Module Specifications..
Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024
Please note that this information is subject to change.
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Description This course looks at the development of children’s literature from the mid nineteenth century until the present, exploring what it reveals about shifting ideas of the child and childhood during the period under discussion. The first part of the course begins with an examination of how Romantic constructions of childhood influenced early and mid-Victorian writers for children, and moves then to a consideration of the factors that informed the increasing idealization of the child in the children’s literature of the late 1800s and early 1900s. The second part of the course introduces students to more recent works for children and young adults, exploring how these draw upon and/or subvert the models of childhood/adolescence that have gone before. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Learning Outcomes 1. Demonstrate an appreciation of the development of children’s literature from the mid nineteenth century until the present. 2. Understand some of the significant changes in the history of childhood as reflected in the literature of the period. 3. Recognise the impact of cultural constructions, such as of race and gender, on the development of children’s literature. 4. Identify and differentiate between different forms/genres of children’s literature. 5. Distinguish some of the key characteristics of, and respond critically to, children’s literature. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml |
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Indicative Content and Learning Activities
Introduction:Introducing Children’s LiteratureDidactic Fiction:Maria Edgeworth, selection from the 1840 edition of The Parent’s AssistantNonsense Writing:Edward Lear’s Nonsense Verses (selection of works published between 1846 and 1871)Fantasy (2):Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland; P.L. Travers Mary PoppinsStories for Boys:Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure IslandStories for Girls:Frances Hodgson Burnett, A Little PrincessChildhood and Nostalgia:Robert Louis Stevenson, A Child’s Garden of VersesIdealizing the Child:J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan, or, The Boy Who Would not grow up (1904 play)The Golden Age of Childhood:A.A. Milne, Winnie the PoohAnimal Stories:Michael Bond, A Bear Called Paddington, Richard Adams, Watership DownWriting for Young Adults (2):Richard Cormier, The Chocolate War, Melvyn Burgess, JunkFantasy:Philip Pullman, The Golden Compass, J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of AzkabanBrave New Worlds:Meg Roscoff, How I Live Now, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Indicative Reading List
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Other Resources None | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Programme or List of Programmes
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