ENGL 234 - Children’s Literature

FDR: HL
Credits: 4

Prerequisite: Completion of FW requirement. A study of works written in English for children. The course treats major writers, thematic and generic groupings of texts, and children’s literature in historical context. Readings may include poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction, and illustrated books, including picture books that dispense with text.

Spring 2016, ENGL 234-01: Children’s Literature (4). This course reads American children’s literature from the mid-19th century to the present, focusing on the ways that children’s and young adult novels have engaged in political and social issues. How do novels push children to understand themselves in relation to their community and nation? To what extent do they attempt to shape readers’ political philosophies? How subversive is YA literature, and how subversive should it be? Novels may include Little Women (Alcott), To Kill a Mockingbird (Lee), Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Taylor), The Chocolate War (Cormier), Fallen Angels (Myers), Shipbreaker (Bacigalupi), Little Brother (Doctorow). We also watch adaptations of popular young adult novels, including The Hunger Games, The Outsiders, and To Kill a Mockingbird. (HL) Bufkin.

Planned Offering: Spring 2016 and alternate years