ENG4419 – Children's Literature in English

This course offers a thorough grounding in the field of children`s and young adult (YA) literature, showcasing the diversity and innovation of this rapidly growing branch of literary study. We will grapple with some of the basic theoretical questions that underpin our understanding of children’s and YA literature: what is a ‘children’s book’? How do we know whether a book is for children or adults? Can we clearly distinguish between children and adults as readers? What do we mean by the figure of ‘the child’, and what is at stake when we consider this figure in literature? How have society’s notions of ‘the child’ changed across time and cultures? Drawing on seminal theoretical work in the field, we build up the skills and analytical toolkit to examine children’s literature in a nuanced and sophisticated way. We will explore the ways in which study of children’s literature can productively intersect with a number of other literary critical approaches - feminism, ecocriticism, postcolonial theory, among others - by focusing on a series of important children’s/YA novels, spanning the nineteenth century (often regarded as a ‘Golden Age’ of children’s literature) to the present day. Students will explore how asking questions about children in literary texts opens up significant debates about culture, sexuality, gender, the environment, and much more.

After completing this course, you:

• will have an understanding of the main theoretical questions and debates underpinning the discipline of Children’s Literature
• will be able to analyse a wide range of children’s and young adult literature in relation to theoretical issues
• will be able to analyse narrative techniques in various kinds of literary texts, particularly how the child character and/or reader is constructed
• will be able to relate literary works to their sociohistorical context in nuanced and sophisticated ways
• will have advanced skills in scholarly writing in English

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

This course is for students admitted to the master programmes European Languages (master) and Lektorprogrammet (masterspesialisering i engelsk).

Students enrolled in other Master`s Degree Programmes can, on application, be admitted to the course if this is cleared by their own study programme.

Seminars, 2 hours per week for 10 weeks. 20 hours in all.

Obligatory activities:

• A first draft of the term paper turned in by a stated deadline.
• Students are expected to attend all teaching. The quality of the teaching depends on active participation in all seminars. If you are not able to attend, you must give notice to the seminar teacher no later than the same day as the absence.

Both the obligatory activities must be approved in the same semester for you to sit the exam. Fulfilled course requirements are only valid the semester you attend the course.

The final grade is set on the basis of a written term paper (7 standard pages à 2,300 characters, 60% of the grade) and a short home exam (2 hours, 40% of the grade).

A pass mark is required on both parts. You have to take both examination parts in the same semester.

Assessment guidelines.

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grades are awarded on a scale from A to F, where A is the best grade and F is a fail. Read more about the grading system.

For those who want to retake their exam: Since the form of assessment in this course includes a term paper, you must follow the seminars and write a new paper in order to qualify. Admission depends on capacity.

If it`s just the written exam you have missed because of illness, it is possible to apply for a postponed exam. Please contact the exam consultant for more information.

A term paper or equivalent that is passed may not be resubmitted in revised form.