Dr Patricia Kennon

    Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education, Sexualities and Gender

    Lecturer

    School of Education
    3rd
    318
    (01) 474 7410

    Biography

    I teach across a wide range of children's literature, young adult (YA) literature, youth culture, and English Education. I am the President of The Irish Society for the Study of Children's Literature, a former President of the Irish national section of the International Board on Books for Young People (IBBY) and a former Editor in Chief and Features Editor of Inis: The Children's Books Ireland Magazine. I am the Secretary of NAES, the Irish national section of the European Society for the Study of English and a member of the steering committee of MU SexGen, an interdisciplinary network of Maynooth University faculty and researchers on research in gender and sexualities. 

    Research Interests

    My research interests address a wide range of issues regarding intersections of childhood, young adulthood and power. I am interested in concepts of childhood, young adult (YA) literature and children's literature in the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. I especially welcome research collaborations and supervising research in the following areas: gender and LGBTQIA issues in youth culture and literature; fan studies; horror narratives; picturebooks (picture books); science fiction and dystopian literature; and intercultural and diversity education.

    Book Chapters

      Year Publication
    2018 '“Superpowers Don't Always Make You a Superhero”: Posthuman Possibilities in Michael Grant’s Gone Series'
    Patricia Kennon (2018) '“Superpowers Don't Always Make You a Superhero”: Posthuman Possibilities in Michael Grant’s Gone Series' In: Anita Tarr and Donna R. White (eds). Posthumanism in Young Adult Fiction: Finding Humanity in a Posthuman World. Jackson, Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi. [Details]
    2013 ''Introduction''
    Patricia Kennon and Ciara Ní Bhroin (2013) ''Introduction'' In: Ciara Ní Bhroin and Patricia Kennon (eds). What Do We Tell the Children? Critical Essays on Children’s Literature. Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [Details]
    2014 '‘Building Bridges To Intercultural Understanding: The Other in Contemporary Irish Children’s Literature.’'
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2014) '‘Building Bridges To Intercultural Understanding: The Other in Contemporary Irish Children’s Literature.’' In: Our Chums in the Family of Nations: Internationalism in Children’s Series. London: Palgrave Macmillan. [Details]
    2012 ''Contemplating Otherness: Imagining the Future in Irish Children’s Science Fiction’'
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2012) ''Contemplating Otherness: Imagining the Future in Irish Children’s Science Fiction’' In: Irish Children’s Literature: New Perspectives. London: Routledge. [Details]
    2007 '‘F(r)ictional Masculinities: The Representation of Manhood in Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman Britain series of historical novels for young adults’'
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2007) '‘F(r)ictional Masculinities: The Representation of Manhood in Rosemary Sutcliff’s Roman Britain series of historical novels for young adults’' In: Divided Worlds: Studies in Children’s Literature. Dublin: Four Courts Press. [Details]
    2006 '‘(W)rites of Passage in Siobhán Parkinson’s Fiction’'
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2006) '‘(W)rites of Passage in Siobhán Parkinson’s Fiction’' In: Treasure Islands: Studies in Children’s Literature. Four Courts Press. [Details]

    Edited Books

      Year Publication
    2012 What Do We Tell The Children? Critical Essays on Children’s Literature
    Ciara Ní Bhróin and Patricia Kennon (Ed.). (2012) What Do We Tell The Children? Critical Essays on Children’s Literature Cambridge: Cambridge Scholars Publishing. [Details]

    Peer Reviewed Journals

      Year Publication
    2017 'Monsters of Men: Masculinity and the Other in Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking Series'
    Kennon P. (2017) 'Monsters of Men: Masculinity and the Other in Patrick Ness’s Chaos Walking Series'. Psychoanalytic Inquiry, 37 (1):25-34 [DOI] [Details]
    2016 'Childhood, Power, and Travel in Salvatore Rubbino's Picture Books: A Walk in the City'
    Kennon, P (2016) 'Childhood, Power, and Travel in Salvatore Rubbino's Picture Books: A Walk in the City'. JEUNESSE: YOUNG PEOPLE, TEXTS, CULTURES, 8 :20-41 [Details]
    2015 '"'Little Girls are Even More Perfect When They Bleed"': Monstrosity, Violence, and the Female Body in Kristin Cashore's Graceling Trilogy"'
    Kennon, P (2015) '"'Little Girls are Even More Perfect When They Bleed"': Monstrosity, Violence, and the Female Body in Kristin Cashore's Graceling Trilogy"'. BOOKBIRD: A JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL CHILDREN’S LITERATURE, 53 :52-61 [DOI] [Details]
    2015 ''If the Inside was the Outside: Gender, Heteronormativity and the Body in David Levithan's Every Day''
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2015) ''If the Inside was the Outside: Gender, Heteronormativity and the Body in David Levithan's Every Day''. FOUNDATION: THE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW OF SCIENCE FICTION, 22 [IR Link] [Details]
    2005 ''Belonging in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction: New Communities Created by Children''
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2005) ''Belonging in Young Adult Dystopian Fiction: New Communities Created by Children''. PAPERS: EXPLORATIONS INTO CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, 15 :40-49 [IR Link] [Details]

