Blog #4

International Literature v. Multicultural Literature

International Literature can be summed up by the definition: “that body of books originally published in a country other than the United States in a language of that country and later published in this country” (Hancock, 2000). At first, I did not decipher the difference; however this definition from our text explains it flawlessly. International literature is not just limited to books originally written in another language (other than English); if a book is written in English, yet in another country other than the U.S., it can be considered to be “international” as well. When in search for an international book, a librarian confused international literature with multicultural literature. Finding an international book was quite a journey; I actually had to research to find a book that was written in another language, and translated into English. The two books I found were books originally written in German. By looking at the front book covers I would have never guessed that they were international pieces of literature.

Compared to international literature, multicultural books were easy to spot. Books that appear to “look” out of the ordinary, considering culture are the ones that are, obviously multicultural pieces of literature. This type of literature opens up the readers’ mind to varying beliefs, values and cultural differences. The country we presently preside in consists of many cultures. Although we have a unified “American” culture, our foundation is made up of all different types of existing cultures. We are, after all a melting pot of cultures, encompassed in one nation. The difference between these two forms of literature is that multicultural lit. are those that present an accurate perspective of people/ beliefs/ values from that specific culture. In order for the books to be authentic multicultural books, they must be written by authors whom are from that specific culture or have lived within it or greatly experienced the culture. International books must be written in a different country and translated to English.

It is important to have both genres of literature in a classroom setting. International literature can help students bond with different people from other countries, giving them an incentive to bridge the gap between other nations. Reading from another countries perspective will inspire students to broaden their horizons, mentally and even physically. Students will learn about other cultures when they read multicultural literature. This literature allows students to see their own culture and in some way gives them a sense of belonging. It also allows students to observe and learn about other cultures, that they have stereotyped before.

Activities for both genres of literature:

International:
1) Have the children write about how the characters in the story differ from them ( the way they dress, their language, actions, ect.)
2) Next, have the children write about how the characters in the book are similar to who they are.
*the children should be able to identify somehow to the characters in the story; whrn they find similarities, remind them that others in a different country may not be as different from them.

Multicultural:
1) Have the children identify something culturally different (such as food, tradition, language) that is new or interesting to them. Have them write down their reasoning.
2) Allow the children to discuss something about their culture that is interesting and have them draw a picture representing their culture. Create a collage representing all the different cultures within the classroom; then remind them that there are different cultures within our country.