Introduction to Literature: Personal Accounts (II)

For this installment of my Introduction to Literature Series, I will be featuring Sequoia Stone. She is a second-year M.A. student in SDSU's English and Comparative Literature department, with a specialization in Children's Literature. This is her first semester teaching and her English 220 course is entitled "Reimagining Canon: Literary Confrontations, Adaptations, and Subversions." The following entries are from Sequoia herself!

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I'd had the idea for my syllabus knocking around in my head for a while, ever since I'd read one of my course texts (The Song of Achilles, a queer re-telling of The Illiad) right after reading The Illiad in a course during my senior year of college. While I knew I would have enjoyed The Song of Achilles on its own, reading it on the heel of The Illiad was a deeply illuminating experience. I understood The Illiad better (I read TSOA in six hours the night before my midterm or the course--whoops!), and I was able to approach The Song of Achilles with the tradition and history of The Illiad informing my reading. As I thought about becoming a professor in the far-off future, I thought I'd love the chance to put The Illiad and The Song of Achilles in conversation for my students. When I was presented with the opportunity to teach 220 here at SDSU, I took this initial parting and poured over the books in my library and memories of my undergraduate years in order to create my syllabus based around the idea of reading a "canon" book with a "non-canon" one. Some of these pairings were direct adaptations, while others were simply two texts that echoed similar themes and ideas.

1. What Children's and young adult books or texts were included in the reading list for your course? How were these texts received by the students?

I have eight course texts, four canon and four non-canon. All of my non-canon books are young adult novels: Madeline Miller's The Song of Achilles, Libba Bray's Beauty Queens, Paolo Bacigalupi's Ship Breaker, and Scott Westerfeld's Uglies. I have gotten mostly a positive response to these books, and they are often just as intellectually challenging to my students as the more dense canon texts. Something I would hear often is that reading the YA companion book made things we discussed in the canon text more accessible, as students were able to use more "relatable" texts as a way to retroactively understand things that might have been more austere in older novels.

2. What other texts lended themselves to discuss childhood and adolescence in nuanced ways that were either unexpected or surprising? 

Something that was surprising and delightful to me in my course was how concerned my students were with the interiority or backstory of a character. When reading Lord of the Flies, a student proposed that maybe Jack was so violence because he had a childhood, or was abused. Similarly, in Great Expectations in my class wondered if the villainous figure of Mrs. Joe was more so a product of her upbringing than anything else. While I like to steer these observations back into textual analysis, I enjoyed seeing my students approach these characters as so three-dimensional that they asked themselves, why are they the way they are? It seems that the importance of childhood, the impact of how one is raised, was at the forefront of my student's minds even when we were reading texts not specifically aimed at children or young adults.

3. How does your class's theme carry over to the matters of childhood and adolescence?

Something my class has emphasized throughout our semester has been the importance of familial bonds, and how the family unit impacts the way one grows. Many of our main characters have had abusive parents or families that encourage negativity, and a lot of our discussion has been based around following these characters as they navigate the repercussions of abuse, of cruelty, or of neglect. We have also talked a lot about found families, the family one creates that provides support or love, and how this constructed family illustrates the importance of things like kindness, generosity, and loyalty. As we've moved through our texts, we've also looked at the various ways in which society pressures children and young adults to conform. Whether this manifests as discouraging queerness, encouraging apathy, or dictating beauty standards, my class has talked extensively about the different ways the characters in our novels face crushing dominant ideologies, as well the ways in which it is possible to resist them.

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Thank you so much to Sequoia Stone for the robust commentary and amazing engagement with themes of childhood and adolescence!

-A. Elliott

Introduction to Literature: Personal Accounts (I)

As part of this blog, I wanted to dedicate a small set of short entries that detail the personal experiences of graduate students within our department who have taught English 220: Introduction to Literature. My goal is to highlight how children's and young adult texts are used in these introductory courses and how matters surrounding childhood, adolescence, and development become integral to these courses.

