Last modified: 22 May 2019 17:07
From the picture book to the fairy tale, literature for children offers a wide range of literary modes of engaging with questions of human becoming. This course explores American and British children’s literature from the late nineteenth to the twenty-first century. We will look at a range of genres including poetry, the school story, the adventure story and fantasy, as well as examining the construction of children’s literature as a genre of its own. We will engage in close reading, and consider historical and social context and questions of gender, race and sexuality.
| Study Type | Undergraduate | Level | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Term | First Term | Credit Points | 30 credits (15 ECTS credits) |
| Campus | Old Aberdeen | Sustained Study | No |
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From the picture book to the dark fairy tale, literature for children offers a wide range of literary (and visual) modes of engaging with questions of human becoming and beguiling. This course explores American and British children’s literature from the late nineteenth to the twenty-first century (with a focus on the twentieth century). We will look at a range of genres including poetry, the school story, the adventure story and fantasy, as well as examining the construction of children’s literature as a genre of its own, including issues of authorship and readership. We will engage in close reading, examining literary features of the texts, and consider historical and social context and questions of gender, race and sexuality. Authors studied may include: Laura Ingalls Wilder, Sherman Alexie, Ursula K. Le Guin, E Nesbit, Frances Hodgson Burnett, R. L. Stevenson, C.S. Lewis, Susan Cooper, Neil Gaiman, Melvin Burgess, Jamila Gavin, Jackie Kay and others.
Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.
First Attempt: One short essay of 2000 words (30%), one long essay of 3000 words (50%), a presentation and accompanying report of 750 words (10%), and a seminar assessment mark (10%).
Resit: One on-line essay of 3000 words (100%).
There are no assessments for this course.
Formative and summative assessment will be provided via written feedback on assessed work. Students will also be encouraged to discuss their progress with their tutor .
Detailed written feedback on the essays. Detailed oral and written feedback on the presentations and SAM.
1. Think, speak and write in a theoretically and historically informed manner about complex issues concerning nineteenth- and twentieth-century Children’s literature.
2. Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of a range of texts, authors and contexts of the late nineteenth- and twentieth centuries, as well as the ways in which literature of this important period has shaped our modern sensibilities
3. Reflect in an informed manner, through both critical and creative activities, upon the cultural, social, historical and aesthetic concerns of late nineteenth and twentieth centuries
4. Articulate convincing analyses of primary and secondary texts by developing a clear, balanced, scholarly argument
5. Work confidently, both independently and in small groups, to prepare cogent oral and written responses
6. Organise study time effectively
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