Young Adult Fiction

Catalog description

Since S.E. Hinton's publication of The Outsiders in 1967, fiction about young adults has transformed into a literary genre unto itself (and a bestselling one at that.) Young adulthood has long been a subject of literary inquiry that asks authors and readers to explore the youthful intensities of emotional and physical longing, loss, sorrow, failure, and joy: that is, the intense work that goes into building lives and ethical perspectives. In this course, we will trace two histories: the development of the genre of young adult fiction as a distinct literary form, and the development of cultural ideas about young adulthood across time. To this end, we'll consider fiction about (and aimed at) young adults since the 18th century, within the following themes: Outsiders, Seductions, Fantasies, Queer Stories, and Re-Visions. We will read a lot in this class- basically a novel a week-- but it will be almost entirely "pleasure" reading (as if there were another kind!).