Era uma vez... a imagem do árabe nas histórias infantis segundo as crianças

Abstract

In this dissertation, we look at a few stories for children that portray the Arab and analyze from a close angle the aspects of their symbolic representation against content appropriation by young children. For that purpose, four stories were selected – two modern Portuguese short stories and a further two from the 1001 Nights collection. In terms of methodology, and based upon the exploratory nature of this research, we used qualitative methods and techniques, not only with the children but also with adult mediators, such as teachers and agents of the literary process – a writer, an illustrator and a a representative from a publishing house. In the attempt to further understand the way these stories are today received by the youngest, our line of study also contemplated indepth interviews and visual research. From the flying carpet of the narrative, we look at how children aged five to eight make sense of retold stories and the stance they take when faced with the description of the Other. The results of our study show that content appropriation is more impacted by the child’s cultural ambiance than, say, by genre. The conducted research also reveals a clear change of attitude towards the Arab, prior to and following the narration of the stories.

Date of Award	2014
Original language	Portuguese
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Verónica Policarpo (Supervisor)