A Week of Intercultural Nonfiction in Munich
Our colleague Sarah Caré spent a week in Munich researching intercultural children’s nonfiction. Her trip featured a guest lecture at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität.
The week started at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) of Munich, where Sarah was invited by researchers Svetlana Efimova and Juliane Prade-Weiss to deliver a guest lecture. Her presentation focused on Czech intercultural nonfiction, taking a closer look at the unique role child characters play in either bridging cultural divides or “othering” different cultures within the narrative.
Following the lecture, Sarah spent four days conducting hands-on research at the International Youth Library (IYL). Her primary focus was analyzing multicultural nonfiction books that explore how people and children live around the world. Thanks to the IYL’s extraordinarily extensive collection, she was able to examine children’s books published across 16 different countries. Furthermore, rich conversations with fellow visiting researchers provided her with cross-cultural insights into children’s books.
Beyond the library archives, Sarah’s stay remained immersed in the world of children’s culture. She attended two highly relevant cultural events: the interactive “Tove Jansson: World of the Moomins” exhibition at Literaturhaus München, and the “For Children. Art Stories since 1968” exhibition at the Haus der Kunst.
Credit pictures: Lucy Stone
