Young Adult Fiction: Issues and Practices (EDUC 666)

Course Description

This course aims to acquaint students with the ever-expanding body of literature written for young adults, and to consider some of the theoretical and pedagogical issues it raises. If you think back to what you read for your high school English classes, the chances are that the reading selections were drawn from what is informally called the "junior canon." In other words, you probably read literature written for adults that the compilers of anthologies and curricula deemed suitable for adolescents. From Shakespeare, you may have read Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, or Julius Caesar, since these are considered the "easier" of his plays. You may also have read such standbys as Of Mice and Men, The Old Man and the Sea, and–that old chestnut – Silas Marner. What you probably did not read to any great extent (at least "officially" as the requirement for a course) was literature written especially for teenagers: young adult fiction. 

In the last thirty years or so, YA fiction has grown to be an important part of children's literature. It occupies a somewhat precarious niche, wedged between literature written for children and literature written for adults. Thus, it is hard to define, and even harder to theorize about. Nevertheless, some of the most inventive, provocative, and stimulating fiction written today is YA fiction; so there is a justification for taking an intensive and thoughtful look at it. When you finish the course, you will have the beginnings of an understanding of this type of fiction that should make you more confident in choosing and using it.

Sample Syllabus