Children's Literature

Catalog description

Addresses how writing for children: negotiates the boundaries between instruction and entertainment, engages with controversial social issues, is situated in the broader currents of British and American cultural history, and is gendered and classed. Students survey an array of texts written for children but compelling for adult readers too. Students are introduced to a range of critical approaches that reveal complexity, sophistication and surprises in these seemingly “simple” texts. Readings may include fairy tales, "Alice in Wonderland," "Little Women," "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer," "Treasure Island," "Peter Pan," "The Secret Garden," "The Wind in the Willows," "Charlotte’s Web," and "Harry Potter," along with other classic as well as recent contributions.