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Course Descriptions

ENG 215 - Children's Literature

3 Credits

A survey of classic and contemporary children's works from Aesop to Woodson. Students will analyze a variety of genres, such as fairy tales, picture books, and novels, and explore issues such as censorship, the environment, adolescent challenges, social justice, equity, cultural diversity, and identity. Students will reflect critically on literature, evaluate and acknowledge the possibilities and limitations of the authors’ worldviews, and construct arguments about the texts using evidence from primary and secondary sources.

Prerequisite(s): ENG 101 with a C or better, or placement into ENG 200, or instructor permission.

New SUNY General Education: SUNY - Critical Thinking and Reasoning Competency, SUNY - Humanities

Retiring SUNY General Education: SUNY-H - Humanities (SHUM)

MCC General Education: MCC-AH - Arts and Humanities (MAH), MCC-VE - Values and Ethics (MVE)

Course Learning Outcomes
1. Describe the historical development of children’s literature.
2. Analyze various genres of children’s literature with attention to audience, time period, and cultural contexts.
3. Explain, with attention to cultures traditionally identified as Western and non-Western, how children’s literature informs and shapes ideologies about children and childhood.
4. Analyze children’s literature from a variety of academic perspectives, including one grounded in the study of ethics.
5. Analyze how various cultural and social dynamics, such as censorship, commercialization, race, equity, and inclusion, affect access to and the study of children’s literature.
6. Write a thesis-driven analytical essay using primary and secondary sources, applying disciplinary conventions, and employing a standard documentation style.

Course Offered Fall, Spring

Use links below to see if this course is offered:
Fall Semester 2024
Spring Semester 2024
Summer Session 2024