Fairy Tale to Dystopia Stories for the Young

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

In this course, students examine literature told to, written for, or adapted for children and young adults. The course takes an historic and thematic approach through a variety of forms and genres, and asks how children and their literatures have been conceptualized as we move into the twenty-first century. Is children's literature a cultural artefact or a means by which culture defines itself? How do we discern and evaluate a poetics of Children's Literature? What do publishing trends in this field tell us about the changing nature of adult-child relationships, and how are these reflected in Australian contexts? Students will practice a critical reflective approach to engage with these questions and apply their findings.