Warning! This unit contains mature content and may not be suitable for some students. Any student under the age of 16 who would like to enrol in this unit must first complete a Parental Consent Form.
Undergraduate MAQ-ENGX209-2018
Children's Literature
Return to the stories of your childhood and re-examine them with a critical eye. Start with picture books and build up to young adult fiction. Look at recurring themes like adolescence and gender. Reveal how children's literature can address social issues.
Enrolments for this year have closed. Keep exploring subjects.
Study method
100% online
Available loans
- HECS-HELP
- FEE-HELP
Assessments
100% online
Prior study
Required
This research-intensive university in north-western Sydney offers a range of undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. With over 30,000 current students, Macquarie has a strong reputation for welcoming international students and embracing flexible and convenient study options, including its partnership with Open Universities Australia.
QS RANKING 2021
12
Times Higher Education Ranking 2021
12
Subject details
On completing the subject, students should:
- have gained a broad overview of kinds of children's literature, from children's first books to young adult literature
- understand a range of concepts employed in discussing and analysing children's literature, such as ideology, notions of childhood and adolescence, gender, and concepts derived from schema theory and theories of visual representation
- understand some aspects of literary theory currently used in discussions of children's literature, such as narrative theory, metafiction, intertextuality, and theoretical discussions of genre
- have attained a conceptual language with which to discuss children's literature and a level of visual, verbal and critical literacy
- be able to critically examine the uses of children's literature, with particular reference to social issues, subjectivity and the place of books in the socialisation and enculturation of children and adolescents.
-
- Introduction: The Idea of Children's Literature
- History of Children's Literature
- Picture Books I
- Picture Books II
- Juvenilia
- Writing by Children
- Graphic Novels
- Verse Novels
- Realism
- Contemporary Fantasy
- Adaptation and YA Film
- Subjectivity and Children's Young Adult Literature
- Genre and Gender in Children's Literature
- Conclusion
You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:
MAQ-ENGX120-Approaches to English Literature, or MAQ-ENG110 ;
Special requirements
No special requirements
ENGX209 offers an introduction to the range of literature, both past and current, written for children, including picture books, poetry, and a variety of realistic and fantastic fictions (novel and film) for younger readers and adolescents. Key concepts and a common conceptual language employed in discussing and analysing children's literature will be introduced. Issues addressed include: the idea of a literature for children, visual and verbal textualities; notions of genre; gender representation; and the place of books in the socialisation of children.
- Essay 1 (15%)
- Essay 2 (25%)
- Participation (20%)
- Quiz (40%)