David Whitley
Position/Status
University Lecturer in English
E-mail Address
daw36@cam.ac.uk
Phone
01223 507219
Qualifications
BA, MPhil, PGCE
Profile
David Whitley has had a range of teaching experiences; from tutoring in medieval literature at Oxford to working with emotionally disturbed adolescents. His current teaching focuses primarily on medieval, eighteenth century and modern literature; he also has particular interests in film, media education and children's literature. He has published articles on children's reading of film texts, fantasy writing and Chaucer but has been particularly concerned with developments in the Aesopic fable tradition from the eighteenth century to the present day.
Academic Area/Links
- English Literature (especially Poetry)
- Children's Literature
- Film (particularly Animation)
Research Topics
- Eighteenth Century Literature and Culture
- Film/ Animation
- Poetry
- Aesop's Fables
- Literature, Film and the Environment
Current Research Projects
- Wordsworth and Childhood
- Critical Perspectives on Children's Poetry
Course Involvement
BA Education Studies with English/English and Drama
MPhil Critical Approaches to Children's Literature
Publications
(1995) 'Bringing Out the Beast in Them; Some Reflections on Gender and Children's Use of Traditional Stories'; in Greater Expectations: Children Reading Writing ed. E.Bearne, (London: Cassell)
(1995) 'Cultural Identities Under Pressure' in The Uses of Autobiography ed. J.Swindells, (London: Taylor and Francis)
(1996) 'Aesop for Children: Power and Morality' chapter in Voices Off ed. M.Styles/E.Bearne/ Watson, (London: Cassell)
(1996) 'Reality in Boxes: Children's Perception of Television Narratives' in Potent Fictions: Children Literacy and Popular Culture ed. M.Hilton, (London: Routledge)
(1997) 'Samuel Richardson's Aesop' in Opening the Nursery Door, ed. M.Hilton, M.Styles, V.Watson. (London: Routledge)
(2000) 'The Long Road to Canterbury: Children's Chaucer' in Tales Tellers and Texts, ed. G.Cliff Hodges, M.J.Drummond, M.Styles. (London: Cassell,)
(2000) 'Fantasy Narratives and Children's Development' in Where Texts and Children Meet ed. E.Bearne (London: Routledge)
(2001) 'Fables ', 'Animals in Fiction', 'Animated Cartoons' in The Cambridge Guide to Children's Books in English ed. V.Watson (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press)
(2002) 'Writing Fables: Genre and Creativity', English in Education, 36, 1
(2006) 'Environmentally Educational Entertainment?' The Primary English Magazine, vol. 11: 3, (February)
(2006) 'Disneyfying Nature', Media Magazine, (March)
Forthcoming:
Books:
(2007) 'The Idea of Nature in Disney Animation' (Texas, USA: Ashgate Publishers)
Articles:
(2007) 'Childhood and Modernity: Dark Themes in Carol Ann Duffy's Poetry for Children', Children's Literature in Education 38.2 (Summer)