Carleton University Fall 2011 / Winter 2012 Department of English ENGL 2006A: Children s Literature Time & Location: Mondays & Wednesdays 6:05 to 7:25 PM Location: Please confirm location on Carleton Central Instructor: Susan Cooper Email: SusanAnn_Cooper@carleton.ca Office hours: TBA (will be posted on WebCT) Office: 1914 DT Course Description: A critical study of children s literature. Although some historical context will be established, the main focus will be children s literature as literature; i.e., through lectures, discussion, and writing assignments we will explore some of the most significant conventions used by writers for children, as well as dominant themes. We will start by exploring the deceptively simple fairy tale and go on to consider stories about home and family, adventure tales and fantasy. Students will be expected to read this range of texts carefully, thoughtfully, and sympathetically. General course requirements: 1. To obtain credit in a course, students must meet all the course requirements for attendance, term work and examinations as published in the course outline. (Academic Regulations / Course Evaluation / 2.1 Credit) 2. Extensions or exemptions may be granted in exceptional circumstances only; otherwise, assignments must be submitted or completed on due dates. Specific details are supplied in the descriptions of individual course components (see below). 3. Academic Fraud plagiarism: The University Senate defines plagiarism as presenting, whether intentionally or not, the ideas, expression of ideas or work of others as one s own. This can include: reproducing or paraphrasing portions of someone else s published or unpublished material, regardless of the source, and presenting these as one s own without proper citation or reference to the original source; submitting a take-home examination, essay, laboratory report or other assignment written, in whole or in part, by someone else; using ideas or direct, verbatim quotations, or paraphrased material, concepts, or ideas without appropriate acknowledgment in any academic assignment; using another s data or research findings; failing to acknowledge sources through the use of proper citations when using another s works and/or failing to use quotation marks; handing in "substantially the same piece of work for academic credit more than once without prior written permission of the course instructor in which the submission occurs." Plagiarism is a serious offence which cannot be resolved directly with the course s instructor. The Associate Deans of the Faculty conduct a rigorous investigation, including an interview with the student, when an instructor suspects a piece of work has been plagiarized. Penalties are not trivial. They can include a final grade of "F" for the course.
4. Any important requests must be submitted in the form of a typed, hard copy formal business letter and should be accompanied with all necessary documentation (e.g. doctor's note). E-mail requests will not be considered. Please check that the request is clear and complete, because it will be evaluated in terms of the information and documentation supplied. This paper trail facilitates effective and fair administration of all problematic circumstances. 5. Academic accommodations: You may need special arrangements to meet your academic obligations during the term because of disability, pregnancy or religious obligations. Please review the course outline promptly and write to me with any requests for academic accommodation during the first two weeks of class, or as soon as possible after the need for accommodation is known to exist. Students with disabilities requiring academic accommodations in this course must register with the Paul Menton Centre for Students with Disabilities (PMC) for a formal evaluation of disability-related needs. Documented disabilities could include but are not limited to mobility/physical impairments, specific Learning Disabilities (LD), psychiatric/psychological disabilities, sensory disabilities, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and chronic medical conditions. Registered PMC students are required to contact the PMC, 613-520-6608, every term to ensure that your Instructor receives your Letter of Accommodation, no later than two weeks before the first assignment is due or the first in-class test/midterm requiring accommodations. If you only require accommodations for your formally scheduled exam(s) in this course, please submit your request for accommodations to PMC by Nov. 11, 2011 for the Fall term and March 7, 2012 for the Winter term. You can visit the Equity Services website to view the policies and to obtain more detailed information on academic accommodation at http://carleton.ca/equity/accommodation. 6. Class room etiquette: Cell phones must be switched off during class. Laptop computers may be used for note taking purposes only. Lively discussion of the course material is welcome, but private conversations, texting, and all other disruptive behaviour are not. Netiquette: Virtual space such as WebCT is an extension of the class room, and e-mail correspondence is an extension of polite conversation the exchange of ideas must be clear, accurate, and polite, regardless of medium. 7. Students are responsible for ensuring that they can access WebCT materials for this course and do so regularly. Any individual technical difficulties or other problems which can be resolved within the first few weeks of classes must be resolved or called to my attention at the start of term, not belatedly. (Any system-wide problems with WebCT will be addressed as required throughout term.) 8. Students are responsible for ensuring that they obtain copies of the required readings in a timely fashion. Any problems obtaining texts must be called to my attention within the first few weeks of term. Specific Course Requirements: Assignments and evaluation: Fall term: Class work: 7.5% Diagnostic writing assignment: 5% Essay (5 pages) 10% Fall Term Exam 15% Winter term: Class work: 7.5% Essay (10 pages) 25% Winter Term Exam 30%
