College of
Liberal Arts & Sciences
English
400: Adolescent Literature (LAS Focus: Writing)
Spring,
2008
Professor: Dr. Mike Cadden
Class time and place:
4:30-7:20 pm H in 210
Dr. Cadden’s Office:
222-C
Office
Hours: 9:00-11:00 AM T, TH; 2:00-4:30 T; and by
appointment.
Office Phone: 271-4576
E-mail: cadden@missouriwestern.edu
Web
Page: http://www.missouriwestern.edu/EFLJ/Faculty/cadden.asp
(On which a copy of this syllabus can be
found.)
Course
Description:
ENG 400 is an introduction to the genre of
literature for the young adult ("YA" or "Adolescent"
literature) that appeals to YA from middle school to high school and beyond. In
this course we will discuss the specific nature of YA literature as a genre
different from both “adult” and children’s literature by both degree and kind.
As both an LAS Writing Focus course and an
upper-division English course for majors, ENG 400 will involve writing in
different forms. I will be drawing on your ability to summarize, analyze,
critique and use language in clear and sophisticated ways. Be prepared for a
course that will involve a great deal of both reading and writing.
Prerequisite: English
108 or 112. This course is required in the BSE program and serves as an
elective for the childhood studies minor; however, this class does not count as an
English literature elective for English majors.
Required
Anderson,
M.T. Feed.
Crutcher,
Chris. Whale Talk.
Lowry,
Lois. A Summer to Die.
---.
The Giver.
Myracle,
Lauren. ttyl.
Paterson,
Katherine. Lyddie.
Twain,
Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Evaluation:
Short essay:
15%
Participation: 20%
Midterm Exam: 20%
Final Exam: 20%
Researched Essay: 25%
Attendance: The MWSU Policy Guide states that “each
instructor will determine and make known to the class the requirement for
attendance” (45). If you don’t come to class you will obviously jeopardize your
class participation grade. I will not quantify how much presence equals what
grade. I will be judging your total participation performance, not just
presence. I can also tell you that the exams draw heavily from class work. Also, since you are responsible for all
announcements in class, you run the risk of missing important information
regarding requirements.
Participation: This class meets once
a week; for this reason it is important that when you show up you are ready to
contribute to the class for the entire 150 minutes. You should prepare with the expectation that
you will be asked questions about your reading. You should prepare your own
questions for our discussion and consideration.
In short, good participation involves active reading and thinking rather
than just showing up and letting class “happen” to you. I will give you a midterm assessment
regarding your participation.
Academic Dishonesty: All cases in which students pass off others’
work as their own will be referred to the Provost’s Office. Students also run
the risk of failing the assignment as well as the course, depending on the
magnitude and nature of the offense. If you are unsure about how you are using
sources, please check with me.
Late and Missing Work: I reserve the right to refuse any late work.
Policy on Students with Disabilities: Any student in this course who has a
disability which requires different contexts for either evaluation or
expression should contact me in the first few weeks of the course so that those
needs can be considered.
Calendar
Jan. 17: Introduction to the course; discuss characteristics of and issues in YA literature; explanation of assignments.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/books/306531_teenlit08.html
http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/wb/xp-136866
Jan.
24:
Jan. 31: Poetry for and by young adults:
sharing and discussing what’s out there http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/outstandingbooks/poetryoutstanding.cfm
http://www.readingrants.org/category/word-up/
http://theliterarylink.com/yapoetry.html
http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/003cya/teened/readlist.html
http://mingo.info-science.uiowa.edu/~fu/YAPoetryPathfinder/YAPP.htm
Feb.
7: Twain: an old book for new adults;
race in the 19th Century from the 19th Century. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/teachers/huck/index.html
Feb. 14: Crutcher;
gender and race in the contemporary YA novel.
Feb. 21: Censorship:
an issue for teachers, citizens, and the young adult.
Feb.
28:
Mar.
6: Take-home midterm exam distributed
and discussed; short paper due; discussion of paper topics and issues in
writing the research paper; midterm assessment of participation.
Mar.
20: Lois Lowry’s The Giver and A
Summer to Die; realism and fantasy for young adults by one author. Midterm due.
Mar.
27: Short Fiction: reporting on collections and authors; http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ALAN/spring94/Lesesne.html.
http://www.chipublib.org/008subject/003cya/teened/readlist.html
http://www.roanoke.com/entertainment/wb/xp-136866
Apr.
3: Myracle: The Epistolary Form: e-mail novel
Apr.
10: Picture books for a Young Adult Audience http://www.lfpl.org/teenpages/booklists/yapictures.htm
http://www.monroe.lib.in.us/childrens/booklists/oldpic.html
Research
Essays Due for those who wish to be eligible to revise.
Apr. 24: YA Film: John
Hughes and Beyond: http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/films.html;
Current trends, parallels to print fiction; research essays due;
revisions of short paper and/or research paper due.
Final
Exam: Thursday, May 1, 4:30-6:20 PM in our regular
classroom
Short Essay
Worth:
15%
This essay may be a stand-alone essay or it may
turn out to be a shorter version of what you’ll turn in as your research essay
later in the semester. This paper should
be no more than five pages and
should investigate an issue and/or text(s) from our course. You may use any critical approach, which
means you can examine a subtext, a textual phenomenon, a contextual issue in YA
literature, or some combination, as demonstrated in or understood through our
class discussions and readings.
You might find that you want to think more about
the implications of historical fiction for a teenage readership, or perhaps
you’re interested in the depiction of authority (parents, school, etc.) in our
novels and poetry, or maybe you’d like to get a better sense of what YA
literature’s limitations or strengths are regarding characterization or narrative
perspective. The possibilities are
endless. For this reason, close reading
and attentive participation in class are essential for you to discover possible
topics.
You should have a hard copy with you in class on
March 6; you should also send me an
attachment of the essay over e-mail.
Research Essay
Worth: 25%
You will have a research paper due by the end of
the semester that will be worth 25% of your final grade. The topic is open,
though it must be relevant to adolescent literature in some important way—not
simply to literature in general, or children’s literature, or teaching
literature. This may seem obvious,
but sometimes the obvious must be stated. Any paper submitted by class time on April 11 will be eligible for revision.
If you are not interested in revision you may submit the paper any time between
April 11 and our last class meeting on
April 24. You should submit one hard copy of your paper as well as send me
an e-mail with a Microsoft Word attachment. Secondary support is required. MLA Citation
information provided by Diana Hacker and Bedford/St.Martins Press:
Hacker,
Diana. Research and Documentation Online. Bedford/St. Martins. 20 Dec.
2003. <http://www.dianahacker.com/resdoc/humanities/sample.html>
The key here, as with any writing exercise, is
to develop a focused argument appropriate to the scope of the assignment. You
should shoot for a page range from between
ten and fifteen pages. I will be
happy to discuss ideas and drafts (in part or whole) at any time, and we’ll
devote our class session before spring break to working out ideas and asking
questions about the assignment.