A Descriptive Metatheory of Children's literature: Classification and Description of the Research Fields in the Theory of Children's Literature

In this paper, at first the existing grounds of theorizing in children's literature are classified on an objective and logic basis. These grounds are: theories relating to the existence of children's literature, theories relating to the nature and the specific issues of children's literature, and revisions of the concepts and the categories of literary theories and their relations according to the nature and the specific issues of children's literature. The present article offers examples for each case. Then with regard to Vandergrift's figure of the focal points of the literary theories, the positions of children's literature theories on this graph are determined. By determining the dialectical relationship between literary theory and literary criticism, it is shown that the production of literary theory itself relies on literary criticism. At the end, by posing the need for complex thinking, the possibilities ahead the theorists are pointed out. Thus, the descriptive metatheory of children's literature is portrayed. This metatheory shows the routes and the areas of research in the field of children's literature.