Class work: 7.5% + 7.5% = 15% final grade Due: Randomly, throughout each term. A minimum of seven assignments per term. Format: Variable will be adapted to suit needs of class. May include quizzes and writing assignments, either in-class or on-line, open-book or closed book, individual or group work. All class work will be announced during lectures, and students are responsible for keeping track of and completing assignments. Work must be completed within the assigned class or on-line time. Assignment objectives: Ensuring familiarity and enhancing engagement with the assigned readings. Writing Assignments: 5% + 10% + 25% = 40% of final grade Writing assignments must either be handed to me personally in class or left at the Department of English drop box (18th floor Dunton Tower). The date stamp on any assignment submitted via the drop box will be considered the submission date. Assignments cannot be left at my office. As a rule, electronic submissions (i.e., e-mailed assignments) will not be accepted, except in extraordinary circumstances, and only after consultation. The penalty for late assignments is 2.5% per day, excluding weekends. Any assignment handed in more than 10 (ten) working days late will receive a grade of 0%, BUT is still required in order to pass the course. Extensions: In exceptional cases extensions may be granted. Students who face serious, foreseeable problems meeting deadlines must submit a detailed, documented request for an extension no later than 48 hours before the deadline. Only students who face unforeseeable, extraordinary problems may request an extension any later than this. Extension requests must be submitted in writing, in the form of a hard copy business letter NOT an e-mail. Documents verifying the problem (e.g., doctor s note) must be stapled to this letter. NB: The cover letter is mandatory documents such as a doctor s note will not be accepted without it. Diagnostic Writing Assignment: 5% Due: Early in the Fall term (probably the first week of October). Specific date TBA (will be announced in class and posted on WebCT) Format: Detailed instructions supplied separately on WebCT. Content: Detailed instructions supplied separately on WebCT. Objectives: Providing instructor and student with insight into writing skills and problems. Requirements: Students must complete the diagnostic in order to submit the essays. Essays: 10% + 25% = 35% of final grade Due: Towards the end of Fall and Winter terms. Specific dates TBA (will be announced in class and posted on WebCT). Format: Detailed instructions supplied separately on WebCT. Content: Both essays are interpretive (analytical), which means they should supply a close reading of one or more of the assigned readings (depending on the topic selected). Close reading
necessitates not just identifying key elements of texts, but discussing how and why these elements are significant. Students Essay topics and instructions will be supplied separately. Objective: Improving students' ability to interpret literature; enabling students to practice analytical/argumentative writing. Students are expected to demonstrate the ability to do the following: develop complex ideas in appropriate academic English use and cite evidence from primary sources appropriately develop a thesis statement across each essay develop citation skills using MLA documentation practices Requirements: Students must complete both essays in order to write the final examination. Examinations: 15% + 30% = 45% of final grade Dates: Fall Term: In class -- date November 21; Final: During official Winter term exam period TBA (will be posted on official examination schedule). Content: Some content based questions (i.e. answers will be either correct or incorrect, not open to interpretation) and some interpretive questions. The Fall term exam will cover the readings assigned up to the exam date; the winter term exam will focus largely, but definitely not exclusively, on the required readings discussed after the mid-term. Objective: Evaluating students familiarity with and comprehension of texts, and ability to apply key concepts introduced in the course. Requirements: Students must write both examinations. See the academic regulations regarding examinations, especially paragraph 2.5. http://www.carleton.ca/calendars/ugrad/0910/regulations/acadregsuniv2.html#2.4 List of Required texts (subject to availability): Novels (hard copy): Alcott, L.M. Little Women. (NB: Part ONE only) Creech, Sharon. Walk Two Moons. Garfield, Leon. Smith LeGuin, Ursula. A Wizard of Earthsea Lewis, C.S. The Silver Chair. Montgomery, L.M. Anne of Green Gables. November, S., ed. Firebirds Rising Paulsen, G. Harris and Me. Pratchett, Terry. A Hat Full of Sky Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Philosopher s Stone. Sachar, Louis. Holes. Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Zusak, Markus. The Book Thief. All hard copy texts (soft cover books) have been ordered from Haven Books: 43 Seneca St. Ottawa phone: 613-730-9888
