AP/EN 2173 3.00

Children’s Literature, 1590-1900

This course provides an historical study of children’s literature written between 1590 and 1900. It explores possible ways of reading that literature, taking into account such issues as its cultural context and its audience. We will begin by examining selections from Philippe Ariès' foundational text Centuries of Childhood to establish the cultural and historical context of children’s literature. We will then consider a variety of early forms of literature for children: such as poetry and narratives, including fables, fairy tales, allegories, and fantasies. Most of the early forms of children’s literature have a didactic purpose: moral instruction and the teaching of social and religious values. In addition, we will examine the role of gender issues in these texts. Finally, we will consider the historical shift in this literature from a principally didactic purpose to one of entertainment and amusement.

Although the approach of this course is primarily historical, we will also examine these texts from a variety of critical perspectives, such as psychoanalysis, feminisms, rhetoric/reader response theory, Marxism, and close textual analysis. The objectives of the course will be to enable students to engage with the historical development of children’s literature and to acquire the critical skills for interpreting these texts.