LIS 514A: HISTORY OF CHILDREN’S LITERATURE

Fall 2006 - 4.0 or 2.0 credits

Instructor: Christine Jenkins

Office: 220 LIS Building

Phone: 217-244-7452?/ fax: 217-244-3302

Email: cajenkin@uiuc.edu

Office hours: Tuesday 4:00 - 5:30 and by appointment

CLASS MEETINGS: DAY / TIME / LOCATION

Tuesday / 1:00 - 3:50 p.m. /   131 LIS Building

                                              Syllabus | Assignments | Texts

Course description: This course is a survey of the sociopolitical, economic, and cultural history of children's literature and children's reading in (primarily) Great Britain and the U.S. from (approximately) the fifteenth to the mid-twentieth century. For the purposes of this course, "children's literature" is broadly defined as print-on-paper texts in a variety of formats and genres that children themselves might choose to read.  The "children" in the term "children's literature" includes young people up to age 18 and/or the age at which they are no longer considered minors (depending upon the time period under consideration).

Course objectives:

$           To understand the multiple purposes of and values ascribed to children's literature over time

$           To identify the images of childhood as reflected in children's literature over time

$           To develop a familiarity with common motifs, archtypes, and conventions of children's literature over time

$           To identify and discuss literary and societal trends and issues affecting children's literature over time

$           To become familiar with the printing and publishing history of children's books

$           To read, discuss, and evaluate?historically significant texts that provide a foundation for contemporary children's literature

$           To identify and become familiar with a range of authors, illustrators, editors, and publishers of children's literature over time

$           To gain an understanding of the children’s literature over time within the sociopolitical and cultural context(s) in which it has been produced