ENG 6930 Studies Literature of Adolescence

A survey of the literature of adolescence in several cultures and historical periods, this course explores selected works of important writers and novelists in their aesthetic, historical, and cultural contexts. Authors may include J.W. von Boethe, Sandra Cisneros, J.D. Salinger, James Joyce, Mark Twain, Judy Blume, Michelle Cliff, Maya Angelou, Esmerelda Santiago, Christ Crutcher, and others. The course familiarizes students with the history of the concept of adolescence, the conventions of the coming-of-age novel, the various definitions of “adolescent literature,” and the ways that popular culture and multiethnic and global issues affect the production and consumption of adolescent literature. Students also become familiar with current scholarship in the field.
Credits: 3.0