ENG4419 – Children's Literature in English
Schedule, syllabus and examination date
Course content
This course offers a thorough grounding in the field of children`s and young adult (YA) literature, showcasing the diversity and innovation of this rapidly growing branch of literary study. We will grapple with some of the basic theoretical questions that underpin our understanding of children’s and YA literature: what is a ‘children’s book’? How do we know whether a book is for children or adults? Can we clearly distinguish between children and adults as readers? What do we mean by the figure of ‘the child’, and what is at stake when we consider this figure in literature? How have society’s notions of ‘the child’ changed across time and cultures? Drawing on seminal theoretical work in the field, we build up the skills and analytical toolkit to examine children’s literature in a nuanced and sophisticated way. We will explore the ways in which study of children’s literature can productively intersect with a number of other literary critical approaches - feminism, ecocriticism, postcolonial theory, among others - by focusing on a series of important children’s/YA novels, spanning the nineteenth century (often regarded as a ‘Golden Age’ of children’s literature) to the present day. Students will explore how asking questions about children in literary texts opens up significant debates about culture, sexuality, gender, the environment, and much more.
Learning outcome
After completing this course, you:
- will have an understanding of the main theoretical questions and debates underpinning the discipline of Children’s Literature
- will be able to analyse a wide range of children’s and young adult literature in relation to theoretical issues
- will be able to analyse narrative techniques in various kinds of literary texts, particularly how the child character and/or reader is constructed
- will be able to relate literary works to their sociohistorical context in nuanced and sophisticated ways
- will have advanced skills in scholarly writing in English
Admission to the course
Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.
If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.
This course is for students admitted to the master programmes?European Languages (master)?and?Lektorprogrammet (masterspesialisering i engelsk).
Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.
Teaching
Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours in all.