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SUMMARY:Of wasps in wigs and gnatter with gnats: how insects made Alice in
  Wonderland - Franziska Holt (University of York)
DTSTART:20210517T120000Z
DTEND:20210517T130000Z
UID:TALK160216@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Joanne Green
DESCRIPTION:The year 2021 marks the 150th anniversary of the second of Lew
 is Carroll's _Alice_ novels: _Through the Looking-Glass\, and What Alice F
 ound There_. Despite the huge popularity of _Alice's Adventures in Wonderl
 and_\, _Looking-Glass_ has always remained the less-studied of the two boo
 ks. Distinctions between the two books have been scrutinized little\, and 
 the very different concerns and ways of expressing them in _Looking-Glass_
 \, and the way in which they frame Lewis Carroll\, his interests\, and con
 tributions to Victorian intellectual discourse have been side-lined. This 
 has contributed to criticism distorting the role of 'children's authors' a
 nd 'children's literature' – neither of which\, I will argue in this tal
 k are appropriate framing for _Alice_ and its author – for instance\, to
  the public discourse of science in the nineteenth century – but also\, 
 in parallel ways\, today.\n\nThis paper will illuminate this predicament b
 y exploring _Through the Looking-Glass_ in the context of Lewis Carroll's 
 interest in science and its impact on society\, through a case study of th
 e role insects play in his _Alice_ novels\, and particularly in _Looking-G
 lass_ – including its 'lost chapter': 'A Wasp in a Wig'. Through examini
 ng Carroll's own reading\, items from his personal library\, to his letter
 s to editors of Victorian newspapers on such subjects as animal rights or 
 vaccination\, it will shine a light on the ways in which Carroll used the 
 platform gained through the success of his first Alice book to more promin
 ently address controversial issues of his time. Crucially\, it will underl
 ine how\, counter to many critical readings of his works\, Carroll did so 
 to effect a moral transformation in his readers\, in line with his own Chr
 istian moral sentiments. This will offer a corrective to framings of the _
 Alice_ novels – and children's literature\, more generally – as 'caref
 ree nonsense'\, and\, through a short concluding excursion\, emphasise the
  crucial role played by narrative forms associated primarily with childhoo
 d\, play in changing world views and behavioural patterns in the big scien
 ce-society issues we face today\, from Covid-19 to climate change.
LOCATION:Zoom
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