Children’s literature

Abstract

This course will provide an introduction to major works of American children's literature written from 1868 to 2000. As we examine these texts, we will consider how and why (or even whether) they might be read specifically as children's books and how, moreover, their study might prompt us to evaluate the American literary canon in its various historical permutations. Additionally, we will question the ways in which these texts represent race, class, gender, and perhaps most significantly national identity. Of particular interest will be the question of how these texts use the figure of the child to support (or contest) notions of nationhood and citizenship.