Course Descriptions

Fall 2003

• ENGL 501: Literature for Children, A. Allison
  As an upper division course in literature distinct from a course in pedagogy, surveys genres in children's literature, focusing on the books' contents and the authors' styles ("close reading"), and on interpretive perspectives such as feminist, symbolic, or political. The goal of the course is to enable students to make substantive, independent evaluations of the texts at hand and other texts they encounter. Since students will read, discuss, and write a good deal, comprehension and writing skills are essential. Requirements: Six 2 pp. study question responses with three possible revisions, a in-class essay & objective midterm, and an objective final coupled with a research paper.
  
Sample Books:
Randall Jarrell, The Bat Poet
Leon Tillage, Leon's Story
E.B. White, Charlotte's Web
J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Astrid Lindgren, Pippi Longstocking in the South Seas
David and Meeks, Twelve Dancing Princesses (fairy tale collection)
Russell Hoban, The Mouse and His Child
• ENGL 503: Special Topics in Children's Literature, A. Allison
  This course focuses for Fall 2003 on multicultural literature for children and young adults. "Multicultural" is defined in a broad sense to include depictions of interactions between cultural groups in the U.S. and in several other countries, with "cultural" referring to both economic and ethnic differences. The book list includes memoirs as well as realistic fiction and fantasy. Students can expect to write both short papers (2-pp. "study questions) and a research paper; there will also be an objective midterm and final.
  
• Sample Books:
  Randall Jarrell, The Animal Family
  Walter Dean Myers, Fallen Angels
  Karen Hesse, Witness
  Nicholasa Mohr, Going Home
  Victor Martinez, Parrot in the Oven
  I.B. Singer, Stories for Children
  Betty Smith, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
  Ji Li Jiang, Red Scarf Girl
  Linda Crew, Children of the River

Graduate Courses

• ENGL 604A: 20th-Century American Children's Literature: Child, Culture, Nation, J. Cummins
  Now that we have begun the 21st century, we can look back over the previous century and discern certain patterns and trends in children's literature. What can we determine about 20th-century American culture through examining these patterns? Can we reach conclusions about American concepts of childhood, families, institutions, and of the nation itself through children's literature? Why did certain books become classics and what do these classics tell us about ideologies and agendas? How are attitudes toward gender, class, and race solidified or challenged? What role does children's literature play in the economy, and vise versa? How powerful, ultimately, is children's literature in creating cultural norms and values? In order to find answers to these questions, we will read a wide variety of books, ranging from "classics," to popular mainstream texts, to groundbreaking, change-making texts. Students will be responsible for two papers and an oral report.
  

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