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Innocence, Heterosexuality, and the Queerness of Children’s Literature examines distinguished classics of children’s literature both old and new—including L. Frank Baum’s Oz books, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House series, J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events , and Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series—to explore the queer tensions between innocence and heterosexuality within their pages. Pugh argues that children cannot retain their innocence of sexuality while learning about normative heterosexuality, yet this inherent paradox runs throughout many classic narratives of literature for young readers. Children’s literature typically endorses heterosexuality through its invisible presence as the de facto sexual identity of countless protagonists and their families, yet heterosexuality’s ubiquity is counterbalanced by its occlusion when authors shield their readers from forthright considerations of one of humanity’s most basic and primal instincts. The book demonstrates that tensions between innocence and sexuality render much of children’s literature queer, especially when these texts disavow sexuality through celebrations of innocence. In this original study, Pugh develops interpretations of sexuality that few critics have yet ventured, paving the way for future scholarly engagement with larger questions about the ideological role of children's literature and representations of children's sexuality. Tison Pugh is Associate Professor in the Department of English at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of Queering Medieval Genres and Sexuality and Its Queer Discontents in Middle English Literature and has published on children’s literature in such journals as Children’s Literature, The Lion and the Unicorn , and Marvels and Tales . Tison Pugh is Professor in the Department of English at the University of Central Florida. He is the author of Queering Medieval Genres and Sexuality and Its Queer Discontents in Middle English Literature and has published on children’s literature in such journals as Children’s Literature , Children’s Literature Association Quarterly , The Lion and the Unicorn , and Marvels and Tales . \"In shifting the focus from the queerness of same-sex relations to that of an impending heterosexuality for most children, Pugh's book makes a unique and provocative contribution to the conversation about the queer child.\" - Eric L. Tribunella, Children's Literature Association Quarterly Series Editor Foreword Notes on the Text Acknowledgments Introduction 1: \"There lived in the Land of Oz two queerly made men\": Queer Utopianism and Antisocial Eroticism in L. Frank Baum’s Oz Books 2: Eternal Childhood, Taming Tomboyism, and Equine Erotic Triangles in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s Little House Series 3: Erotic Heroism, Redemptive Teen Sexuality, and the Queer Republic of Heaven in Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials 4: Dumbledore’s Queer Ghost: Homosexuality and Its Heterosexual Afterlives in J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter Novels 5: \"What, Then, Does Beatrice Mean?\": Hermaphroditic Gender, Predatory Heterosexuality, and Promiscuous Allusions in Daniel Handler / Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events 6: Excremental Eroticism, Carnivalesque Desires, and Gross Adolescence in Eoin Colfer’s Artemis Fowl 7: Masochistic Abstinence, Bug Chasing, and the Erotic Death Drive in Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Series 8: Conclusion: Homosexuality and the End of Innocence in David Levithan’s Boy Meets Boy

In its stinging critique of the U.S. South's rigid ideologies of race, gender, and sexuality, Kevin Sessums's memoir Mississippi Sissy depicts interracial gay relationships as a profound subversion of the region's conservative ethos. At the same time, this memoir succumbs to phallic posturing that imagines white and black gay masculinities within regressive and patriarchal terms, which thus ironically reinstitutes the binaries of race and desire it otherwise subverts. The intransigence of Southern codes of masculinity troubles Sessums's otherwise progressive portrayal of queer sexuality, thereby displaying the force of regionalisms in that ostensibly universal construct, the phallus.

\"The Disney Middle Ages: A Fairy-Tale and Fantasy Past examines the intersection between the products of the Walt Disney Company and popular culture's fascination with the Middle Ages. The Disney Middle Ages have come, for many, to figure as the Middle Ages, forming the earliest visions of the medieval past for much of the contemporary western (and increasingly eastern) imaginary. The Disney Middle Ages explores Disney's accounts of the Middle Ages and their political and cultural ramifications, analyzing how these re-creations of a fairy-tale history function in modern society\"-- Provided by publisher.

