Critical Thinking with the Hive Mind

[bondgwendabond]

(X-posted at my Real Blog.)

I'm about to start semester the third in the MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults at the fabulous Vermont College of Fine Arts (a program I highly recommend). Anyway, the third semester is when you do your critical thesis and I'm putting together the reading list for the bibliography of mine, attempting to get a

Comments

[laurakemp]

My biggest jealousy of the year is that Keith Olbermann had a conversation with Rowling regarding the political overtones in Harry Potter. I don't know if you want to include HP as YA fantasy, but it does have political overtones.

From: The transcript of Countdown http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21456011/

OLBERMANN: And I’m, just for the record-I’m leaving a lot out of my conversation with her. I’m sticking to basically what she said in public, because I feel it is kind of incumbent upon me to get her OK without going further. It’s interesting, yes or no on this, will the politics of the Harry Potter series be explored now?

[calepin]

Another recent book that examines colonialism in a fantasy context: General Winston's Daughter, by Sharon Shinn.

Also Elizabeth Knox's Dreamhunter/Dreamquake books, perhaps, in terms of a government's relationship to/control of its citizens? Patricia Elliott's Murkmere, too, where The Ministration combines religious and secular authority in one oppressive package.

I'm not sure whether Steve Lyons' The Gift Moves would qualify, since it's more of a post-apocalyptic than fantasy title, but I loved how he evoked a society structured differently from the one we know.

Or maybe I just tend to read politics into everything...

Heather