Dr. Roberta Seelinger Trites438-4572
Office: STV 207; Office hours TR 8:30-9 a.m. and by
English 375: Studies in Literature for Adolescents
Course objective: In this class we will define the concept of adolescence, discuss characteristics of young adult literature and literary criticism, and use that criticism to analyze texts for adolescents.
Required texts:Alexie, Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Collins, The Hunger Games
Hamilton, The Planet of Junior Brown
Hinton, The Outsiders
Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
Mosley, 47
Salinger, Catcher in the Rye
Satrapi, Persepolis
Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn(Norton edition)
Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs
Wiesel, Night
Yang, American Born Chinese
Critical readings available through Milner Library Course Reserves:
Course requirements:Mid-term exam:25%
Book analysis & bib:15%
Term paper: 25%
(Undergrads = 2500 words; Grads = 5000 words)
Final exam:25%
Daily grade/participation: 10%
Policies:
- Students are expected to attend class. Students who miss more than 25% of class discussions, as a general rule, find themselves unable to pass the examinations—or the class.
- Any assignment that is late will be penalized one letter grade per day that it is late.
- I expect you to have read the assignments listed on the syllabus before you come to class. (All novels need to be read entirely before class begins.)
- Theoretical articles from Milner’s electronic course reserves, which are listed on the reading schedule by author’s last name, must also be read before class the day they will be discussed.
- Please word process out-of-class papers double-spaced with standard margins on standard white paper. Proofread everything you turn in, because grammar, organization, and mechanics are a substantial part of every grade you receive.
- Plagiarism, collusion, or any act of cheating is intolerable. I will report such incidences to the Dean of Students’ office.
- I will not discuss any evaluation I have given your work until at least twenty-four hours after you have received the evaluation.
Do not even begin to think about texting or receiving calls during class. TURN YOUR PHONES OFF. You do NOT want to see me irritated by what I consider to be the extraordinarily rude behavior of paying more attention to your phone than class.
- You earn your grade by performance, not by negotiation. Unless I have made an error of computation, please do not ask me to raise your grade.
- Any student needing to arrange a reasonable accommodation for a documented disability should contact Disability Concerns at 350 Fell Hall, 438-5853 (voice), 438-8620 (TTY).
Communication:
I consider communication between the student and the instructor a key factor in maximizing students’ learning. Please feel free to email me at the address above; I find email exchanges with students very fruitful.
I also encourage you to drop by my office during office hours or to contact me to set up an appointment. Students are my top priority; don’t be afraid to contact me!
I expect students to treat each other respectfully at all times both in class and outside of class. Sometimes, discussions will touch on controversial topics. When we treat each other with as much civility and professionalism as possible, our discussions will generate the best possible learning environment for all students.
Webpage:
ASSESSMENT
Daily grades include written work in class, writing prompts, quizzes, and discussion.
Author papers and bibliography
Each student will write a term paper analyzing 3-5 works by one author of young adult novels. YOU MUST GET PERMISSION FROM ME BEFORE YOU CHOOSE YOUR AUTHOR! I will provide you with suggestions, and I will discourage people from duplicating one another's topics. You may not count any book we are reading in class as one of the 3-5 novels you analyze for your paper. (The goal is to write about books we have not discussed in class.)
On February 27 or 28(depending on your section) you will turn in the first stage of your paper: a straightforward literary analysis of ONE novel by your author and a thorough bibliography of criticism about your author. (This paper will be 3-4 pages long.) The paper needs to have a thesis that makes an argument about the novel’s theme or ideology, or you can analyze the paper in terms of one of the articles we have read. You may revise and include this shorter paper as part of your final paper, if you wish to do so. Effectively, this is two different assignments to be turned in on the same day: 1) a paper on ONE topic of your choice that does not need to include any literary criticism AND 2) a separate bibliography listing all the literary criticism available on your author. You need not incorporate any literary criticism into your paper, but you do need to compile a thorough list of the resources that will be available to you for your final paper. You can find bibliographic information in the MLA online index, in ERIC, and among the Teaching Materials Center's reference books (6th floor Milner). I recommend that you begin with two encyclopedias: Something About the Author and Children's Literature Review, both of which are located among the TMC's reference materials.
Your final term paper, due April 16 or 17 (depending on your section), will be a literary analysis of three to five novels by one author that is approximately 10-12 pages long for undergrads and 20 for graduate students. You will write on one aspect of the author’s writing that applies to all of these novels. You may write on any of a number of topics, including such things as analyses of recurring issues, recurring themes, recurring (or shifting) ideologies, OR developments in the writer's style. You may also choose to analyze the novels in light of one or more of our critical readings. (Pick one of these topics; do not attempt to do them all. Well-focused papers are better than shallow papers that attempt to cover too much material.) I AM NOT INTERESTED IN BIOGRAPHIES OF AUTHORS! We will discuss the paper throughout the course of the semester, but PLEASE do not hesitate to ask me your questions about it, either before class or during office hours. Please plan to have approximately 50% of the paper written for our in-class writing workshop onApril 11. Your participation in the workshop counts as two daily grades: one grade for having a draft and another grade for your peer review.
