Jenkins publishes resource on young adult literature with LGBTQ+ themes

Representing the Rainbow in Young Adult Literature: LGBTQ+ Content Since 1969
Christine Jenkins
Christine Jenkins, Associate Professor Emerita

Associate Professor Emerita Christine A. Jenkins and Michael Cart have authored a new comprehensive history of young adult literature featuring LGBTQ+ themes. Their book, Representing the Rainbow in Young Adult Literature: LGBTQ+ Content Since 1969, was recently published by Rowman & Littlefield. 
 
The book builds on their earlier work, The Heart Has Its Reasons (2006), a historical analysis of the early years of young adult (YA) fiction with LGBTQ+ content, a text that was included on VOYA’s Five-Foot Bookshelf of Essential Reading for Professionals Who Serve Teens. 

Jenkins and Cart's new title provides an overview of this rapidly expanding body of literature within the context of the young adult (YA) literary landscape.  In addition to a decade-by-decade analysis of YA fiction, this edition also includes chapters on bisexual, transgender, and intersex issues and characters, as well as chapters on comics, graphic novels, and works of nonfiction. 

According to the publisher, "this volume charts the evolution of YA literature that features characters and themes which resonate not only with LGBTQ+ readers but with their allies as well. In this resource, Jenkins and Cart identify titles that are notable either for their excellence—accurate, thoughtful, and nuanced depictions—or deficiencies—books that are wrongheaded, stereotypical, or outdated.  Encompassing a wide range of gender and sexual identities, Representing the Rainbow in Young Adult Literature is an invaluable resource for young people eager to read about books relevant to them and their lives."
 
Before retiring from the iSchool in 2015, Jenkins taught courses on literature for young adults and children, gendered perspectives in LIS, reading and readers, and the history of children's books. She is the recipient of several teaching awards and has a decade of experience as a school librarian/media specialist. She is coeditor of the Handbook of Research on Children's and Young Adult Literature (2011) and coauthor (with Michael Cart) of Top 250 LGBTQ Books for Teens (2015). She holds a master's and PhD in library and information studies from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master's in English/children's literature from Eastern Michigan University.

Tags:
Updated on
Backto the news archive

Related News

iSchool represented at Charleston Conference

iSchool adjunct and affiliate faculty will participate in virtual and in-person sessions of the 2024 Charleston Conference. The conference is an annual gathering that draws librarians, publishers, vendors, and others to discuss issues relating to the acquisition and publication of books and serials. 

Schneider group to present at ASIS&T workshop

Members of Associate Professor Jodi Schneider’s group will present their research at the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) Workshop on Informetric, Scientometric, and Scientific and Technical Information Research, which will be held virtually on November 6 and 13. The MET-STI 2024 Workshop is collaboratively hosted by the Special Interest Group for Metrics (SIG-MET) and Special Interest Group for Scientific and Technical Information (SIG-STI) of ASIS&T.

Jodi Schneider

iSchool researchers to present at ASSETS 2024

iSchool faculty and students will present their research at the 26th International Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Special Interest Group (SIG) ACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (ASSETS 2024), which will be held on October 28-30 in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The conference is the premier forum for presenting research on design, evaluation, use, and education related to computing for people with disabilities and older adults.

iSchool well represented at ASIS&T 2024

iSchool faculty, staff, and students will participate in the 87th Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T), which will be held on October 25-29 in Calgary, Canada. The theme of this year's conference is "Putting People First: Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Care in Information Research and Practice." The meeting is the premier international conference dedicated to the study of information, people, and technology in contemporary society.

iSchool Building

Kilicoglu group wins first place at BioLaySumm competition

The highly technical language used in biomedical publications makes it difficult for nonexpert audiences to fully understand their content and draw insights. The BioLaySumm competition focuses on making biomedical research publications more accessible to lay audiences. This year, the winning team was a group from Associate Professor Halil Kilicoglu's research lab: PhD students Zhiwen (Jerome) You and Shufan Ming and Computer Science master's student Shruthan Radhakrishna. 

Halil Kilicoglu