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What I (Alexander Elliott) found interesting in my own course was the fact that adolescence and childhood were at the forefront of discussion quite frequently, thus reflecting how my teaching and research go hand-in-hand. My course is centered on the concept of love and the affective implications surrounding that subject across different forms of literature and genres. Also, my students went to twitter to share their insights about the readings on Twitter using #love220ae in their posts. 

1. What children's and young adult books or texts were included in the reading list for your course? How were these texts received by the students?

One of the genres that I introduced into my course was young adult literature as a whole, but more specifically queer YA novels and their history. I taught my students about how these narratives came up within YA literature with John Donovan's 1969 novel, I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth the Trip. Additionally, I explained the history of book materiality and the importance of book covers within YA literature. 

As a class, we read Benjamin Alire Sáenz's Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe. With this novel many topics surround LGBTQ+ representation, Mexican-American identities, parental and familial influence on adolescents, and societal/cultural expectations were brought to the forefront of discussion.

Overall, my students were incredibly happy with the inclusion of this text because it engaged with complex subject matters, yet engaged them in a fun reading experience. They were interested in learning about how impactful and poignant the history of this genre truly is. Various students asked for more recommendations of this kind of literature, as well!

2. What other texts lended themselves to discuss childhood and adolescence in nuanced ways that were either unexpected or surprising?

I started the semester off with Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, and it was very interesting to see how the students discussed adolescence as a crucial part of the play without my prompting them to do so. Interestingly enough, other texts worked in a similar manner like McCarthy's The Road and Ishiguro's Never Let Me Go, where both texts were great in discussing how conceptions of childhood were complicated within speculative narratives. This often led to discussing how maturity and development need not work in a linear manner.

Another text, Vaughan and Staples' graphic novel Saga, also highlighted childhood and development as quite complicated especially because of the science-fiction element. Morrison's Sula served as a great novel to examine how two characters develop from their childhood into their adulthood, in that it gave our class a more prolonged discussion of difficulties in growing up at as a marginalized person within a real-world society.

3. How does your class's theme carry over to the matters of childhood and adolescence?

An overarching idea that has connected the texts is just how impactful familial relationships are in affecting the children and adolescent characters' interactions--be it romantic or platonic. Often time, the family structure (or lack thereof) and the surrounding environment that affect the young characters, results in changing the extent to which they are able to foster productive forms of kinship. Therefore, these family relationships are represented as having a clear impact in the affective component of the characters' later relationships. Overall, love is an abstract idea that cannot be rigidly defined and when childhood and adolescence are introduced, my class found it interesting to see how these stages in development were impactful on the later representations of these characters.

-A. Elliott

Following up on Dr. Angel Daniel Matos's Talk

On Wednesday November 7th 2018, Linda Salem organized an introductory lecture for the recently curated Juvenile Collection display on queer young adult (YA) literature. This talk, entitled "LGBTQ+ Representation in Young Adult Literature, Then and Now" was given by Dr. Angel Daniel Matos who presented a historicized understanding of how queer themes and characters appeared within adolescent literature and the recent developments occurring within the field. Dr. Matos focused on highlighting the complex affective implications that are present within the genre of queer YA literature, but how incorporating positive interventions and critiques can generate more productive discourses surrounding these novels.

Dr. Matos began his talk with explaining how optimism and hope operate as critical points of focus within YA literature, but this positive affect was complicated upon the introduction of queer narratives into the genre. Because queerness worked against heteronormative societal structures, discussing queerness with positive affect was deemed as incongruent with the realities possible for audiences. Moreover, queerness within the genre was often posited in opposition to the optimism and positivity that was possible for heterosexual people, thus making it an unreachable possibility for early queer characters. 

When queerness challenged these societal structure, it often led to the death and demise of queer characters in early YA novels. These deaths, as Matos argued, often only worked to challenge and develop the characterization of straight characters in novels, which further confirmed that happiness and future-oriented thinking was not accessible for queer people. This sense of unhappiness, nonetheless, became a political act that more contemporary works challenge and expand upon.

