A festive publication
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| An illustration from The Present |
You are never too young to debate questions of politics. That is the view of Dr Peter Hayes, Senior Lecturer in Politics. He has just published a book called The Present, which introduces young readers to contested political issues through a story concerning Father Christmas.
“Father Christmas is magic but his Christmas gift giving involves him in a number of serious real-world issues,” Peter explains. “These issues include the working conditions of people making Christmas presents; the regimentation and surveillance that underpins our modern consumerist society; the increasingly hard border between those within the industrial core and those outside it, and the contribution of consumerism to global warming. All of these international political issues lie behind the annual appearance of Father Christmas.”
The Present does not try to answer what we should do about all this, but it does raise questions, and encourages children and their family and friends to think about, discuss and perhaps argue over these matters.
The Present is available from online book retailers. Watch a video about the book here.
“Father Christmas is magic but his Christmas gift giving involves him in a number of serious real-world issues,” Peter explains. “These issues include the working conditions of people making Christmas presents; the regimentation and surveillance that underpins our modern consumerist society; the increasingly hard border between those within the industrial core and those outside it, and the contribution of consumerism to global warming. All of these international political issues lie behind the annual appearance of Father Christmas.”
The Present does not try to answer what we should do about all this, but it does raise questions, and encourages children and their family and friends to think about, discuss and perhaps argue over these matters.
The Present is available from online book retailers. Watch a video about the book here.
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