This summer abroad course begins at Keele campus, where students will be trained in historical, literary, and archival research methodologies, interacting with books and other artefacts of childhood culture held at the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections in Scott Library.  

Following classes at York, students will spend two weeks in Dublin, Ireland conducting field work at various special collections of children’s literature and other literary sites of significance to book history and children’s literature. Field work will focus on historical children's texts to study how these archival artefacts shape and interrogate our perceptions of books, reading, children, childhood, and youth in past and contemporary times. Irish historical context will be a key feature of the course; students will consider the relationship between colonialism and the historical construction of children, childhood, and youth. We will also engage with current research in the fields of childhood studies, visual and material cultures, literary criticism, and post-colonial theory to examine how the publishing world, and reading and writing markets shape, and often reinforce, our perceptions of children, childhood, and youth.

Quick Links

• Prepare to Travel Safe
• Funding Opportunities for Study Abroad
• Study Abroad Frequently Asked Questions