Konteksty i kierunki XXI-wiecznych anglojęzycznych badań nad literacką fantastyką young adult prowadzonych z perspektywy feministycznej
Contexts and Directions of 21st-century English-language Research on Young Adult Fantasy and Speculative Fiction Conducted from a Feminist Perspective

Summary/Abstract: The article aims to present English-language research on YA fantasy and speculative fiction conducted from a feminist perspective. The author assumes that YA literature contributes to shaping the socio-cultural constructions of girlhood and femininity; at the same time, feminist criticism allows us to describe and revise the mechanisms and beliefs that fund this literary influence. The review covers 21st-century research, i.e., referring to phenomena and concepts in feminism as well as YA fantasy and speculative fiction that are relatively new or have gained importance in the last two decades. As fantasy is an element of contemporary popular culture’s landscape, the research presentation begins with a recapitulation of several reflections on the latter. Then, as a context for the next part, trends in English-language feminist research on literature for young people are outlined. Finally, the directions of considerations on YA fantasy and speculative fiction from a feminist perspective are presented, including postfeminism, the fourth wave of feminism, and posthuman feminism. A characteristic feature of the research discussed was the consideration of YA literature as a diagnosis of reality and the search for, on the one hand, the missionary nature of the works and, on the other hand, their socially harmful aspects.

• Details
• Contents