ENGH 202: Texts and Contexts

ENGH 202-K01: Texts and Contexts
(Spring 2024)

01:30 PM to 02:45 PM TR

Mason Korea (119 Songdomunhwa-ro, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, Korea) G406

Section Information for Spring 2024

ENGH 202 - K01: Texts and Contexts

 

Children’s literature is fueled by a paradox.  It praises the idea that children are close to Nature, that children embody the ideal of living free from all social constraints.  At the same time, because families and societies care about their values and about their future, children’s literature is at its core a socializing project, one that directs strong ideological messages at children.

This course introduces the critical study of children’s literature, focusing on the history of the genre as well as on the tools of literary analysis.  We will explore the Anglo-American tradition, starting with Aesop’s fables and the Grimms’ fairy tales – stories that originally pre-dated a market for children’s literature and so were composed without regard for the age of their audience. We will analyze still-popular stories from the “Golden Age” of children’s literature, such as Peter Pan, Little Women, and The House at Pooh Corner, stories that continue to be adapted and re-imagined today in many different media. We will conclude by focusing on writing for and about children from Korea in the first half of the 20th century, a key time in the development of Korean ideas about childhood and the child’s role in national identity.  The course will include short essays, creative projects, quizzes, three exams, and two in-class small group presentations.

Course Information from the University Catalog

Credits: 3

Studies literary texts within the framework of culture. Examines texts within such categories as history, gender, sexuality, religion, race, class, and nation. Notes: Builds on reading and writing skills taught in ENGH 101. Offered by English. May be repeated within the degree.
Mason Core: Mason Core, Literature
Specialized Designation: Topic Varies
Recommended Prerequisite: 3 credits of 100-level English.
Schedule Type: Lecture, Recitation
Grading:
This course is graded on the Undergraduate Regular scale.

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