Bringing the work of a highly influential medieval French writer to English-speaking audiences for the first time This book explores the life and works of Jean Bodel, an influential author who lived in twelfth-century Arras, France. A versatile poet, playwright, and epic writer who established new genres such as fabliaux and the mystery play, Bodel remains relatively unknown to Anglophone audiences. Lynn Ramey offers translations and summaries of works never published before in English while delving into Bodel's historical and cultural context. After a brief introduction to the poet, Ramey highlights the stimulating and cosmopolitan environment of Arras, considering the influence of the Crusades and social movements in shaping Bodel's works. Next, Ramey provides an extensive survey of all of Bodel's known writing across his prolific career by genre, from his most well-known work, The Play of Saint Nicholas ( Le Jeu de saint Nicolas ), to his final piece, Farewell ( Les Congés ), which offers important insight into his diagnosis of leprosy toward the end of his life. Ramey translates several pieces including pastourelles , fabliaux, and selections from the Song of the Saxons ( Chanson des Saisnes ). The book also includes information on Bodel's sources, a chronology, and a glossary. With much of the existing scholarship on Bodel only available in French, this book bridges a gap in knowledge of the poet and serves as a useful resource for both students and specialists. An Introduction to Jean Bodel allows a broader audience to engage with the writer's wide-ranging work and contributions to literary history. A volume in the series New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh

\"From Harry Potter and Robin Hood, through to video games and jousting-themed restaurants, medieval culture continues to surround us and has retained a strong influence on literature and culture throughout the ages. This fascinating and illuminating guide is written by one of the leading contemporary scholars of Medieval literature, and explores: - The influence of medieval cultural concepts on key authors such as Shakespeare, Dante, Chaucer, George Eliot and Mark Twain - The continued appeal of medieval cultural figures such as King Arthur and Robin Hood - The influence of the medieval on disciplines such as politics, music, film, and art. Medievalisms surveys the critical field and sets the boundaries for future study, providing an essential background for literary study from the Medieval period through to the twenty-first century\"-- Provided by publisher.

Combining an accessible approach with innovative scholarship, An Introduction to the Sagas of Icelanders provides up-to-date perspectives on a unique medieval literary genre that has fascinated the English-speaking world for more than two centuries. Carl Phelpstead draws on historical context, contemporary theory, and close reading to deepen our understanding of Icelandic saga narratives about the island's early history. Phelpstead explores the origins and cultural setting of the genre, demonstrating the rich variety of oral and written source traditions that writers drew on to produce the sagas. He provides fresh, theoretically informed discussions of major themes such as national identity, gender and sexuality, and nature and the supernatural, relating the Old Norse-Icelandic texts to questions addressed by postcolonial studies, feminist and queer theory, and ecocriticism. He then presents readings of select individual sagas, pointing out how the genre's various source traditions and thematic concerns interact. Including an overview of the history of English translations that shows how they have been stimulated and shaped by ideas about identity, and featuring a glossary of critical terms, this book is an essential resource for students of the literary form. A volume in the series New Perspectives on Medieval Literature: Authors and Traditions, edited by R. Barton Palmer and Tison Pugh

From King Arthur and Robin Hood, through to video games and jousting-themed restaurants, medieval culture continues to surround us and has retained a strong influence on literature and culture throughout the ages. This fascinating and illuminating guide is written by two of the leading contemporary scholars of medieval literature, and explores: The influence of medieval cultural concepts on literature and film, including key authors such as Shakespeare, Tennyson, and Mark Twain The continued appeal of medieval cultural figures such as Dante, King Arthur, and Robin Hood The influence of the medieval on such varied disciplines such as politics, music, children's literature, and art. Contemporary efforts to relive the Middle Ages. Medievalisms: Making the Past in the Present surveys the critical field and sets the boundaries for future study, providing an essential background for literary study from the medieval period through to the twenty-first century.