Queering the Study Material: Reading “The Unnamed Relationships” in Arnold Lobel’s “The Letter”

DOI

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • アーノルド・ローベル「おてがみ」の「名づけ得ない関係性」を読む―教材可能性を開くクィアの思弁的なプロセス―

Abstract

<p>“The Letter” from Frog and Toad Are Friends (1970), written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel, has been considered a standard study material since its first appearance in Japanese textbooks. There is a significant possibility that during the process of reading in the classroom and material development, unequal social structures are re-generated and expressed through discussions influenced by the reader’s social background and the “text” brought by other readers.</p><p>As the title suggests, their relationship is considered “friends,” both in Japanese educational research and in the classroom. This paper practices queer reading in this volume to shed light on how “the unnamed relationship” is depicted in this work. Mika Saito hints that their relationship has “a peculiar attachment” and the menace of miscommunication. Previous research has provided a sense of it, but not an adequate explanation, and thus, it has ended up assimilating into the existing relationship norms.</p><p>Lobel’s story is worth reading in the Japanese language classes because it challenges and questions gender norms, sexuality, and masculinity. Through the act of queer reading, readers can deconstruct the framework and examine the politics of relationship categories.</p>

Journal

  • kokugokakyouiku

    kokugokakyouiku 94 (0), 23-31, 2023-09-30

    Japanese Teaching Society of Japan

Keywords

Details 詳細情報について

  • CRID
    1390297847285137792
  • DOI
    10.20555/kokugoka.94.0_23
  • ISSN
    21899533
    02870479
  • Text Lang
    ja
  • Data Source
    • JaLC
  • Abstract License Flag
    Disallowed

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