2024 Australasian Children's Literature Association for Research Conference
The Pā Building pictured above will be the site of the conference opening.
Welcome to the registration website for the 2024 Biennial Australasian Children's Literature Association for Research (ACLAR) Conference, and the 2024 Annual WaiPRU Picturebook Seminar.
Conference venue
The Biennial Australasian Children’s Literature Association for Research (ACLAR) conference (including the Annual WaiPRU Picturebook seminar), will take place at Te Kura Toi Tangata, School of Education, The University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand. 27-30 November 2024.
Conference registration and accommodation are located at Gate 4, Hillcrest Road, Hamilton.
Conference theme: Whenua
Our theme for the 2024 ACLAR conference is ‘whenua’. The Māori word ‘whenua’ has a number of English equivalents; most particularly ‘land’, but notably it can also refer to the placenta and/or afterbirth. The strength of this connection is reflected in the traditional Māori practice of burying the afterbirth (i.e. whenua ) of a child in the land (i.e. whenua) to which they are connected. Whenua encompasses soil, rocks, flora, fauna, and people who inhabit the land. Māori assert an ancestral relationship with the land and all it encompasses. The term Tangata Whenua refers to the Indigenous people of the land; and Mana Whenua refers to the kaitiaki (guardianship) role Tangata Whenua have for the land with which they are connected.
In this conference we will honour whenua in relation to children’s literature, particularly, but not exclusively, in New Zealand and Australian contexts. We invite submissions on topics in children’s and young adults' literature as influenced by concepts of whenua including:
- Representations of whenua (land)
- Indigeneity
- Indigenous language(s)
- Environment
- Place
- Guardianship (kaitiakitanga)
- Ecocriticism
- Identity
- History
- Whakapapa (ancestry)
- Childbirth and family
- Postcolonialism
- Any other themes relating to whenua (land)
Registration
The Waikato Picturebook Seminar component of the conference is included in the registration price for full conference attendees. The 'Day pass' registration option is available for those who only wish to attend the one day Picturebook seminar (Thursday 28 November).
Location
Car parking is available on site in designated areas (see "Housekeeping" tab). Conference accommodation is pinned (College Hall). Street address for Ubers/Shuttles in the blue box below.
Venue
Te Kura Toi Tangata, School of Education, Waikato University (Hamilton Campus)
Gate 4
Hillcrest Road
New Zealand 3216
Event Organiser
Nicola Daly