ATS2519 · Children's and young adult literature

Overview

In this unit, you will be introduced to major developments in children's literature from the Victorian "Golden Age" to contemporary dystopian fiction. You will examine canonical works by British, American, and Australian authors in a range of genres and forms, including the picture book and young adult fiction. Specific issues examined include changing notions of childhood and the child figure, and the concept of the implied child/adolescent reader. You will consider the ideological implications of the adult interests vested in the production of children's literature, and how the genre works to socialise children into dominant views about gender, race and class.

Areas of study: Literary studies

Offerings

Assessment

The Handbook does not list a final examination among the assessment items. That is not a guarantee there is none.

Within semester assessment: 100%

Assessment details may change. Please refer to the assessment information in Moodle closer to the start of the teaching period.

Requisites

The Handbook lists no prerequisite, corequisite or prohibition for this unit.

Learning outcomes

1. explain the historic context of the development of the main genres of children's and young adult literature, and of contemporary trends and issues;
2. discuss the ways in which different cultures construct different ideas of childhood and adolescence, and of implied child readers;
3. critically analyse the ways in which adult and child readers learn to construct cultural paradigms, particularly relating to gender and race, through their reading;
4. apply skills pertaining to narratology, deconstruction and discourse analysis;
5. recognise and analyse the ideological significance of childhood and adolescent reading;
6. explore the cultural contexts surrounding the production and reception of children's and young adult literature.

Workload

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

Student experience, not official rules. Nothing here changes what the Handbook says.