Matos argues that thinking optimistically in a negative world, especially when regarding young audiences, can help foster potentialities of happiness and futurity. He highlighted contemporary queer YA novels that present adolescent characters within positive ideologies that still works towards embracing aspects of futurity for young readers. He advocated for the need to foster connectivity, kinship, and diverse representation within the genre in order to better represent queerness and further develop the field of queer YA literature.

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Dr. Matos shared several novels that revolutionized the genre starting with John Donovan's 1969 novel I'll Get There, It Better Be Worth The Trip--the first YA novel to appear that grappled with homosexuality for its protagonists. He also discussed Nancy Garden's Annie on My Mind, which is the first novel to have a positive depiction of lesbian characters for young adult audiences. For a contemporary example, Matos shred David Levithan's Boy Meets Boy, a novel that works to present queerness within a utopic setting that normalizes diverse expressions of gender and sexuality.  

If you'd like to know more about Dr. Matos's suggestions or ideas just follow him on Twitter to see his syllabi and other projects (@ProfAngelMatos). Thank you to all that attended and to Dr. Matos for providing so much information. A special thank you to Linda Salem for organizing this event and working closely with the NCSCL.

-A. Elliott

Read With Pride: Queer Young Adult Literature Mini-Talk

If you find yourself around SDSU on Wednesday, November 7th be sure to stop by Love Library's Juvenile Collection on the 4th floor. Our very own Dr. Angel Daniel Matos will be giving a short talk that will highlight the growing LGBTQ+ young adult literature collection at our library. This collection has been organized by Linda Salem by working closely with the NCSCL and The Pride Center of SDSU. In explaining her goal with curating this collection Linda Salem states, "I want to raise students' awareness of The Pride Center on campus and that they have books at the center and that the library's collection also has an up-to-date collection of rainbow literature for readers of all ages." Some of these books will be put on display at the library for everyone to see, but many more are to be found both in and out of the library. This event will work towards expanding the awareness of anyone who is curious about learning more about LGBTQ+ narratives!

Looking at queer young adult literature, specifically, enables many opportunities for learning and understanding. For this reason, it is important to understand where this genre of literature has grown from and the power that it holds today. Dr. Matos explains the value in reading these books by stating, "Queer young adult literature pushes us to envision outcomes and futures that are sometimes different from our current realities. Many of these novels push us to imagine a future that is bearable and livable for all people." Being reminded that these novels depict the difficulties that many LGBTQ+ people face, but also provide a hopeful and more positive outlook can help readers in their own lives. To encounter these narratives, as Dr. Matos explains, then allows for readers to imagine possibilities for everyone to live as a happy collective, regardless of how difficult reality may be.

After asking Dr. Matos what his talk would be about, he responded, " I aim to provide some historical context for the queer young adult genre, in which I provide an overview of how LGBTQ+ young adult literature has developed over the decades, the state of these novels today, and where I think the genre is heading." So, to learn a little more history of how this genre emerged and bloomed into mainstream society today, come by and hear what Dr. Matos has to say. There will be time dedicated for questions after his lecture for anyone who is curious to learn more about the matter.

If you are interested in studying this genre more closely, Dr. Matos will be teaching two courses in Spring 2019 that are centered on queer young adult novels. First, he will be offering English 502: Adolescence in Literature - LGBTQ+ Young Adult Literature and ENGL 727: Theorizing Queer Young Adult Literature. In these classes, Dr. Matos highlights how "queer young adult literature provides readers and critics with opportunities to see how queer content possesses the capacity to deeply affect the structure, form, and narrativization of young adult texts." Because of the complexity that Dr. Matos mentions,  we can understand that young adult literature is not only important for general audiences, but also serves as a great source of analysis within academic contexts. Check out previous classes that Dr. Matos has taught and the work he has written on this subject by clicking here and follow him on Twitter @ProfAngelMatos!


If you are someone who is already familiar with the genre, or even if you have a curiosity to learn more about it, be sure to stop by on the 7th. Do not forget to bring your questions to Dr. Matos or any one of us present at the event. We hope you see you all there!

-A. Elliott

Event details:

Wednesday, November 7th at 2:30 pm

Juvenile Collection (located on Love Library's 4th floor)

Talk by Dr. Angel Daniel Matos

Free and open to the public

Introductions to 2018-2019 Academic Year

Greetings to all readers and interested folks!

