English 180 - Winter, 2020

Children's Literature

Class Information

Instructor: Dolan, Frances
CRN: 55338
Time: TR 10:30-11:50
Location: 6 Wellman

Description

This course offers an introduction to the concept of literature written specifically for children and to some of the classics of this literature in English, from ALICE'S ADVENTURES IN WONDERLAND to HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. We will read at a brisk clip! But there will be time to savor our reading and our analysis of it. We will work together to: think about the stories and books that have shaped our own imaginations; explore what it means to read or re-read these books as adults; consider what these books tell us about the history of childhood and the importance of books and reading in that history; attend to continuity and change across time; and reflect on what it means to be a child. Above all, this is a class about the pleasures of reading, imagining, and risking.

Grading

First paper (25%);
final paper (25%);
quizzes (25%);
final exam (25%)

Texts

Esperanza Rising, Pam Munoz Ryan
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
Treasure Island, R.L. Stevenson
Mary Poppins, P.L.Travers
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
Peter Pan, J.M.Barrie
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, J.K.Rowling
Little Princess, Frances Hodgson Burnett
Concise edition:Folk & Fairy Tales