Dr. Roberta Seelinger Trites 438-4572
Office: STV 207; Office hours TR 8:30-9 and by appointment
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
Butler, Parable of the Sower
Cisneros, The House on Mango Street
Cormier, The Chocolate War
Hinton, The Outsiders
Le Guin, A Wizard of Earthsea
Mosley, 47
Nelson, Carver: A Life in Poems
Salinger, Catcher in the Rye
Twain, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs
Wiesel, Night
Yang, American Born Chinese
Critical readings available through Milner Library Electronic Reserves:
www.mlb.ilstu.edu
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 e-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. (For TR classes, articles are to be read for Thursday; Wednesday evening classes must read both articles and novels for class on Wednesday.)
· 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: http://www.cas.ilstu.edu/english/trites/index.htm
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 23 (W class) or February 24 (TR class), 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. (For undergraduates, this paper will be 3-4 pages long; for graduate students, 5-6). You may revise and include this paper in 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 13 (W class) or April 14 (TR class), will be a literary analysis of three to five novels by one author. 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 on April 6 (W class) or April 7 (TR class). 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 2 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 375, SPRING 2010
Week 1 (Jan. 11-13): Introduction
Week 2 (Jan. 18-20): Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
and 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. 25-27): Webster, Daddy-Long-Legs
Kornfeld & Jackson, “Female Bildungsroman . . .” *
Week 4 (Feb. 1-3): Catcher in the Rye
Cadden, “The Irony of Narration in the Young Adult Novel” *
Week 5 (Feb. 8-10): The Outsiders
Week 6 (Feb. 15-17): The Chocolate War
Tarr, “The Absence of Moral Agency in Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War” *
Week 7: (Feb. 22-24): The House on Mango Street
book analysis and bibliography due (2/23 for W class; 2/24 for TR class)
Week 8 (March 1-3): MIDTERM
Week 9 (March 15-17): A Wizard of Earthsea
Gooderham, “Children’s Fantasy Literature” *
Week 10 (March 22-24): Parable of the Sower
Week 11 (March 29-31): 47
Cadden, “Simultaneous Emotions” *
Week 12 (April 5-7): Night
Coats, “Abjection and Adolescent Fiction” (from Looking Glasses and Neverlands)*
April 6 (W class) or April 7 (TR class): Writing workshop (bring at least 5-10 pages of your paper
for peer review)
Week 13 (April 12-14): Carver
April 13 (W) class or April 14 (TR class): Term papers due
Week 14 (April 19-21): American Born Chinese
Trites, “Paradox of Authority” from (Disturbing the Universe)*
Week 15: (April 26-28): Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and 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” (http://www.mlb.ilstu.edu/)
† = Electronic reserves for graduate students only
** = Please note differential assignment for grads and undergrads