Guilt, Empathy and the Ethical Potential of Children's Literature

• Published in: Barnboken Vol. 35
• Main Author: Nikolajeva, Maria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Danish
• Published: Svenska Barnboksinstitutet 01.05.2012
• Subjects: children’s literature; cognitive criticism; emotions; empathy; ethics; young adult literature

The paper takes as its point of departure cognitive criticism, the direction of inquiry that investigates readers’ cognitive and affective engagement with literature, partly based on recent brain research. It argues that for young readers who may not yet have developed full comprehension of fundamen...