    Conference Publications

      Year Publication
    2018 50 Picturebooks to Change the World!
    Patricia Kennon and Thérèse Hegarty (2018) 50 Picturebooks to Change the World! . In: Margaret Nohilly, Bernie Collins, Anne Marie Kavanagh, Seline Keating, Fiona O’ Mahony and Carol O’ Sullivan eds. Citizenship Education: 100 Years On Dublin, , pp.31-41 [Details]

    Conference Contributions

      Year Publication
    2019 Ethical Education Curriculum events.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2019) Ethical Education Curriculum events. [Invited Oral Presentation], Equality and Justice: A Picturebook Workshop, Drumcondra Education Centre, Dublin , 11-JUN-19 - 11-JUN-19 [Details]
    2019 Reading for Pleasure series.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2019) Reading for Pleasure series. [Invited Lecture], Diversity and Inclusion in Children’s Literature, Maynooth Community Library , 29-JAN-19 - 29-JAN-19 [Details]
    2019 World Science Fiction Convention.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2019) World Science Fiction Convention. [Oral Presentation], The Irish Publishing Market, Dublin , 15-AUG-19 - 18-AUG-19 [Details]
    2019 Beyond a Single Story: Intercultural Education Conference.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2019) Beyond a Single Story: Intercultural Education Conference. [Oral Presentation], Worlds of Stories: Exploring Global and Intercultural Issues Through Picturebooks, Dublin City University , 25-JAN-19 - 27-JAN-19 [Details]
    2019 Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature events.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2019) Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children's Literature events. [Invited Lecture], Asexuality, Difference and Heteronormativity in Youth Literature, California State University Fresno, USA , 25-APR-19 - 25-APR-19 [Details]
    2019 World Science Fiction Convention.
    Patricia Kennon (2019) World Science Fiction Convention. [Oral Presentation], Telling Tales for Children Through Art and Pictures, Dublin , 15-AUG-19 - 18-AUG-19 [Details]
    2019 Researchers Exploring Inclusive Youth Literature conference.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2019) Researchers Exploring Inclusive Youth Literature conference. [Oral Presentation], Being Aromantic and the Romance Plot in Young Adult Fiction, Glasgow , 08-AUG-19 - 10-AUG-19 [Details]

    Electronic Article

      Year Publication
    2018 Bold Girls: Academic Resource Pack.
    Patricia Kennon (2018) Bold Girls: Academic Resource Pack. Dublin: Electronic Article [Details]
    2013 Time, Space and Childhood: Museums as Cultural and Educational Sites for European Young People.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2013) Time, Space and Childhood: Museums as Cultural and Educational Sites for European Young People. Electronic Article [Details]
    2013 Communicating Though Imaginations: Gerda Dendooven and the Rights of the Child Reader.
    Dr Patricia Kennon (2013) Communicating Though Imaginations: Gerda Dendooven and the Rights of the Child Reader. Electronic Article [Details]

    Podcast

      Year Publication
    2018 Podcast: “The Representation and Celebration of Females in Children’s Literature”.
    Patricia Kennon, Valerie Coghlan and Claire Dunne (2018) Podcast: “The Representation and Celebration of Females in Children’s Literature”. Dublin: Podcast [Details]

    Honours and Awards

      Year Title Awarding Body
    2019 The Kenneth and Sylvia Marantz Fellowship for Picturebook Research Marantz Picturebook Collection for the Study of Picturebook Art, Kent State University, USA
    2019 Arne Nixon Center Research Fellowship Arne Nixon Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, California State University, USA
    2017 Julie Johnson Kidd Travel Fellowship European Consortium of Liberal Arts and Sciences (ECOLAS)
    2018 Maynooth University Teaching Award Maynooth University
    2018 Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Network Funding Award SPHE Network
    2018 Louise Seaman Bechtel Visiting Professorship Travel Grant Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature at the University of Florida, USA
    2010 National Award for Excellence in Teaching National Academy for Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning

    Professional Associations

      Association Function From / To
    The Irish Society for the Study of Children's Literature President 30-MAR-08 / 28-MAR-20
    National Association of English Studies Secretary and committee member 01-SEP-19 / 01-OCT-22

    Committees

      Committee Function From / To
    University Research Committee Committee member 2018 / 2022
    University Graduate Education Committee Member 2019 / 2024
    Faculty of Social Sciences Research Committee Co-Chair 2018 / 2022
    MU SexGen research network of Maynooth University faculty & researchers on gender and sexualities Committee member 2018 / 2022
    Faculty of Social Sciences Teaching & Learning Committee Vice-Chair 2016 / 2022

    Teaching Interests

    I teach across a wide range of genres and media regarding children’s literature and young adult literature including film studies, picturebooks, comics and graphic novels, science fiction and dystopian literature, and intercultural and diversity education.