Post-disaster fiction for young adults : some trends and variations

In the forty years or so since it began to develop as a sub-genre of young adult fiction, post-disaster fiction has commented on a range of issues, including perceived social fears of the time, the nature of various types of society, and what people need in order to be truly human. This paper explores how young adult post-disaster fiction makes comment on these and other issues. It argues that within this genre there are three connected sub-genres, with the disaster having a different function in each, and the nature of the comments made by each of these sub-genres tending also to be different. As its title suggests, this paper includes texts in which the focus is on life after the disaster. The genre&rsquo;s strong link with both the nature of young adult fiction and with adolescence itself suggests that it will continue to flourish as a sub-genre.<br /

‘Many a story is but a crooked way to the truth’? Lessons from the Past as Truths for the Present in a Selection of Arthurian Young Adult Disaster Fictions

The myth of King Arthur has been used for many purposes. In post-disaster fiction for young adults, the Arthurian myth has been drawn upon by a number of authors to advocate unity and equality as major factors in creating a just and peaceful world. This article focuses on seven texts set after major global disaster caused by human action has devastated, or is threatening to devastate, the world of the implied present-day reader. The texts for discussion are Ron Langenus’ Merlin’s Return; Janice Elliott’s The King Awakes and The Empty Throne; and Pamela Service’s Winter of Magic’s Return, Tomorrow’s Magic, Yesterday’s Magic, and Earth’s Magic. Although King Arthur is portrayed differently by the three authors, he is presented as a figurehead of unity and peace in all of the texts, and the texts all transpose contemporary values held by the implied author and the implied reader onto what the texts present as ‘King Arthur’s time’, in order to suggest that greed, selfishness, and lust for power contributed to the destruction of King Arthur’s society, and are also threatening to destroy the world of the implied reader. Drawing upon Foucault’s concept of the regime of truth, this article demonstrates that the forms of the Arthurian myth used in the texts for discussion are, however, inherently gendered and nationalistic, and thus subvert the ideas of equality and unity that the texts seek to present.

Visions of the virtual : the role of computers and artificial intelligence in a selection of Australian young adult fiction

Advances in computer technology over the last twenty years have resulted in a number of different visions of what it means to be real, and of what it means to be human. This paper will explore how computers and artificial intelligence are used as major themes in four Australian novels written for young adults: Gillian Rubinstein&rsquo;s Space Demons trilogy &mdash; comprising Space Demons, Skymaze and Shinkei &mdash; and Michael Pryor&rsquo;s The Mask of Caliban. In so doing, the paper will look at how these texts explore the relationship between increasingly developed technology and visions of a better world. By comparing a series of oppositions that occur in all four books, this paper will look at how the theme of technology is used to privilege particular values and to advocate particular beliefs.<br /

‘When I was a child I thought as a child ...’: The Importance of Memory in Constructions of Childhood and Social Order in a Selection of Post-disaster Fictions

In lieu of abstract, here is the first paragraph of the article: This paper will analyse the construction of childhood in three post-disaster texts for young readers: Ruth Hooker’s Kennaquhair, Robert C. O’Brien’s Z for Zachariah, and Hugh Scott’s Why Weeps the Brogan?, exploring how the relationship between particular notions of childhood and memory are used to show protagonists’assumption of power and hence choice in how they respond to the social orders in which they find themselves. ‘Power’ has been defined in many ways, but I will use the definition which Roberta Trites draws from the work of Judith Butler: ‘Power is the force that allows for subjectivity and consequently, agency’ (Trites 2000, p.3). Whereas O’Brien’s and Scott’s novels place their protagonists in dystopian settings, Hooker’s Kennaquhair presents a small-scale utopia and implies a younger readership than do the other two texts, and I will argue that the utopia in this text can only work in narrative terms because the novel is aimed at children rather than young adults

Post-disaster Fiction for Young Adults: Some Trends and Variations

Taking as its central question: 'What narrative functions does the disaster in young adult postdisaster fiction have?', this paper explores how the genre is utilised to make comment on a range of issues, and argues that there are three connected sub-genres within young adult post-disaster fiction, with the disaster having a different function in each, and the nature of the comments made by each of these sub-genres tending also to be different. Stephens considers that: 'The main distinguishing feature of the genre is that its texts are set in a fantasy future which exists some time after the world we know has been destroyed by a cataclysmic disaster, usually caused by human actions' (1992, p.126). This paper broadens this definition to include texts in which the disaster actually happens but in which the focus is on life after the disaster. It understands fantasy to include speculative fiction which seeks to portray pre-disaster life as similar to the implied young adult reader's, as well as works of high fantasy in which the disaster has made Earth into a kind of secondary world (see Sands 1998, p.232), and focuses on novels in which the disaster has clearly been caused by humans in some way

Implementing a Digital Sharing Space in Online Studio Coursework in the Field of Landscape Architecture

Landscape architecture education focuses on creating socially-rich environments for learning. Coursework in landscape architecture often is labeled as “studio learning.” These types of classes involve a high degree of collaboration and detailed critique. They create opportunities for students to interact with each other and their professors. When considering the adoption of online learning, a primary concern of landscape architecture professors is to maintain this high degree of social interaction in online classes. This study explores the use of several platforms to facilitate social interaction in online landscape architecture coursework. These platforms include Canvas, Basecamp, and Conceptboard. Canvas is the learning management system used for the course, and work done for this project included interaction on the discussion boards. Basecamp is a collaboration tool that included message boards and check-ins for students. Conceptboard included visual work-sharing on an online whiteboard and was used for scheduled critiques between students and the professor or TA. Over the course of two assignments, students interacted online within these different platforms. To determine the effectiveness of the platforms, data was collected from the content posted to platforms, the grades of students’ assignments, and a survey sent to students. Students that used any platform performed better on their assignments than those who did not. Conceptboard users especially had higher grades than those who did not. Conceptboard was generally used to post work and receive a critique from a professor or TA. When comparing students who used Basecamp and Canvas, there was little difference in students’ performance. Basecamp provided a benefit in more participation, and students who used the platform responded that they were more engaged with their fellow peers. During the study, students did respond that they had opportunities to interact with their peers. This study suggests that using online platforms for student interaction can have a positive benefit for students