Syllabus
Social History of Children's Literature
17:610:536
Three Credits
Professor Kay E. Vandergrift
COURSE DESCRIPTION
A historical overview
of the literary content, illustration, social values, and publishing of children's
literature, primarily in England and the United States. Consideration of scholarship
and resources in the field.
OBJECTIVES OF THE COURSE
The student, upon completion of
this course, will:
- Identify and describe the images
of childhood as revealed in children's literature over time.
- Compare and contrast the images
of childhood revealed in children's literature to those of philosophical,
educational, and sociological theories over time.
- Demonstrate familiarity with
major archetypes and motifs of traditional children's literature.
- Identify and describe characteristics
of children's textbooks over time.
- Recognize and describe major
media/types of illustration and identify the most influential illustrators
in the history of children's literature.
- Identify and discuss key authors
and works in the history of children's literature.
- Identify and describe key publishers
and publishing trends in the history of children's literature.
- Describe the nature and extent
of early children's book reviewing.
- Analyze the role of the periodical
in historical children's literature.
- Use various approaches to the
study of and bibliographic access to historical children's literature.
- Relate the history of children's
literature to professional library and educational activities in work with
children and youth.
- Read (and enjoy!) a selection
of historical children's literature.
TOPICS TO BE DISCUSSED IN
THE COURSE
- The Beginnings
of Children's Literature
- Historical
Views of Childhood
- Bibliographic
Access to the History of Children's Literature
- Early
Textbooks
- Traditional
Literature for Children
- Illustration
in Children's Books
- Reviewing
of Children's Books
- The Classics
- Periodicals
for Children
- Facsimiles
of Early Children's Books
- Series
Books for Children
- Collecting
Historical Children's Books
FIELD VISITS
Students are encouraged to explore,
independently, historical collections of children's literature in Rutgers University
Libraries and in other libraries. Columbia University Libraries, the New York
Public Library, Princeton University Library, the Philadelphia Free Library,
and the Morgan Library have extraordinary collections of historical children's
literature.
There are a number of book stores
in the NYC/NJ area dealing extensively with old or rare children's books. Visits
to these shops can be useful in your exposure to and knowledge of historical
children's literature. (Check the NYT Book Review Section or the WWW for specifics.)
Whether or not you are able to visit such bookstores, their catalogs can be
invaluable research tools in the history of children's literature.
You may need a letter of introduction
or special arrangements in order to visit some of the special collections, particularly
those in academic libraries. Inquire in advance.
EVALUATION
Evaluation will be based upon a
combination of factors as follows:
- Submission of a reading
and visitation log. (Instructions will be given in class.)
- Active and committed class
participation that shows evidence of having completed appropriate readings
and given thoughtful consideration to the questions which follow in the next
section. It is useful to read printed texts and to explore appropriate sites
on the WWW. Students are expected to come to class prepared to discuss assigned
topics or titles to share responses, to ask questions, and to challenge the
ideas presented in readings, and by the professor and student colleagues.
Remember, you are challenging the ideas presented, not the individual presenting
them. (The seminar nature of the course will provide ample opportunity for
student participation.)
- Class presentation and typed
brief outline on selected
illustrator.
- Class presentation and one/two
page summary of presentation
of childhood in a selected adult novel.
- Analysis of historical
children's periodical.
QUESTIONS TO FOCUS INQUIRY
FOR THE COURSE
It is expected that the student
will bring specific and detailed information to bear on the questions
contained in this website. Such information, although reflecting a synthesis
on the part of the student, should clearly derive from an analysis of, not only
the literature itself, but also books and articles about that literature. It
is also expected that the student will use philosophical, educational, and sociological
ideas to provide a conceptual and a contextual base for his/her own ideas.