230578 Pollyanna in Obamaland: Race and Gender in Classic and Contemporary North American Children's Literature (S) (WiSe 2009/2010)

Have you ever picked up one of your childhood favorites again as an adult and were struck by the depiction of angelic white girls, black rascals, benevolent mothers and strict patriarchs?Which of your bedtime stories would you read to the unspoilt ears of your own offspring? Is "Anne of Green Gables" a timeless classic and can "Tom Sawyer" pass the test of political correctness in 2009?
Many literary critics and writers of fiction maintain that children's literature is the most difficult genre of all, since it should ideally be both entertaining and educative for the young reader. Because of this twofold function, most children's books contain several layers of meaning - the explicit, the "message" and the implicit, subleties conveyed for instance via the narrative construction of race and gender.
Departing from a theorectical approach to the genre we will critically examine chosen specimen of North American children's literature, classics as well as contemporary books, and evaluate each one's educative value for the young readership in the 21st century.
Through individual close reading, working in small groups as well as class discussions inspired by students' reading reactions, we will contextualize each narrative in its time frame and historical background and investigate narrative techniques, fashions, structures and power distributions. We will gain insight into the complexities of narrative patterns and their potential influences and acknowledge the benefits and dangers of these with special regard to the explicit educational plane in children's literature.

Requirements for participation, required level

Interest in and basic knowledge of American literary history from 19th to 21st century and an appreciation of the problematics in connection with narrative constructions of race and gender are desirable; willingness to participate in class discussion mandatory