Module Catalogue 2024/25

Pre Requisite Comment

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Co Requisite Comment

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Aims

In the globalized world of the twenty-first century, children are often cast as “global citizens” who embody the flexible form of identity needed to survive in a time when changes in migration patterns and advances in technology are increasingly requiring adults to interact with people of other nationalities and cultures. However, the global citizen has its roots in early understandings of cosmopolitanism, and has often been deployed as a means of securing and maintaining a colonial relationship in Western society and expanding the empire. This module will therefore consider the emergence and development of the child as global citizen within literary, historical, educational, and other materials targeted for children. You will also be introduced to a number of important works of theoretical and literary criticism as a way of deepening your understanding of the primary resources discussed in the module.

The module will offer an introduction to American children’s literature, with some attention to international texts that are rarely taught in the literary canon. Students will have the opportunity to read a range of texts published for children and young adults, including graphic novels and films, and will consider how these texts construct both the child and the nation. They will also have the opportunity to work with archives and special collections, including Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books and the Robinson Library Collection.

At the end of this module you should be able to:
1. Understand how and why childhood is a site of extensive cultural and social interest
2. Interpret texts for children in a nuanced and critically appropriate way
3. Contextualise these texts within wider cultural, social and historical ideas about the child

Outline Of Syllabus

The core texts will be listed on the module's RLO.

Intended Knowledge Outcomes

Students will develop knowledge and understanding of the following:
-the historical and social contexts of childhood in the 20th and 21st century
-a wide range of books for children, in a variety of genres and addressing different age groups
-critical debates concerning the social roles and aesthetic forms of children’s literature
-approaches and methodologies for the critical analysis of children’s literature
-the role of the figure of the child in shaping national and global forms of identity, especially in relation to American culture

Intended Skill Outcomes

The module will develop skills in:
-reading and analyzing a range of texts and documents
-using secondary material critically
-giving informal oral presentations
-producing appropriate kinds of academic writing
-producing material for public audiences
-working with a group of colleagues on a common task
-participating in debate and discussion

Teaching Rationale And Relationship

Methods are varied as is appropriate to the breadth and diversity of the module's content and intended learning outcomes. The lectures offer students wide-ranging overviews of the historical development children's literature, its relation to American culture and identity, and the critical strategies and methodologies appropriate to its study. The workshop-style seminars build on this foundation. They allow students to respond to the texts and ideas they have encountered in the lectures and their own independent reading, and to introduce ideas developed through preparatory work conducted in student-led study groups. The fieldtrip will introduce students to key local resources for the study of children's literature.

Assessment Rationale And Relationship

The portfolio will focus on new skills and concepts explored in the module. This builds on the skills students have practiced at Stage 2 and requires a level of independence appropriate for final year honours students. This assessment will enable students to develop their expertise as independent researchers by asking them to choose and develop a focus which reflects their interests.

The final essay will enable students to consider key themes from the module in more depth, with reference to a variety of material from the module. It will enable them to develop skills in researching a field, planning and organizing work, and establishing a critical position.

General Notes

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