Spring 2008
ENG 370: Studies in the History of Literature for Young People
105 Williams Hall / MW 9:35-10:50am
Dr. Nathalie op
de Beeck
17G Williams Hall
309.438.3297 /
dbop@ilstu.edu
Office hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11-noon
Primary Sources
(chronological)
■
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852; Norton
Critical Edition, 1993)
■
Harriet Wilson, Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free Black
(1859; Penguin, 2004)
■
Horatio Alger Jr., Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York with
the Boot-Blacks (1868; Norton Critical Edition, 2007)
■
Susan Coolidge (Sarah C. Woolsey), What Katy Did (1879; Dover
edition, 2006)
■
Margaret Sidney, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1880
serial; Aladdin edition, 2006)
■
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886; Puffin
edition, 1996)
■
Carol Ryrie Brink, Caddie Woodlawn (1935; Aladdin edition,
2007)
Critical
Texts
■
Beverly Lyon Clark, Kiddie Lit: The Cultural Construction of
Children’s Literature in America (2004)
■
Karen Sánchez-Eppler, Dependent States: The Child’s Part in
Nineteenth Century American Culture (2005)
■
Caroline Levander, Cradle of Liberty: Race, the Child, and
National Belonging from Thomas Jefferson to W.E.B. Du Bois
(2006)
Additional assigned chapters and stories
are available either online or through the electronic course folder
at
http://www.english.ilstu.edu/reserve/files/op_de_beeck/.
You are welcome to borrow or photocopy readings from libraries if
you do not want to print out PDF versions.
Requirements
Each assignment receives a letter grade and carries a point value,
for a total of 500 possible points in the course.
Class Participation:
Complete all assigned readings by class time, attend class,
contribute to conversation, and listen to others. While there is no
set point total for attendance, you do need to be present and
prepared to discuss the material. Students who miss six or more
meetings automatically fail the class, as do students who
plagiarize.
Weekly Responses on Blackboard:
Make notes as you read. Then, between our Monday and
Wednesday course meetings, log in to Blackboard and post (1) a
concise, substantive paragraph that comments on the reading
material, (2) a brief critical question you plan to ask or have
asked the group about what we are reading, and (3) a response to
another person’s question. You must be present in class to ask and
get credit for your question. As the course begins, try this link:
https://blackboard.ilstu.edu/webct/logon/5231653001
Your responses need not be lengthy—five to ten sentences will be
sufficient—but they should provide fodder for inquiry and argument.
You may investigate and report on factual details that capture your
interest (e.g., prices of commodities, available technologies, laws,
fashions, etc.), but you should invite opinions and conversation
with your critical questions. Try reframing your one-paragraph
response as a question, for instance, or pose the question that led
to your own statement of opinion. Look for and answer others’
questions that pique your interest. Weekly responses will be
collected and graded for credit, and can serve as foundations for
research. (12 responses @ 10 points each = 120 points)
Reports on Supporting Material and “Critical Edition” Work:
When we read the Norton Critical Editions of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
and Ragged Dick, members of the class will be assigned to
prepare particular essays, inform the group about their findings,
and hand in presentation materials for credit. We will do
bibliographical research and informational presentations on
Little Lord Fauntleroy as well. (Three assignments @
20 points each = 60 points)
Essay
1: A conference-length piece of 8-12 pages, assigned Jan. 30
and due in class Mar. 5. (100 points)
Conference on your final presentation and Essay II plans:
On or by March 19—a day left open specifically for conferencing—each
person must schedule a one-to-one conversation with me, in my
office, to plan the final presentation and project. Once each person
develops a research plan, s/he must stick to the stated topic. Those
who change direction without my feedback will fail the presentation
and Essay II assignments. (20 points)
Presentation on work in progress:
During the last two weeks of class, each person will prepare and
present their research. We will proceed conference-style, with 15
minutes for each presentation and a 5-10 minute question-and-answer
period. (40 points)
Essay II:
A research paper of 15+ pages on a subject of your choice, designed
in consultation with the instructor and due May 5. (160 points)
Course Schedule
Jan 14 (Monday): Introduction.
Assigned readings from Clark and Sanchez-Eppler for Wednesday.
Jan 16 (Wednesday)
■
From your texts:
Beverly Lyon Clark, “Kids and Kiddie Lit” and “Kiddie Lit in the
Academy,” in Kiddie Lit: The Cultural Construction of Children’s
Literature in America
Karen Sánchez-Eppler, “Introduction,” in Dependent States: The
Child’s Part in Nineteenth Century American Culture
(xiii-xxviii)
■
Weekly Response #1
Jan 21 (Monday): Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Jan 23 (Wednesday)
■
From your texts:
Karen Sánchez-Eppler, “Part One, Childhood Fictions: Imagining
Literacy and Literature,” in Dependent States (1-66)
■
In the online folder:
Selection from Nathaniel Hawthorne, A Wonder Book for Girls and
Boys
Nathaniel Hawthorne, “Little Annie’s Ramble,” from
Twice-Told
Tales
Washington Irving, “Rip Van Winkle”
Washington Irving, “The Legend of Sleepy Hollow”
■
Weekly Response #2
Jan 28-30 (continued from last week, so Weekly Response #2
still counts)
On Wednesday, we'll meet on the sixth floor of Milner Library for a presentation on
Special Collections and the microfiche Opie Collection.