Examinations
Both the mid-term and the final exam will be essay exams. The final will be comprehensive. Please purchase two examination “blue books” and bring one to the mid-term and one to the final. DO NOT MARK YOUR NAME ON YOUR BLUE BOOK, as blue books will be collected and redistributed the day of the test.
READING CALENDAR FOR ENG 375, SPRING 2013 (Tuesday-Thursday classes)
IN THE EVENT OF SNOW-DAYS, CHECK EMAIL. READING ASSIGNMENTS MAY BE POSTPONED BUT WILL NOT BE CANCELED.
Week 1:Jan. 15-17: Introduction
Week 2:Jan. 22: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Jan. 24: From Norton Critical Edition of Huck Finn: David L. Smith, “Huck, Jim, and American
Racial Discourse” (all students); Jane Smiley, “Say It Ain’t So, Huck” (grads only)**
[Please note: neither Smith nor Smiley article is available on e-reserves]
Week 3 Jan. 29: Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs
Jan 31: Kornfeld & Jackson, “Female Bildungsroman . . .” *
Week 4 Feb. 5: Catcher in the Rye
Feb. 7: Cadden, “The Irony of Narration in the Young Adult Novel” *
Week 5 Feb. 12: The Planet of Junior Brown
Feb. 14:Stewart, “In the Ellison Tradition”*
Week 6 Feb. 19-21: The Outsiders
Week 7 Feb. 26: The House on Mango Street
Feb. 28: BOOK ANALYSIS AND SEPARATE BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Monday, February 4: Extra credit opportunity!
Professor Claudia Mills, delivering the Lois Lenski Children’s Literature Lecture @ 7 p.m.
(check English department website for room number)
Week 8March 5:Poetry
March 7: MIDTERM
Week 9March 19-21: The Hunger Games
Week 10 March 26: A Wizard of Earthsea
March 28: Gooderham, “Children’s Fantasy Literature” *
Week 11April 2: 47
April 4: Cadden, “Simultaneous Emotions” *
Week 12 April 9:Night
April 11: Writing workshop (bring 5-10 pages of your paper for peer review)
Week 13April 16: TERM PAPERS DUEand Persepolis
April 18: Hillary Chute, “The Texture of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis”*
Week 14April 23: Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
April 25: Trites, “Paradox of Authority” from (Disturbing the Universe)*
Week 15April 30: American Born Chinese
May 2:REVIEW
FINAL EXAM AS DICTATED BY THE UNIVERSITY’S SCHEDULE
* = Electronic reserves for all students, available on the Milner homepage under “Find Course Reserves” and “Trites”
** = Please note differential assignment for grads and undergrads
READING CALENDAR FOR ENG 375, SPRING 2013 (Wednesday classes)
IN THE EVENT OF SNOW-DAYS, CHECK EMAIL. READING ASSIGNMENTS MAY BE POSTPONED BUT WILL NOT BE CANCELED.
Week 1:Jan. 16: Introduction
Week 2: Jan. 23: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
From Norton Critical Edition of Huck Finn: David L. Smith, “Huck, Jim, and American
Racial Discourse” (all students); Jane Smiley, “Say It Ain’t So, Huck” (grads only) **
[Please note: neither Smith nor Smiley article is available on e-reserves]
Week 3 Jan. 30: Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs
Kornfeld & Jackson, “Female Bildungsroman . . .” *
Week 4 Feb. 6: Catcher in the Rye
Cadden, “The Irony of Narration in the Young Adult Novel” *
Week 5 Feb. 13: The Planet of Junior Brown
Stewart, “In the Ellison Tradition”*
Week 6 Feb. 20: The Outsiders
Week 7 Feb. 27: The House on Mango Street
BOOK ANALYSIS AND SEPARATE BIBLIOGRAPHY DUE
Monday, February 4: Extra credit opportunity!
Professor Claudia Mills, delivering the Lois Lenski Children’s Literature Lecture @ 7 p.m.
(check English department website for room number)
Week 8March 6:Poetry andMIDTERM
Week 9March 20: The Hunger Games
Week 10 March 27: A Wizard of Earthsea
Gooderham, “Children’s Fantasy Literature” *
Week 11April 3: 47
Cadden, “Simultaneous Emotions” *
Week 12 April 10: Night
Writing workshop (bring 5-10 pages of your paper for peer review)
Week 13April 17: TERM PAPERS DUEand Persepolis
Hillary Chute, “The Texture of Retracing in Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis”*
Week 14April 24: Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Trites, “Paradox of Authority” from (Disturbing the Universe)*
Week 15May 1: American Born Chinese
REVIEW