Adolescent Literature

Catalog description

This intermediate course presents an overview of the historical, sociocultural, academic, and political issues that provide context for the use and availability of adolescent literature today and the ways in which those issues connect with adolescent development. We will delve into contemporary texts that interest adolescents inside and outside of the classroom. Recent debates about the merit of literature for adolescents echo those debates from generations ago. Still, young adult fiction has developed into one of the largest markets in book publishing. Ideas that figure prominently in the course are: connections between reading and democracy; and decolonizing the school curriculum. Students in this course will walk away with an understanding of the place of adolescent literature in today’s curriculum debates as well as a background in choosing, reading, and analyzing the literature itself.