Short stories (e-texts) Abjornsen & Moe. East of the Sun and West of the Moon. The Blue Fairy Book. Ed Andrew Lang. Project Gutenberg e-text # 503 OR http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/index.html Andersen, H.C. "The Snow Queen" in Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen. Project Gutenberg e-text # 27200 Beaumont, Mme de. Beauty and the Beast. Project Gutenberg e-text # 7404 OR http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/beauty.html Crompton, R. A Busy Day, "Knight at Arms," "William's Hobby," in More William. Project Gutenberg e-text # 17125 Dickens, Charles. The Magic Fishbone. Project Gutenberg e-text # 23344 Grimm, Bros. Cinderella ( Aschenputtel ), Household Tales. Ed. Margaret Hunt. Project Gutenberg e-text #5314 OR http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/cinderella/stories/german.html Hoffmann, H. "Merry Stories and Funny Pictures," "Shock-headed Peter," "The Dreadful Story of Henrietta and the Matches," "The Story of Little Suck-a-Thumb," "The Story of Augustus, who would not have any Soup" in Struwwelpeter. Project Gutenberg e-text # 12116 Jacobs, J. The Black Bull of Norroway, More English Fairy Tales. Project Gutenberg e-text # 14241 OR http://www.surlalunefairytales.com/eastsunwestmoon/stories/norroway.html MacDonald, George. The Golden Key. in The Light Princess and Other Fairy Stories Project Gutenberg e-text # 18811 Perrault, C. Cinderella. The Blue Fairy Book. Ed Andrew Lang. Project Gutenberg e-text # 503. Ruskin, J. The King of the Golden River. Project Gutenberg e-text # 701 Saki. "The Story-teller" in Beasts and Super-Beasts. Project Gutenberg e-text # 269 e-texts available on-line at Project Gutenberg: http://www.gutenberg.org TIP: Project Gutenberg e-texts are easiest to find through the Advanced Search feature: http://www.gutenberg.org/catalog/world/search Simply enter the e-text number in the correct field. Fall Term Calendar Mon 12-Sep-11 Introduction Wed 14-Sep-11 fairy tale: "Aschenputtel," "Cinderella" Mon 19-Sep-11 fairy tale: "East of the Sun," "Beauty and the Beast," "Black Bull" Wed 21-Sep-11 fairy tale: "East of the Sun," "Beauty and the Beast," "Black Bull" Mon 26-Sep-11 fairy tale: Andersen "The Snow Queen" Wed 28-Sep-11 fairy tale: Ruskin, "The King of the Golden River" Mon 3-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Hoffmann, selections from Struwwelpeter Wed 5-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Twain, Tom Sawyer Mon 10-Oct-11 Thanksgiving Wed 12-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Twain, Tom Sawyer Mon 17-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Twain, Tom Sawyer Wed 19-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Crompton, William stories Mon 24-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Paulsen, Harris and Me Wed 26-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Paulsen, Harris and Me Mon 31-Oct-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Sachar, Holes Wed 2-Nov-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Sachar, Holes
Mon 7-Nov-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Sachar, Holes Wed 9-Nov-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Garfield, Smith Mon 14-Nov-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Garfield, Smith Wed 16-Nov-11 Adventure -- Bad Boy: Garfield, Smith Mon 21-Nov-11 Fall term examination Wed 23-Nov-11 Saki, "The Story-teller" Mon 28-Nov-11 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Alcott, Little Women Wed 30-Nov-11 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Alcott, Little Women Mon 5-Dec-11 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Alcott, Little Women Winter Term Calendar Wed 4-Jan-12 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Montgomery, Anne Mon 9-Jan-12 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Montgomery, Anne Wed 11-Jan-12 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Montgomery, Anne Mon 16-Jan-12 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Creech, Walk Two Moons Wed 18-Jan-12 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Creech, Walk Two Moons Mon 23-Jan-12 Domestic tale -- Good Girl: Creech, Walk Two Moons Wed 25-Jan-12 Fairy tale: Dickens, The Magic Fishbone Mon 30-Jan-12 Fairy tale: MacDonald, The Golden Key" Wed 1-Feb-12 Fantasy: Lewis, The Silver Chair Mon 6-Feb-12 Fantasy: Lewis, The Silver Chair Wed 8-Feb-12 Fantasy: Lewis, The Silver Chair Mon 13-Feb-12 Fantasy: LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea Wed 15-Feb-12 Fantasy: LeGuin, A Wizard of Earthsea Mon 20-Feb-12 winter break Wed 22-Feb-12 winter break Mon 27-Feb-12 Fantasy: Rowling, Harry Potter Wed 29-Feb-12 Fantasy: Rowling, Harry Potter Mon 5-Mar-12 Fantasy: Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky Wed 7-Mar-12 Fantasy: Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky Mon 12-Mar-12 Fantasy: Pratchett, A Hat full of sky Wed 14-Mar-12 Fantasy: selections from Firebirds Rising Mon 19-Mar-12 Fantasy: selections from Firebirds Rising Wed 21-Mar-12 Fantasy: selections from Firebirds Rising Mon 26-Mar-12 New Departures: Zuzak, The Book Thief Wed 28-Mar-12 New Departures: Zuzak, The Book Thief Mon 2-Apr-12 New Departures: Zuzak, The Book Thief Wed 4-Apr-12 Review