More than a flock: Writing for and about sheep with empathy in contemporary Australian children’s literature
Author Identifier
Amie Johnstone: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1166-0405
Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Thesis - ECU Access Only
Publisher
Edith Cowan University
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
School
School of Arts and Humanities
First Supervisor
Debra Dudek
Second Supervisor
Donna Mazza
Abstract
This project investigates how human-sheep relationships in contemporary Australian children’s literature may be analysed through a framework of empathy. Specifically, this project challenges perceptions of, and enhances empathy towards, sheep. The project includes a Young Adult (YA) novel entitled “More than a Flock” and an exegesis, both of which seek to liberate sheep from the margins of farmed animal stories. In the exegesis, I analyse a selection of Australian picturebooks and middle grade novels published between 2004 and 2024 that feature sheep, and I show how they rely on stereotypical representations of sheep as woolly commodities, counting devices, or as a being who possesses singular subjectivity. Informed by sheep cultural histories, literary animal studies scholarship, and my own immersion in the lives of sheep, the novel is crafted to encourage adolescent readers to reflect upon social justice issues from animal welfare and animal rights perspectives in relation to a domesticated, farmed species. As demonstrated by animal stories such as Black Beauty (1877), the representation of animals in literature is a powerful tool that can raise awareness about animals and enhance empathy toward the highlighted species. “More than a Flock” challenges the dominant discourse surrounding the stereotypical representation of sheep in Australian children’s literature by representing sheep as unique sentient beings who experience fulfilling lives. “More than a Flock” seeks to fill a gap in contemporary Australian children’s literature by providing, to my knowledge, the first YA novel that depicts the lives of sheep and the humans who exist alongside them while highlighting the ways humans use or exploit sheep. Another objective of the project overall is to encourage other writers to reconsider how they write about sheep within children’s literature.
Access Note
Access to this thesis is embargoed until 27th September 2030
Access to this thesis is restricted to the exegesis
Recommended Citation
Johnstone, A. (2025). More than a flock: Writing for and about sheep with empathy in contemporary Australian children’s literature. Edith Cowan University. https://doi.org/10.25958/rzga-4290