We will approach the study of these works analytically, focusing on developing an adult understanding of and appreciation for the texts children enjoy. Throughout the course we will be especially concerned with how children s literature reflects or creates social attitudes toward children. This class is intended for Liberal Studies majors and must be taken in conjunction with 306W, Advanced Composition. The rationale of the course is the discussion of the essence of children s fiction and its range from idyllic through carnivalesque toward postlapsarian. It will also probe into the various theoretical approaches to the study of children s literature, and much attention will be paid to the analytical tools used in the assessment of this specific kind of literature.
Collaborative work is highly encouraged.
This course will examine some classic and modern texts in which protagonists appear in a marginal position between childhood and adulthood. The prevalent feelings in adolescence are insecurity, hostility towards outer world, interrogation of conventional values and protest against parental authority. Two central existential issues adolescents must cope with are death and sexuality. We will explore these aspects in texts about young people as well as novels directly written for young audience, the so-called Young Adult fiction. Among the authors discussed are Jane Austen, Louisa M. Alcott, Mark Twain, J. D. Salinger, and Katherine Paterson.