■
From your texts:
Karen Sánchez-Eppler, Dependent States (1-66)
■
In the online course folder:
Nathaniel Hawthorne and Washington Irving
■
Assignment: Plan for Essay 1, due in class Mar. 5
Feb 4-6
■
From your texts:
Harriet E. Wilson, Our Nig: Sketches from the Life of a Free
Black (1859)
Caroline Levander, Cradle of Liberty: Race, the Child, and
National Belonging from Thomas Jefferson to W.E.B. Du Bois
(1-77)
■
Assignment:
Plan reports on selected essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
■
Weekly Response #3
Feb 11-13
■
From your texts:
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852, Part I)
Caroline Levander, Cradle of Liberty (78-110)
■
Reports on selected essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
■
Weekly Response #4
Feb 18-20
■
From your texts:
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852, Part II)
Caroline Levander, Cradle of Liberty (111-156)
■
Reports on selected essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
■
Weekly Response #5
Feb 25-27
■
From your texts:
Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
■
In the online course folder and Milner:
Jane Tompkins on Uncle Tom’s Cabin in Sensational Designs
(in the Norton Critical Edition of Stowe's novel)
Michele Ann Abate, “Topsy and Topsy-Turvy Jo: Harriet Beecher
Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin and/in Louisa May Alcott’s
Little Women,” Children’s Literature 34 (2006): 59-82.
http://muse.jhu.edu.proxy.lib.ilstu.edu:2048/journals/childrens_literature/v034/34.1abate.html
■
Reports on selected essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
■
Weekly Response #6
Mar 3 (Monday)
■
From your texts:
Susan Coolidge, What Katy Did (1879)
Beverly Lyon Clark on the girls’ book in Kiddie Lit
■
Weekly Response #7
Mar 5 (Wednesday)
■
Essay 1 due at class time
■
From your texts: Susan Coolidge, What Katy Did (1879),
and Clark on the girls’ book
■
Assignment for 3/19:
Plan ahead for your final presentation and Essay II. You should
bring work in progress to our conferences.
■
Assignment for 3/24-26:
Essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Ragged Dick
Mar 8-16: Spring Break
Mar 17 (Monday)
■
From your texts:
Margaret Sidney, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew (1880)
■
Weekly Response #8
Mar 19 (Wednesday): No class meeting. Come prepared to our
conferences on your presentation and Essay II
Mar 24-26
■
From your texts:
Horatio Alger Jr., Ragged Dick, or Street Life in New York with
the Boot-Blacks (1868)
Beverly Lyon Clark on the boys’ book in
Kiddie Lit
■
In the online course folder:
George W. Peck, selections from the “Peck’s Bad Boy” stories
Mark Twain, “The Story of the Good Little Boy” and “The Story of
the Bad Little Boy”
■
Reports on selected essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Ragged Dick
■
Assignment for Apr 7-9: “Critical edition” work on Little Lord
Fauntleroy
■
Weekly Response #9
Mar 31-Apr 2
■
From your texts:
Horatio Alger Jr., Ragged Dick and related material
Karen Sánchez-Eppler, Dependent States (pp. 69-100, 151-185)
■
Reports on selected essays from the Norton Critical Edition of
Ragged Dick
■
Reminder: “Critical edition” work on Little Lord Fauntleroy
for next week
■
Weekly Response #9 still in effect
Apr 7-9
■
From your texts:
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy (1886)
Beverly Lyon Clark, “What Fauntleroy Knew,” in
Kiddie Lit
■
In the online folder:
Anne Higonnet, section on Fauntleroy from Pictures of
Innocence
Anne Scott MacLeod, “Bad Boys” and “Good Democrats: Ragged Dick
and Little Lord Fauntleroy,” in American Childhood (69-83)
■
“Critical edition” work on Fauntleroy
■
Weekly Response #10
Apr 14-16
■
From your texts:
Caroline Levander, Cradle of Liberty (157-178)
Karen Sánchez-Eppler, Dependent States (186-232)
■
In the online folder:
Excerpt from Langston Hughes and Arna Bontemps, Popo and Fifina
(1932)
Excerpt from Katherine Capshaw Smith on Harlem Renaissance
children’s literature
W.E.B. DuBois, “The Immortal Child” and “Almighty Death,” from
Darkwater
Dianne Johnson on The Brownies’ Book and African American
children’s literature
■
Weekly Response #11
Apr 21-23
■
From your texts:
Carol Ryrie Brink, Caddie Woodlawn (1935)
■
In the online folder:
Anne Scott MacLeod, “American Girlhood in the Nineteenth Century:
Caddie Woodlawn and Her Sisters”
■
Presentations of work in progress
■
Weekly Response #12
Apr 28-30
■
Presentations of work in progress
May 5 (Monday)
■
Essay II due in my office by noon.