EN222

Adolescent Literature

Our Texts:

1. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson by Louise Rennison ISBN: 0064472272
2. Forever by Judy Blume ISBN: 0671695304
3. The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier ISBN: 0440944597
4. Summer of My German by Soldier  by Bette Greene ISBN  014130636X
5. Pictures of Hollis Woods by    Patricia Reilly Geff      0440415780
6. Parrot in the Oven by  Victor Martinez ISBN: 0064471861
7. The House That Crack Built by Clark Taylor 0811801233
8. Faithful Elephants by  Yukio Tsuchiya  0395861373
9. Maus I and II by Art Spiegelman  0679748407
10. No Where to Call Home by Cynthia DeFelice ISBN: 0380733064
11. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein ISBN: 0060840986

Adolescent literature is literature written about and intended for adolescents and framed within a rich literary, historical, and social context. In this class we will broaden our understanding of adolescents and their “place” in society while developing criteria for evaluating adolescent literature. Through reading, writing, and class discussions, students will also come to a better understanding of different literary genres highlighting this theme. We will examine critical theories about the function and purpose of literature for adolescents while reading some wonderfully written texts with which you might already be familiar.

Course Goals:

• To identify and understand the different genres of adolescent literature.
• To be familiar with a wide variety of literature that reflects the diversity and special needs of young adults.
• To understand the history and development of adolescent literature and its place historically.

This course also satisfies the 20^th century literature requirement and goals for English Majors:

• literary traditions of diverse peoples & cultures
• intertextuality of texts in their cultural time & place
• intertextuality of own writing in cultural time & place

Requirements and evaluation:

Reading Responses

You will write a response to 8 of our readings this semester. The responses need to be one full-page, typed single space. The due dates to the responses are posted on the assignment page of my homepage (http://faculty.millikin.edu/~mdwiggins). This is worth 80 points. You will also have 3 blackboard responses.  Make sure you enroll in blackboard. More about this.

Quizzes will be given after each reading before our discussion of some of the texts. This will be worth 110 points.

Final The final will consist of essay and short answer identification questions. This will be worth  30 points.

Research:

You may research an aspect of adolescent literature that interests you or write a research paper on one of the books we read this semester. The papers need to be at least 8 to 10 pages in length. I need to approve it so get your topic early. This is worth 100 points.

Study Group:

Each groups is assigned a topic important to young adults that is paramount to the book we are reading for that week. They are  responsible for preparing a 25-minute presentation on the assigned issue and leading a class discussion of the major issues in the book, background of the author, a list of other YA books dealing with your topic, and a review one journal article about the book (Note: not reviews of the book). The articles used must be peer reviewed. Please show me the articles before you present. A PowerPoint presentation or visual of some sort will be required. The students will discuss their plan for the visual component with me prior to the presentation. This is worth 50 points.

Book Report/response:

Each member of the class will give an old fashion book report.  This is worth 30 pts.

Participation:

I will also give up to 10 points to those students who interact with discussions regularly and are on time.

Grading scale:

As you can see, there is a total of 300 points. Grades will be assigned as followed:

A= 270-300; B= 240-269; C=210-239; D= 180-209; F= under 180

Class Attendance:

Attendance is required. Students who miss more than 4 class periods will have their grade lowered one letter grade. Interaction among members of the class is vital to the learning experience; if you aren’t here, it can’t happen. If there is a problem please talk to me.

Plagiarism:

Academic Honesty Policy

All students are expected to uphold professional standards for academic honesty and integrity in their research, writing and related performances. Academic honesty is the standard we expect from all students. Read the Student Handbook for further explanation (available on the Millikin University web site). Staley Library also hosts a web site on Preventing Plagiarism, which includes the complete university policy. It is located at: http://www.millikin.edu/staley/prevent_plagiarism.html. Visit and carefully read the Preventing Plagiarism web site.

If you submit work that is not your own, that is, plagiarized or copied from any source without proper citation, or if you are caught cheating on any assignment, you will fail the assignment and you may fail the course. In addition, the Registrar and the Office of Student Services will be notified so that they can take action according to university policy, which means that you may be dismissed from the academic program and university. If you have difficulty with any assignment in this course, please see me rather than consider academic dishonesty.

Academic Dishonesty will not be tolerated at Millikin University.  The following apply specifically to academic misconduct in this course:

• Plagiarism: The appropriation, theft, purchase, or obtaining by any means another’s work, and the unacknowledged submission or incorporation of that work as one’s own. Appropriation includes the quoting or paraphrasing of another’s work without giving credit.

• Collusion: Prohibited collaboration with another in preparing work.

• Fabrication/Falsification: Unauthorized alteration or invention of any information or citation in an academic exercise. Falsification involves altering information for use in any academic exercise. Fabrication involves inventing or counterfeiting information for use in any academic exercise.

• Multiple Submissions: The submission by the same individual of substantial portions of the same work (including oral reports) for credit more than once in the same or another course without authorization.

• Complicity in academic misconduct: Helping another to commit an act of academic misconduct.

Turnitin.com may be useful to students in addressing any plagiarism concerns they may have.  Millikin University students may learn more about how to properly cite sources and maintain the highest degree of academic integrity with the Turnitin online program. All Millikin University faculty may, at their discretion, use Turnitin (see: http://www.turnitin.com/static/index.html) in order to ensure that students are not having/exhibiting problems with plagiarism.