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Children's Literature
UndergraduateMAQ-ENGX2092019
Course information for 2019 intake
Return to the stories of your childhood and re-examine them with a critical eye. Start with picture books and build up to young adult fiction. Look at recurring themes like adolescence and gender. Reveal how children's literature can address social issues.
Enrolments for this course are closed, but you may have other options to start studying now. Book a consultation to learn more.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- -
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Children's Literature
About this subject
On completing the subject, students should:
- have gained a broad overview of kinds of children's literature, from children's first books to young adult literature
- understand a range of concepts employed in discussing and analysing children's literature, such as ideology, notions of childhood and adolescence, gender, and concepts derived from schema theory and theories of visual representation
- understand some aspects of literary theory currently used in discussions of children's literature, such as narrative theory, metafiction, intertextuality, and theoretical discussions of genre
- have attained a conceptual language with which to discuss children's literature and a level of visual, verbal and critical literacy
- be able to critically examine the uses of children's literature, with particular reference to social issues, subjectivity and the place of books in the socialisation and enculturation of children and adolescents.
- Introduction: The Idea of Children's Literature
- History of Children's Literature
- Picture Books I
- Picture Books II
- Juvenilia
- Writing by Children
- Graphic Novels
- Verse Novels
- Realism
- Contemporary Fantasy
- Adaptation and YA Film
- Subjectivity and Children's Young Adult Literature
- Genre and Gender in Children's Literature
- Conclusion
ENGX209 offers an introduction to the range of literature, both past and current, written for children, including picture books, poetry, and a variety of realistic and fantastic fictions (novel and film) for younger readers and adolescents. Key concepts and a common conceptual language employed in discussing and analysing children's literature will be introduced. Issues addressed include: the idea of a literature for children, visual and verbal textualities; notions of genre; gender representation; and the place of books in the socialisation of children.
- Verbal and Visual Narrative Essay (30%)
- Research Essay (40%)
- Participation (20%)
- Quiz (10%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Prior study
You must have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject:
one of
- MAQ-ENGX120-Approaches to English Literature
MAQ-ENG110 (Not currently available)
Additional requirements
- Other requirements -
Students who have an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion under Macquarie University's Academic Progression Policy are not permitted to enrol in OUA units offered by Macquarie University. Students with an Academic Standing of Suspension or Exclusion who have enrolled in units through OUA will be withdrawn.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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