Drawing on original empirical research, this book provides a critical understanding of current theory in the study of sexuality.

Inter-disciplinary in approach, Jennifer Harding identifies a series of key issues on contemporary discourses: essentialism vs constructionism; gender and sexuality; representation and concepts of identity; Foucalut's notion of discourse'; and Butler's theory of gender performance'. These topics are explored in the light of contemporary cultural contexts - for instance, the debate on hormone theory and the social construction of sexuality, gender bending' and...

November 2012 saw the joint annual conference of the British branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY UK) and the MA course at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL) at Roehampton University. The theme of the conference was the investigation of aspects of literature for children that were 'Beyond the Book'.From woodcuts to e-books, children's literature has always lent itself to reinterpretation and expansion. In its early days, this was achieved through different forms of retelling, through illustration and interactive illustration (pop-ups...

In November 2013, the joint annual conference of the British branch of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY UK) and the MA course at the National Centre for Research in Children's Literature (NCRCL) at Roehampton University took as its focus Feast or Famine? Food in Children's Literature.Food is central to both children's lives and their literature. The mouth-watering menu of talks given to the conference delegates is richly reflected in this book. Speakers examined the uses of food in children's books from the nineteenth century to the present day, and in a wide variety of...