English 4017/5017: Children’s Literature

East Tennessee State University

Summer 2009

 

Dr. Phyllis Thompson                                                                                                 Phone: 423.439.5997                                        Email: thompsop@etsu.edu

Class:  202 Burleson Hall                                                                                           Class Day/Time: TR 5-8:50PM

Office: 213 Burleson Hall                                                                                          Office Hours: TR 4-5PM and by appointment

 

Course Description:

This semester, we will take an historical approach to our study of children’s literature as we consider literary content, illustration, social values, cultural contexts, staging, and publishing.  We will read fairy tales (and a few modern appropriations), instructional and moral texts from the eighteenth century, fanciful novels from the nineteenth century, realistic novels that emerged in the mid-twentieth century, and the 2008 winner of the Newberry Medal.  We will also travel together to see The Barter Players’ adaptation for stage of a much loved children’s classic.  Our discussions will also include poems for children as well as traditional and post-modern picture books.

      Goals and Objectives:

·         To demonstrate knowledge of the diversity and complexity of values, beliefs, and ideas embodied in the human experience by comparing values and ideas about childhood and children as they have been expressed over 400+ years of writing (printed texts and longer even for story-telling) for children through class discussion, presentations, and formal written responses;

·         To identify and explain basic concepts of the selected discipline (literature/children’s literature) within the arts and humanities by applying critical and theoretical terminology as well as specific critical approaches to literary works in discussion, papers, presentations, and exams;

·         To explain and interpret stylistic elements of the literary arts by discussing literary aspects of a selected work and identifying the connections between literary elements and the ideas expressed in the text in class discussion, papers, and exams.

 

Required Texts:

Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Penguin, 2003. 0141439769

J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan and Wendy (1911). Penguin, 2004. 014243793X

E.B. White’s Charlotte’s Web (1952). Harper Collins, 2001.  0064410935

Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War (1974). Knopf, 2004.  0375829873

Christopher Paul Curtis’, The Watson’s Go to Birmingham, 1963 (1996). Yearling, 1997.  0440414121

Maria Tatar’s The Classic Fairy Tales.  Norton, 1999.   0393972771

Shannon Hale’s Rapunzel’s Revenge, Bloomsbury, 2008.  ISBN: 1599902885

Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book, HarperCollins, 2008.  ISBN: 0061712825

Perry Nodelman & Mavis Reimer’s The Pleasures of Children’s Literature, 3rd.  Allyn & Bacon, 2002.  0801332486

 

Course Requirements:                                                                                                      

Short Assignments: FT Chart, Theory, Game Analysis, Picture Book Analysis                 10%                       

Podcast: Book Review                                                                                                                 15%                       

Discussion Leadership: Scholarship                                                                                       15%                                       

Mid-Term Exam                                                                                                                            15%                                       

Semester Paper                                                                                                                            30%                                       

Final Exam                                                                                                                                    15%                                                                                       

Note to students: To pass this course, all major assignments must be completed and turned into the instructor.  In addition to the above requirements, graduate students will teach a portion of one class period and will be responsible for submitting a class plan prior to the teaching day.  This presentation will foreground your own literary argument but will incorporate current scholarship in the field.  More on this, later.  Additionally, the number of sources required for semester project and scope/depth of that project will be different than for undergraduate students.  See instructor about these differences. 

 

Grading Scale:                       A- - A   (3.75-4.00) = 93-100

B- - B+ (2.75-3.74) = 85-92

C- - C+ (1.75-2.74) = 75-84

D- - D+ (0.75-1.74) = 65-74

F (Below .75) = 00-64

 THE POLICY PAGE: EXECTATIONS, ADVICE, & GENERAL ACADEMIC ETIQUETTE

 

Please Note: I encourage you to open yourself to new ideas, read all materials assigned for this course, and participate actively in class discussions; however, some texts may contain potentially offensive language, images, and/or ideas.  If, at any time, you become uncomfortable and feel you need to excuse yourself, you may do so. 

 

Attendance: My attendance policy is simple: you have no more than two absences in this Summer Session II course.  On your second absence, your daily grade (short assignments grade) will be dropped one letter.  Students who are tardy when roll is taken will be counted absent.  If you are tardy, please note that it is your responsibility to see that I have marked you present for that class period.  Do this immediately after the class period.  I will not make corrections to my roster after I leave the classroom.  If tardiness becomes habitual, I reserve the right to refuse changing my roster.  Students who leave midway through a class will be marked absent for ½ of that class period.  I do not distinguish between excused and un-excused absences.  Please note that the Department of English stipulates that the maximum allowable number of absences for a TR summer session course is no more than two absences. According to departmental policy, students exceeding the limitations will receive an F or W, if within the University policy on dropping a course.

