Theory for Beginners by Kenneth Kidd (review)

This book is not what I (and perhaps you) would have expected from the title. It is not itself an introductory manual of theory for beginners, with chapters dutifully presenting simplified versions of post-structuralism, feminist theory, Marxist theory, psychoanalytic theory, post-colonialist theory, etc. Such books are already available in abundance. Instead, it is something vastly more interesting: an exploration of the ways in which theory, and philosophy more generally, is inherently an activity for beginners and the ways in which children's literature (literature for beginning readers) can be a valuable vehicle for philosophical and theoretical exploration.

The opening chapter, "Philosophy for Children," focuses on the burgeoning movement of that name (P4C) launched independently by Matthew Lipman (in the 1970s) and Gareth B. Matthews (in the 1980s), which recognizes and fosters the philosophical abilities of children. Lipman developed his own materials for this purpose, but Matthews, whose approach has become the dominant one, utilized existing children's literature to spark philosophical discussion with a young audience. I have been involved in the P4C movement myself and grateful to see some of my own books for young readers used for this purpose. The philosophical insights children can generate through gentle questioning inspired by the reading of a children's book are remarkable. My own favorite example: philosopher Sara Goering relates sharing a story about pretending and then asking children if there was anything they couldn't pretend to be. As the children came up with fanciful examples like "A five-headed dragon covered with pink polka-dots!" Goering pressed them on whether they really couldn't even pretend to be such a creature. Finally, one child offered the answer that the one thing you can't pretend to be is yourself. (Pretty amazing, right?) Kidd provides a thorough, accurate, and insightful account of the P4C movement, also pointing out its "paradoxes": "children are natural/born philosophers but must be lured into philosophical conversation and taught how to conduct such"; "philosophy is everyone's concern but should be overseen by those properly trained in P4C methods"; P4C endorses "the idea that all children are at least protophilosophical," but "seems sometimes to depend upon the exceptional child, the child who loves to think about thinking" (consider that child I mentioned who gave the stunning insight into pretense).

In the second chapter, "Theory for Beginners," Kidd argues that "theory is not merely interested in but also selfpresents as a beginner … re-enacting in the adult learner that mix of desire and dread attendant to literary acquisition." He then turns to an analysis of various, often playful books on theory intended for (generally adult, not child) beginners, such as the "For Beginners" series (e.g., Marx for Beginners, Foucault for Beginners) and the "Introducing" series (e.g., Introducing Evolutionary Psychology). In the most engaging part of this extremely rich chapter (too rich for easy summary), Kidd reports the results of the informal surveys he conducted of colleagues and friends in 2011, 2012, and 2016, asking for anecdotes about their use, or their students' use, of graphic guides to theory for novices. The responses reflected considerable—often sheepish—use of these materials, including one claiming that "Any former or current graduate student who says they don't use them is lying."

In the final chapter, "Literature for Minors," the "minors" in question are not only those under the legal age of majority but those who are "discriminated against, dispossessed, impoverished, and otherwise made minor socially if not also legally." Here Kidd does for theory what P4C does for philosophy, identifying a range of children's books that can themselves be seen as a kind of theory. He devotes to a detailed section to Alice, citing numerous theorists showing respect for Carroll as one of their own, and then reflects on recent children's books that he considers models of a kind of queer theory for children, considering these titles "not just enticing source material but also a form of queer theory for kids." He calls attention to "queerish" characters in...