Signs of Exclusion? Monsters from Classical Mythology in Children’s and Young Adult Culture

This book explores how mythical monsters, present in children’s and young adult culture, become perceived as symbols for various groups that communities tend to exclude because of their lack of conformity. It also questions whether the excluded characters, once symbolically re-created as monsters, are more likely to emancipate and gain a voice or feel condemned to isolation, aware that a society, where ‘normality’ in its broadest sense is highly valued, would deny them a true integration. A thorough analysis of constructs of exclusion in children’s and young adults’ culture (literature, films, and TV-series) presented in the consecutive chapters of the book demonstrate how classical mythology and its ‘monsters’ emphasize and clarify the phenomenon of exclusion and its related concepts.

Anna Mik, PhD, is a member of the Research Laboratory of Children’s and Young Adult Literature at the University of Warsaw. Her scholarly interests cover the study of monstrosity, human-animal studies, minority discourses, and children’s culture. Her MA thesis, supervised by Professor Grzegorz Leszczyński, focused on Silesian folk tales. After graduation, she worked as an assistant (2017–2021) in the project Our Mythical Childhood... The Reception of Classical Antiquity in Children’s and Young Adults’ Culture in Response to Regional and Global Challenges led by Professor Katarzyna Marciniak at the Faculty of “Artes Liberales” at the University of Warsaw. The book Signs of Exclusion? is based on her PhD dissertation written within this project and defended in 2021. Contact: anna.m.mik@gmail.com.