ENGH 452: Critical Study of Children's Literature

ENGH 452-001: Critical Study of Children's Literature
(Spring 2019)

04:30 PM to 07:10 PM R

Innovation Hall 207

Section Information for Spring 2019

Tom BrownThe school story did not begin with J. K. Rowling's "Harry Potter" series, or even with its most obvious precursor, Tom Brown's Schooldays by Thomas Hughes.  Our readings will start with works by Sarah Fielding and Mary Wollstonecraft, but we will also consider the girls' school story, represented by novels by L. T. Meade and Angela Brazil.

Schools need not be an official, closely-regulated enclave, so Charles Kingsley's The Water-Babies will be a model of "alternative schooling" (Trenton Lee Stewart's The Mysterious Benedict Society is a modern example).  Rudyard Kipling's A Little PrincessStalky and Co. will view the school experience from the perspectives of different social classes.The Luckiest Girl in the School

The school story may be largely a British phenomenon, but we will look at the ways the subgenre was adapted in the USA with Louisa May Alcott's Little Men.  In Rowling's wildly successful series, the school story takes a modern, as well as futuristic shape; we will examine a work such as Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow or Lev Grossman's The Magicians.  Other possibilities: novels by Thomas Farrar, Frances Hodgson Burnett, or Caroline Stevermer.Little Men

Requirements:  much reading, several short papers and two longer essays, and a final examination.

 

Tags:

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Examines the history and criticism of children's literature and the strategies used by authors of children's literature to address their audience. Selected readings range from Puritan to contemporary writing for children, as well as influential works in educational philosophy, such as those by Locke and Rousseau. Limited to three attempts.
Recommended Prerequisite: Satisfaction of University requirements in 100-level English and in Mason Core literature.
Schedule Type: Lecture
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

The University Catalog is the authoritative source for information on courses. The Schedule of Classes is the authoritative source for information on classes scheduled for this semester. See the Schedule for the most up-to-date information and see Patriot web to register for classes.