I'm a senior lecturer in literary studies (children's literature) at Deakin University, Melbourne Australia where I co-ordinate the undergraduate program of children's literature units. My research in children's literature has been recognized with an international award and I am current president of ACLAR. I sit on the editorial boards of Papers: explorations in children's literature and IRCL (International Research in Children's Literature). My research employs sociological and political theories in the analysis of picture books, junior novels, young adult fiction and film texts. Current approaches include; assessments of neo-liberalist and capitalist agendas (via Zygmunt Bauman, Antonio Negri, and David Harvey), the functions of class location (read through Pierre Bourdieu’s theories of capital), left politics for children, ecocritical readings of environmental messages, feminist and gender studies, applications of Ulrich Beck’s risk society thesis, the principles of childhood resilience building (psychology), and theatre semiotics in the performance of picture books for children. I present and publish my research in both children’s literature and mainstream literary and cultural studies forums with a view to breaking down the artificial divide that often exists between these discipline areas.
My full profile and publications are listed on Deakin's website and can be viewed here (research link at the bottom of the entry):
http://www.deakin.edu.au/arts-ed/scca/staff-directory2.php?username=parsons
