Reading AdVentures

Reading AdVentures
An International Conference devoted to Literacy, Reading Promotion and the Culture of the Book

Call for Papers
The Conference Committee hereby invites the submission of proposals for lectures, project highlights, research and survey reports, and panel participation.

The Conference will take place on 19-21 February, 2007

The conference welcomes proposals dealing broadly, but not exclusively, with the following themes:
§ Reading and Childhood
§ Books, Reading and the Media
§ Reading Habits and Literacy
§ The Reading Market
§ Reading and Cultural Tensions

Possible formats: Formal lectures of 30 minutes; reports on research or presentations of project highlights – 25 minutes; panel sessions of 60 minutes.

Submission Guidelines:
Please submit an abstract of 250-300 words (not including bibliographic references), on a single page. The abstract should be in Times New Roman, 12 points, with 1.5 line spacing. The title should be centered, in Times New Roman, 14 points bold, and should include the name of the presentation, the name(s) of the presenters with e-mail address(es), institutional affiliation, address, telephone and fax numbers. A short biographical sketch should be appended. Please indicate if technological aids are required. All of the proposals will be reviewed anonymously by a panel, which will include the conference chair, representatives of the sponsoring organizations, and members of the steering committee. Inclusion in the program will be based on quality of the research, idea, program or project, its relevance and its significance. The abstract


Deadlines:
Proposals are to be submitted by October 1, 2006.
Speakers whose proposals have been accepted will be notified no later than December 15, 2006. A draft conference program will be published on that date.

Conference Website:
Details of proposals accepted for the Conference and conference registration details will be published on the conference website: http://www.reading-adventures.co.il

Address for submission of proposals and for questions/requests:
Miriam Posner, Coordinator, “Reading AdVentures”
E-mail: miriamp@cet.ac.il
CET – Centre for Educational Technology
16 Klausner Street
61394 Ramat-Aviv, ISRAEL
Fax: 03-6422619 (from overseas: +972-3-6422619)

Conference Themes in Detail:

§ Reading and Childhood
We all know how important reading in childhood is for shaping adult readers. How did the culture of books develop, and when did books become part of the world of childhood? What is the role of mediators between the child and the book? What do we know of the power and influence of stories in infancy? How can we expand the circle of parents and educators who read books to children?

§ Books, Reading and the MediaBooks tell stories.
So do the cinema and other forms of media, some of them more accessible and more widely distributed than books. How do the various types of media influence reading patterns? How can we use the media to attract children and adolescents to reading? What interactions are there between the different forms of media: cinema, television, illustration and written text? What does the future look like for books in the digital age?

§ Reading Habits and Literacy
The intensiveness with which children and adolescents read books is, to a large extent, a function of directed government policy and public and private initiatives. For example, the level of funding for public and school libraries, or the place of reading for pleasure in the curriculum. What is the status of reading in various countries, and what are education systems and organizations doing to promote positive reading experiences? What is known about the relationship between reading for pleasure and emotional and moral development, and educational achievements? Can children’s literature serve as a lever to assist in the acquisition of a second language? What reciprocal relationship exists between encouraging reading and encouraging writing? How can we promote the love for books and reading among children and adolescents with special needs?

§ The Reading Market
What involvement can the commercial sector have in encouraging young readers? To what extent have books changed from a creation to a commodity, and what are the implications of commercialization of the book market? What is the place of translations and adaptations of children’s and adolescents’ literature? What is the status of the book in the digital age?

§ Reading and Cultural Tensions
What was the role of reading in various cultures in the past, and what changes have taken place in those cultures? What is the function carried out by children’s and adolescents’ literature in creating a national or ethnic culture? What is the role that children’s and adolescents’ literature can play in preserving the culture of migrant groups? How do books reflect relationships between different language cultures in a single country, and relationships between different cultures? What is the status of translations and adaptations of books for children and adolescents?

Sponsor Organizations:
CET – Center for Educational Technology; Jerusalem International Book Fair; Ministry of Education –Educational Administration – Educational Institutions Branch Libraries Division & School Libraries Department; Children’s Education and Culture Group, Tel Aviv University; Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Literature Department; The Yemima Center, Beit Berl College; Israel Reading Association; Stiftung Lesen (Germany); Stichting Lezen (Flanders, Belgium)

Organizing Committee:
Prof. Zohar Shavit (Chair), Unit for Culture Research, Tel Aviv University;
Prof. Bluma Peretz, Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Dr. Yael Dar, Tel Aviv University; Mr. Dan Oryan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Mr. Victor Ben-Naim,
Ms. Tzippi Karelitz and Mr. Shlomo Alon, Ministry of Education; Ms. Neta Goren and Mr. Yoel Makov, Jerusalem International Book Fair; Mr. Heinrich Kreibisch, Stiftung Lesen; Ms. Majo de Saedeleer, Stichting Lezen; Ms. Miriam Posner, CET