Expanding the Bounds of Literature: Electronic Literature for Children in Africa

Abstract

ABSTRACT Researchers investigating Children’s Literature have observed the emerging perspectives from the advancement in technology becoming a part of our lives. Electronic Literature becomes an emerging field of study with the admittance to technological innovation. There is an inherent limitation that needs recognition because the development is seen to be lagging in its impact on cultural production for children, especially in Africa. This current research seeks to explore the development of Electronic Literature. It also sets the parameter for the production of digital materials for children with different cultural backgrounds, especially for children in Africa. It employs a qualitative research design to analyze some selected children’s electronic literature written by continental Africans and Africans from the Diaspora. Multimodality as propounded by Jewitt, Bezemer & O'Halloran (2016) is adopted as a methodology to provide a practical and descriptive framework for the analysis of the various components of the Children’s Electronic literature. The finding shows that e-lit can have a greater impact if it responds to the cultural demands of its young one.