Dr. Eva M. Pohler Email:
Office Location: HSS 4.02.60
Office Hours: MWF 10AM-11AM; MW 2PM-230PMPhone: 458-7723
Young Adult Literature: Contemporary Fantasy
Objectives:
• To become familiar with the history of young adult literature and criticism
• To learn how young adult literature has been classified
• To become familiar with a number of popular texts classified as young adult literature and the secondary discussions surrounding them
• To become better readers and critics of literature
• To develop stronger skills in communicating original literary ideas to others
Required Reading:
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief
Philip Pullman’s The Golden Compass
Christopher Paolini’s Eragon
Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight
Requirements:
Surprise Quizzes10%
Reading Exam I 20%
Reading Exam II 20%
Paper I 25%
Paper II 25%
Surprise Quizzes: You will need pencils and Scantron Form 882, and you will not be allowed to confer with your texts or notes. There will be ten multiple choice questions about the novel we are reading at the time. These questions will be objective and relatively easy.
Reading Exams: You will need pencils and Scantron Form 882, and you will not be allowed to confer with your text or your notes. The first exam will cover the first three novels and the second exam will cover the last four novels. The questions will be in a multiple choice format, exactly like the quizzes, forty-five questions per exam.
Papers: In your essays, you will be analyzing texts we read for class. It is your responsibility to approach a text from a perspective of your choice, finding something interesting to argue about its theme, tone, symbolism, figurative language, textual strategy, or its historical, political, psychological, moral, or philosophical implications. Try to find reactions, feelings, opinions, values that will give your paper the depth it needs to interest your teacher and classmates. I want you to integrate two to four secondary sources, so you can be an informed writer. Papers should be typed, 3-5 pages, double spaced, and a Works Cited page should list the relevant texts according to MLA standards. See your student handbook for grading standards. Papers may be emailed by midnight of due date without penalty, but if I don’t receive it due to technical problems, the penalty applies. If you email a paper, bring a hard copy to the next class period.
Policies:
Attendance- You have three free absences without penalty, but 0.5 points will be deducted from your final grade for each absence after three. You may submit a written request for special consideration if you suffer from unusual circumstances or if you must miss more than three times due to university related activities. Keep in mind that if you use your three free absences for reasons other than those involving illness and funerals—such as for sleep, for work, or for travel—a prolonged absence due to a sudden crisis will only be excused after three days. What I mean to say is that you cannot expect to both skip three classes and miss due to a crisis without penalty. The three free absences are meant to be saved for such crises.
Late Papers- You may turn in one of the two papers up to three days late without penalty. The other paper will be penalized five points for each day it is late. A paper may be emailed by midnight of a due date, but a hard copy must be turned in at the next class period.
Academic Dishonesty- Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating on exams and class work, plagiarism (either using papers written by someone else or integrating the words or ideas of published authors into your paper without properly documenting them), and collusion (the unauthorized collaboration with another person in preparing college work for credit). Proceedings will be initiated against any student suspected of academic dishonesty (See the Student Handbook).
Tentative Daily Calendar
Aug.
25WIntroductions
27FHistory of Young Adult Lit, Genre Distinctions, and Literary Terms
30MLiterary Terms and Critical Approaches
Sept.
1WRowling and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ch 1-6
3FRowling and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ch 7-11
6MLabor Day: No Class
8WRowling and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ch 12-17
10FHarry Potter Movie-Book Comparison
13MRiordan’s The Lightning Thief, Ch 1-7
15WRiordan’s The Lightning Thief, Ch 8-14
17FRiordan’s The Lightning Thief, Ch 15-22
20MLightning Thief Movie-Book Comparison
22WPullman and Golden Compass Tidbits
24FPullman’s The Golden Compass, Ch 1-7
27MPullman’s The Golden Compass, Ch 8-15
29WPullman’s The Golden Compass, Ch 16-23
Oct.
1FGolden Compass Movie-Book Comparison
4MDiscuss Paper Topics and Objectives; Model Essay
6WPrepare for Reading Exam; Share Thesis Statements
8FReading Exam I
11MPaper I Due
13WPaolini and Eragon Tidbits
15FPaolini’s Eragon, “Prologue” through “The Madness of Life”
18MPaolini’s Eragon, “A Rider’s Blade” through “An Old Friend”
20WPaolini’s Eragon, “The Witch and the Werecat” through “Diamond Tomb”
22FPaolini’s Eragon, “Capture at Gil’ead” through “The Glory of Tronjheim”
25MPaolini’s Eragon, “Ajihad” through “The Mourning Sage”
27WEragon Movie-Book Comparison
29FMeyer and Twilight Tidbits
Nov.
1MMeyer’s Twilight, Ch 1-5
3WMeyer’s Twilight, Ch 6-10
5FMeyer’s Twilight, Ch 11-15
8MMeyer’s Twilight, Ch 16-20
10WMeyer’s Twilight, Ch 21-24
12FMeyer’s Twilight, Epilogue
15MTwilight Movie-Book Comparison
17WDiscuss Paper Topics
19FMore on Paper Topics
22MShare Thesis Statements
24WNo Class
27FNo Class
29MPrepare for Reading Exam
Dec
1WReading Exam II
3FPaper II Due
Late Policy Papers due during final exam period