L391 2099 GUTJAHR
Literature for Young Adults

9:30a-10:45a TR (30) 3 CR.

This course will study books which have enjoyed both popular and critical acclaim among young adults in America. Books from both the nineteenth and twentieth century will be included in the course readings. The primary emphasis will be on fiction which confronts the issue of how character has been defined and developed in young Americans. The course will include three papers of various lengths, a group teaching assignment, and frequent pop quizzes. Since the course is taught through the English department, the class will spend more time talking about textual interpretation than teaching strategies. This is not so much a course on pedagogy, although pedagogical issues will be discussed. The work load is intense in this course, so be prepared to read a lot and work hard if you sign up. This class is not for the faint of heart.

Final text selection has yet to be made, but possible texts include Little Women, Ragged Dick, The Secret of the Old Clock, Holes, Wild Meat and Bully Burgers, The Ear, the Eye and the Arm, Remember Me, A Long Way from Chicago, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Out of the Dust, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm.