English 183 - Winter, 2014

Adolescent Literature

Class Information

Instructor: Arnold, Elana
CRN: 62664
Time: TR 1:40-3:00
Location: 206 Olson

Description

Today, adolescent (Young Adult) literature is in its Golden Age. YA is everywhere—bookstores, movie studios, online fan fiction. But why? To answer this question, we will explore the definitions of both “Adolescent” (or “Young Adult”) and “Literature.” We will examine a series of novels—beginning with The Catcher in the Rye and ending with a just-released book—and ask the questions—What determines if a book has literary merit? What defines a book as “YA” or “Adolescent”? Should any material be “off limits” in this category of books? We will also examine book trailers and book covers to search for clues about what marks a book as “YA” and determine what we think about those markers. Specifically, we will read books that feature the motifs of love, loyalty, and loss and consider how the novels look at these ideas from a particularly adolescent slant.

Grading

Attendance and Participation (Including Quizzes): 10%
Short Writing Assignments: 20%
Short Paper 20%
Long Paper 30%
Final Exam: 20%

Texts

The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger
The Chocolate War, Cormier
The Hunger Games, Collins
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, Alexie
Imaginary Girls, Suma
Where Things Come Back, Whaley
The Fault in Our Stars, Green
We The Animals, Torres
Tell The Wolves I’m Home, Brunt
Sex & Violence, Mesrobian