Thank you for waiting patiently, but it is time for the new NCSCL academic year to kick off! Already this year, we have had a lecture from our very own Joseph T. Thomas Jr. entitled “A Long Talk on Shel Silverstein’s Short Plays.” If you were unable to make it to this event, or if you would like to see it again, we have uploaded a recording onto YouTube. Simply click here.

This academic year brings lots of potential, therefore our goal is to discuss news and upcoming materials that might be of interest to those of us in the fields of children’s and young adult literature. We also hope to give you a glimpse into the endeavors and projects taking place at SDSU. To receive regular updates, be sure to follow all our social media platforms! Please like a post, leave us a comment, or ask us questions about anything. We would love to hear from everyone!

Twitter: NCSChildLit
Instagram: ncschildlit
Facebook: @NCSCL (National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature, at SDSU)
YouTube: National Center for the Study of ChLit

We are so excited for what this academic year will bring, and we hope you are ready to join us on this year’s journey. Be on the lookout for more blogs and posts on all our platforms for what is to come!

-A. Elliott

Welcoming the New Graduate Assistants

Alexander Elliott

Hi everyone!! My name is Alexander and I am currently in my second year of my MA degree in English and Comparative Literature at SDSU. Although I am technically specializing in American Literature, I have been able to really focus on my preferred area of literature: young adult literature. I am mostly interested in young adult literature that discusses various identities and provides a diverse, intersectional discussion of adolescence—while complicating the genre itself. The areas of interest that have come up for me are LGBTQ+ narratives, queer studies (time/space, geographies, and ecology), and cultural/ethnic representations of Latinx individuals in YA literature.

I read many books as a young child, but my interest in the field stems from having picked up a book in the first grade that dealt with loss, grief, and relationships. It is no surprise that I continued on the reading trajectory that I did. Thankfully, SDSU has provided me with the guidance to incorporate this personal interest into my academic studies. My current research has been focused on adolescent cultures of various kinds. I will be presenting at the Literature/Film Association Conference later this year in New Orleans on Were the World Mine, then at the International Girl Studies Association Conference next year on Anna Marie-McLemore’s When the Moon Was Ours. These two opportunities are perfect examples of my interest in film/media and literature that deals with intersectional topics.

I am so thankful to join the team here at the NCSCL! I hope to learn more about YA literature, but finally delve into children’s literature more closely; so, if there are any recommendations as to where I should start, please let me know!

Kiedra Taylor

Greetings fellow humanists! My name is Kiedra Taylor, and I’m a second-year English graduate student specializing in Children’s Literature. While I’m interested in the critical histories and conditions of young adolescent (YA) and children’s literature, I’m also interested in the possibilities of the genres. YA and Children’s literature have the potential to assist its readers with identity formation; it also has the potential to foster empathy and compassion for others through story lines that encourage critical thinking and self-reflection. So far, my focus is discovering how the genres offer readers the opportunity to practice independent critical thinking.

I recall reading Toni Morrison’s coming-of-age novel, The Bluest Eye, at a young age and feeling confused afterwards. Even as an adult, I don’t fully understand the nature of the impact that the novel had on me, but I do recall times in my life where I recollected a particular character or moment in the novel and those thoughts somehow informed how I felt about whatever was happening at the time. I wish my younger self had thought to ask someone for more novels like this one, novels where I had a choice which of characters whom I could identify with, novels where someone whom I could identify with was not in the margins. Now that I’m a mother of four children and grandmother of one, I’m particularly interested in how YA and children’s texts can help readers, especially children to make sense of this complicated world of ours.

I hope that my graduate research and internship with the National Center for the Study of Children’s Literature will allow me to enter into and contribute to a fairly new yet learned conversation about young adolescent and children’s literature. I am humbled by the fact that I am brand new to this field of study, so I have every intention of listening to and considering the suggestions, guidance, and expertise of all of you in the field.  In that same vein, I hope to be heard since I have years of experiences and observations that will allow me develop a voice of my own.