Fall 2010 Class Offerings in Child & Adol Lit

ENGL 401. Children's Literature. MWF 1200-1250. Mary Galbraith.
ENGL 502. Adolescence in Literature. MWF 1300-1350. Phillip Serrato

ENGL 727. Seminar: Adolescence in Chicano Lit. W 1600-1840. Phillip Serrato

Descriptions below...

English 401. Childhood's Literature: The Neverending Fantasy. Oral tales, novels, picture books, comic strips, anime, graphic memoirs, live-action movies--the formats for telling childhood's most compelling fantasies have changed and diversified over the centuries. This semester we'll survey many of the ways a story can be told, and we'll take a look at issues of authenticity, homage, and adaptation. Some of the stories we'll explore: "Cinderella" (French, German, English, Italian, Chinese texts of oral tale); Pinocchio (Italian author--book; American director and animator--movie); Little Nemo (American cartoonist--comic strip); In the Night Kitchen (American author/illustrator--picture book); The Wizard of Oz (American author--book; American director--movie); The Neverending Story (German author--book; German director--movie); Howl's Moving Castle (Welsh-English author-- book; Japanese director--movie); Spirited Away (Japanese director--movie); The Fellowship of the Ring (South-African-born English author-- book; New Zealand director--movie); Nina Complot (Mexican author and illustrator--graphic novel in Spanish)

English 502: Adolescence in Literature. This semester we will explore the aesthetics, politics, and implications of an array of texts for, about, and even by adolescents. By the end of the semester, you are expected to be able to articulate an understanding of the myriad critical stakes involved in texts for and/or about adolescents as well as demonstrate proficiency with the various theoretical methodologies introduced in the course of the semester. Tentative List of Readings:
S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders
Brian James, Zombie Blondes Francine Prose, After Lori Carlson, American Eyes
Virginia Euweer Wolff, Make Lemonade
Francesca Lia Block, Weetzie Bat
Joseph Bruchac, Skeleton Man
Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak
Horatio Alger, Ragged Dick
Laura Whitcomb, A Certain Slant of Light
Maureen Johnson, 13 Little Blue Envelopes
Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
For a finalized reading list, feel welcome to email the instructor (pserrato@mail.sdsu.edu) over the summer break.

English 727: Adolescence in Chicana/o Literature. This course examines the depiction of adolescence (and adolescents) in Chicana/o literature from the early twentieth century to the present day. We will start the term scrutinizing classic texts such as Américo Paredes’s George Washington Gómez, Victor Villaseñor’s Macho!, and Tomás Rivera’s …y no se lo trago la tierra . As these early texts are by male writers and focus on adolescent male protagonists, we will especially concern ourselves with the ways that Mexican-Americans’ socio-political subordination in the United States in the wake of the Treaty of Guadulpe-Hidalgo precipitates authors’ preoccupation with adolescent Mexican-American masculinity. Soon enough, these conversations about masculinity and Mexican-American socio-political realities will expand into more nuanced explorations of issues of gender, sexuality, cultural identity, and the emergence of literature written for adolescent readers as we engage works such as Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street, Luis Alfaro’s Down Town, Juan Felipe Herrera’s Cinnamon Girl: Letters Found Inside a Cereal Box, Benjamin Alire Saenz’s Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood, Irene Beltrán Hernández’s Woman Soldier, and Carla Trujillo’s What Night Brings. Readings of primary texts will be supplemented with critical/theoretical work by the likes of Genaro Padilla, Ramón Saldívar, Kaja Silverman, Judith Halberstam, and José Esteban Muñoz. For a finalized reading list, feel welcome to email the instructor (pserrato@mail.sdsu.edu) over the summer break.