Ok. My whole project is based on the hypothesis that the body of Mauritian Children’s Literature is much richer and broader than it would appear from an American perspective. So imagine my dismay when I discovered that there are actually significantly FEWER titles than I had originally thought. What to do…
I don’t have an exact number right now, but it looks like the entire collection (excluding textbooks); and this is French, English, Creole, everything; may be less than 150. Possibly much less.
I’m hoping to get the chance to examine the collection first hand so that I can gauge how I will be able to proceed. In the meantime, I’m weighing my options for what direction I should be going in from here. There are many different angles I could take on the matter, but I need to be sure that it is something I am qualified and capable of carrying out. Also, the research design was for the original project and I worked on that for months. To come and see the whole project completed in 2 months seems a bit anticlimactic, but at least I know it will be done.
One point of interest that I have found while working on this project is the almost complete lack of Mauritian representation in popular media. Outside of politics, commercials, the news, and the pervasive sega music, it is very rare to see or hear about Mauritians in the public sphere. This is mostly apparent to me in the literature. The number of titles written by Mauritians, for Mauritians, is few compared to societies that have followed the tradition of proliferation in their postcolonial existances. It is a curious thing.
One of the students that I interviewed poignantly states:
“You see what the problem is, we have all these books and intellectuals and they only talk about American, English, French, writers. Sometimes some from Africa. But what about the writers from India and China? What about Salman Rushdie? There is only a glimpse of everything else.
“We were a colony and we still think in terms of colony. Colonization is still going on. Words have power. Writers and philosophers have always shaped our mentality. But we see everything through English and French writers and philosophers.”
I hope to be able to explore this issue in further detail.
Salman Rushdie’s Satanic Verses is banned in Mauritius. It has been placed in the Index in the early 90′s due to strong lobbies by Muslims.
Really? I still find banning of any kind surprising in most places, but especially on the basis of religious/anti-religious content. Interesting. Where can I find out more about that?
Where are you from? Are you Mauritian?
Hi Kristin,
There are a lot of curious things that go on here. You can check http://kozelidir.blogspot.com/ to sample some of them.
Cheers!
Happy Halloween, Kristin! I’m sitting out on the driveway on a balmy halloween evening, handing out candy and trying to get some work done, when I thought… I wonder how Kristin is doing?
I’m so happy to have your blog to follow you -
That is shocking that there is so little native children’s literature. shocking may not be the right word – sad, I guess. I’ll be very curious to see how things go for you.
well, I’m thinking of you – let me know if there is any way I can be of help.
-Laura