230082 Reading Children's Literature: Texts, Forms, Cultures (S) (WiSe 2026/2027)

What makes children’s literature children’s literature? How do texts imagine childhood and how do literary forms shape the stories told about and for children? In this seminar, we will explore children’s literature in English from a literary and cultural studies perspective. Reading across genres and forms - from novels and short fiction to poetry and picturebooks - we will examine questions of narrative voice and perspective, imagination and identity, text and image, representation and cultural context.

Our shared readings will include Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), alongside a selection of shorter texts and picturebooks. Students will also venture beyond our common reading list to explore the wider field of children’s literature in English and bring their own discoveries into our discussions.