From Empathy to Ethical Reflection: Polish Children’s and Young Adult Literature (19th–21st Century) in a Cultural Animal Studies Perspective – Selected Problems
From Empathy to Ethical Reflection: Polish Children’s and Young Adult Literature (19th–21st Century) in a Cultural Animal Studies Perspective – Selected Problems

Summary/Abstract: The goal of this article is to analyse the changes in the depiction of animal themes in Polish children’s and young adult literature in the context of cultural animal studies (CAS). The focus is mainly on Polish prose created in the 21st century, but older texts, starting from the 19th century, are discussed with the use of animal studies tools too. The starting point of the article is the assumption that empathy towards animals, inscribed in the majority of works for children and young people, may become the basis for further ethical reflection. The author analyses texts at the centre of which are such aspects of the human-animal relation as hunting, animal treatment and protection (e.g., veterinary clinics, sanctuaries, reserves), using animals for work (mines, army), as well as ethical aspects related to meat-eating.

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