 

Project Guidelines: Unless otherwise noted, all assignments (homework and essays) should be computer-printed, titled, paginated, and stapled/paper clipped.  The font should be Arial, Courier, or Times New Roman, 10 or 12-point; text should be double-spaced.  Final drafts should be proofread thoroughly.  Projects are due at the beginning of class on the designated date unless otherwise stipulated.  Printer problems and other technical difficulties are not acceptable excuses for failure to hand in a paper on time. To avoid such common problems, print out and proofread the final draft of your paper well before the time the paper is due. Absence on the day a paper is due is not an acceptable excuse; however, if you have a legitimate reason for being unable to turn in a paper on the due date, please raise your concerns in advance of that date.  I will consider making accommodations for students whose requests come in a week prior to a scheduled deadline.  After that time, the deadline is not negotiable.  Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and proper MLA documentation all count.  I will provide handouts on the specific requirements of each assignment during class.

 

Late Work: If you must be absent from class, please obtain class notes/assignments from another student before the next class.  Absence is not an excuse for late work.  Late homework (i.e., short writing assignments) is not accepted for a grade.  If you must be absent and want credit for your homework, be sure that I have the actual assignment in my hands before class begins.  I will accept homework via e-submission as long as it arrives before the class period begins.  In-class graded assignments, workshops, and group work cannot be made up.  If you are absent, you will receive a 0 for those assignments.  Major projects (semester papers) will be taken up at the beginning of the class period on which they are due.  Projects that come in after that time will be considered late and docked one letter grade per class day. 

 

Plagiarism: Plagiarism will not be tolerated and its consequences are serious.  Proven willful plagiarism will result in failure in the course and may include dismissal from the university.  The MLA Handbook defines plagiarism as repeating “as your own someone else's sentences, more or less verbatim. . . .  Other forms of plagiarism include repeating someone else's particularly apt phrase without appropriate acknowledgment, paraphrasing another person's argument as your own, and presenting another's line of thinking . . . as though it were your own” (MLA Handbook 597-600).  We will discuss plagiarism during class.  If you have additional questions, please see me, refer to your Harbrace Handbook (597-600), The MLA Handbook, and/or consult with the WCC. If you use someone else’s ideas, be sure to cite your sources accurately and distinguish his or her thoughts from your own. If you use someone else’s words, be sure to place them in quotation marks and cite your sources. See the most recent edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers for guidance on citing sources and other technical matters.

 

Office of Disability Services: East Tennessee State University recognizes its responsibility for creating an institutional climate in which students with disabilities can thrive. If you have a physical, psychiatric/emotional, medical or learning disability that may impact on your ability to carry out assigned course work, I would urge you to contact the Office of Disability Services at 439-8346 or stop by their offices at the Culp Center (Suite A, Lower Level) as soon as possible to discuss your particular needs. The staff will review your concerns and determine, with you, what accommodations are necessary and appropriate. This will ensure that you are properly registered for services.  All information and documentation of disability is confidential. The information in this syllabus is available in alternative forms upon request.

 

Writing Center: ETSU's Writing and Communication Center (WCC) is available to assist students who would like additional help with their writing.   This summer the Writing and Communication Center is located in 136 Sherrod Library.  Students can make appointments on any weekday, 9 am to 4 pm, via our website — www.etsu.edu/wcc — or by calling 439-7848.

 

Student Conduct: Students must conduct themselves in a manner which is conducive to learning for themselves and for others in the class.  Disruptive behavior is not acceptable and may result in a student’s facing campus disciplinary action or in being temporarily or, in severe cases, permanently removed from class. 

 

Cell Phones, Text-Messaging, and Food: If the worst thing that happens to us today is that your cell phone accidentally goes off, well, I suppose we have very good lives, indeed.   On the matter of text messaging, that’s just rude.  Enough said?  Please do not bring food into the classroom as it is distracting to others.  You may, however, bring a beverage.

 

Conferencing: Working directly with me is an important part of this course.  I encourage you to drop by to discuss your ideas, your reading, your writing, or even the day's weather.  My door is open.