections and novels) which not only cover issues of contemporary significance, ranging from social and environmental justice, but also aim at supporting learners in taking action themselves. The texts will be presented in the context of both the UN's Convention on the Rights of the Child (particularly Article 29 "Best Possible Education") and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (Particularly SDGs 4 "Quality Education" and 16 “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”). While the former states that education should not only inform children and adolescents about their rights and to respect other people, but also ensure "that all can live in peace and that the environment is protected" (UNICEF 2022), the SDGs strive for peaceful and inclusive societies and aim to provide access to justice and quality education for all (UN 2022). Applying these overarching guidelines to the English language classroom, we will discuss the significance of children's rights-based language education for the appreciation and cultivation of learners' agency. We further provide a practical outlook on experimental (language) learning settings, in which these rather new forms and formats might aid students in learning languages of hope and finding their own voices. References: Alsup, Janet (2010): Young Adult Literature and Adolescent Identity Across Cultures and Classrooms: Contexts for the Literary Lives of Teens. New York: Routledge. Appiah, Kwame Anthony (2007): Cosmopolitanism. Ethics in a World of Strangers. London: Penguin. Bîrzéa, César (2000): Project on “Education for Democratic Citizenship” – Education for Democratic Citizenship: A Lifelong Learning Perspective. Council of Europe. Retrieved from www.bpb.de/system/files/pdf/F0R5Q8.pdf. Last accessed May 2019. Cart, Michael (2008): The Value of Young Adult Literature. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/yalsa/guidelines/whitepapers/yalit. Last accessed May 2019. Corbett, Sue (2018): YA Authors Respond to Teen Activism. Retrieved from puplishersweekly: https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-book-news/article/76774-ya-2018-booklist-the-revolution-will-be-anthologized.html. Last accessed May 2019. Delanoy, Werner (2006): Transculturality and (Inter-)Cultural Learning in the EFL Classroom. In: Delanoy, Werner & Volkmann, Laurenz (eds.): Cultural Studies in the EFL Classroom. Heidelberg: Winter, 233–248. Freemann, Michael (2002): Human rights: An interdisciplinary approach. Cambridge: Polity. Gollob, Rolf/Krapf, Peter/Weidinger, Wiltrud (eds.) (2010): Educating for democracy. Background materials on democratic citizenship and human rights education for teachers. Vol. 1 of EDC/HRE Volumes I-VI. Council of Europe Publishing. Retrieved from: https://www.living-democracy.com/pdf/en/V1/V01.pdf.Last accessed May 2019. Henseler, Roswita/Surkamp, Carola (2007): Leselust statt Lesefrust. In: Der Fremdsprachliche Unterricht Englisch 89, 2-11. Jackson, Liz (2019): Questioning Allegiance. Resituating Civic Education. London: Routledge. Matz, Frauke/Stieger, Anne (2015): Teaching Young Adult Fiction. In: Delanoy, Werner/Eisenmann, Maria/Matz, Frauke (eds.): Learning with Literature in the EFL Classroom. Frankfurt a.M.: Peter Lang, 121-140. Osler, Audrey/Starkey, Hugh (2010): Teachers and Human Rights Education. London: UCL. UNESCO: Gobal Citizenship Education. Retrieved from: https://en.unesco.org/themes/gced. Last accessed May 2019.

Speakers from the University of Münster

Matz, Frauke	Professorship for English teaching methodology (Prof. Matz)
Römhild, Ricardo	Professorship for English teaching methodology (Prof. Matz)