English 583, Multicultural Literature for Adolescents
 Course Policy and Syllabus
Dr. Gwen Athene Tarbox

 




 








Instructor Information

My name is Gwen Tarbox, and I am the Graduate Director in the Department of English at Western Michigan University.  You can contact me by e-mail at gatarbox@yahoo.com or via telephone at 616-387-2584.  If you are interested in learning more about Children's and Adolescent Literature, Western Michigan University, or my work, please head over to my Home page.  The Office Hours for this course will be both before and after class and by appointment.  My office is in 218 Sprau Tower.

Errin Bonner is the Teaching Assistant for this course.    Errin will be our web pro this semester, and she will also be helping me to teach various parts of the course.    As a former student in English 583, she is familiar with the materials and the methods for the course.    You can reach Errin at errin_bonner@hotmail.com .

Course Description

Contemporary American realism often finds its best expression in Adolescent Literature, a genre that has expanded in terms of quality, scope and theme during the last ten years.  In the novels of authors such as Naomi Shihab Nye, Walter Dean Myers, and Lois Ann Yamanaka, traditional Adolescent Literature motifs of identity formation and sexual awakening are linked to issues of race, nationality, and social justice, enabling young readers to acknowledge the complexity of the coming of age experience in the United States and abroad.

This semester, students in English 583 will read a number of novels and will create a web page that can be used by Adolescent Literature scholars and readers on World Wide Web.  While no previous web page authoring experience is required, students should be willing to accept the pedagogical value of integrating technology and learning. 

Learning Objectives

1.    Practice interpretive skills that will enrich your understanding of Multicultural Adolescent Literature,     especially those novels written in the tradition of the bildungsroman.
2.    Develop an awareness of the theoretical and historical shifts in the composition, publication, distribution,     reception, and teaching of Multicultural Adolescent Literature
3.    Build upon your research and writing skills through the completion of a course web site, confer discussions, a book review, a mid-term, and a final examination.

Required Texts

Author

Title

Publisher

ISBN Number

Bat-Ami, Miriam

Two Suns in the Sky

Puffin

0142300365

Cofer, Judith Ortiz

An Island Like You:  Stories of the Barrio

Puffin

014038068X

Flake, Sharon

The Skin I'm In

Jump at the Sun

0786813075

Frank, E.R.

Life Is Funny

D K Publishing

078942634X

Hirschfelder, Arlene

Rising Voices:  Writings of Young Native Americans

Ivy Books

0804111677

Jiang, Ji-Li

Red Scarf Girl:  A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

HarperTrophy

0064462080

Martinez, Victor

Parrot in the Oven, mi vida

HarperTrophy

0064471861

Myers, Walter Dean

Monster

Harper Collins

0064407314

Nye, Naomi Shihab

Habibi

Aladdin

06898252

Yamanaka, Lois Ann

Name Me Nobody

Hyperion

0786814667

Grading and Attendance Policy

Please try to be present at every class meeting.  I pack each session with important information, and believe me, there is no substitute for being there. If you must miss class because of illness, family emergency or snow emergency, please be sure to contact me as soon as possible.  You are welcome to have a friend tape a class that you miss, or you may tape the classes that you attend, if it will help you to study.
I DO NOT ACCEPT LATE papers, but I will grant extensions that are asked for 24 hours in advance of the due date. 
Grading Scale:  A = 93-100; BA = 88-92; B = 83-87; CB = 78-82; C = 72-77; DC = 67-71; D = 60-66; E = 59 or lower.

Assignments

 

Assignment

Due Date

Value

Book Review

February 4, 2002

15%

Take Home Mid-Term Exam

March 11, 2002

25%

Confer Participation

April 15, 2002

10%

Web Page Project

April 15, 2002

25%

Final Examination

April 22, 2002, 7:15-9:15pm

25%

 

TOTAL

100%

 

Course Syllabus

Monday, January 7, 2002

On the first day of class, I will introduce you to the concept of Process Education , a pedagogical philosophy that encourages students to take greater responsibility for their own learning.  Then, Errin Bonner, the Teaching Assistant in the course, will give us a tour of the computer classroom.  We will discuss the Teaching, Learning and Technology initiative at Western, the operation of the wireless laptops, and the importance of computer lab etiquette.  Next, I will go over our course web site and ask you to work in impromptu teams to help us to discover the scope of Adolescent Literature resources on the web.  During the last half hour of class, you will fill out a Student Information Sheet.  For homework, I will ask you to read a critical article written by Jack Zipes on the complexities involved in the publication of Children's and Adolescent literature and to read this article on Adolescence from the Washington Post .  I will also ask you to obtain a WMU e-mail account -- this is very important, as you will need this account and password in order to participate in the Confer discussions (for more information, see the text description under Monday, January 14, 2002).

Monday, January 14, 2002

At the beginning of class, Errin and I will teach you how to use Confer , an asynchronous chat program that will allow you to share with your classmates and with me ideas about the issues raised in this course.  You will need to accrue 10,000 characters on Confer by April 15, 2002.  Then, we will take time to discuss the Zipes' article and to explore the links on the web that pertain to Zipes and to issues that he raises in his article.  Next, I will give brief -- old fashioned -- lectures on The History of Adolescent Literature and on The Arab-Israeli Conflict.  During the last hour of class, I will place students into their Web Project Groups, and we will go over the project itself.  Team Role Assignments and Team Role Definitions are online for your review in the Lectures and Handouts Section of this webpage.  For homework, you should read Nye's Habibi and attend the Martin Luther King Jr Convocation (to be held on Tuesday, January 22, 2002 at 7pm in the Miller Auditorium.  Admission is free.).  I am chair of the MLK Committee, and I would really like to see all of you in attendance.  Also, I will assign each of you a critical text to read in order to prepare for the Book Review assignment.

Monday, January 21, 2002

Class will not be held so that we may honor the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr and the accomplishments of all individuals who have worked to bring justice and equity into the realms of American politics, culture, and society.  You can learn more about Dr. King's legacy by visiting the Martin Luther King Jr Center .

Monday, January 28, 2002

For the first hour, we will discuss Nye's Habibi.  Then, I will lecture briefly on The Holocaust in preparation for your reading of Miriam Bat-Ami's Two Suns in the Sky.  Next, we will discuss the Book Review assignment, which will be due on Monday, February 4, 2002.  For the last hour of class, groups may work on their web page project.

Monday, February 4, 2002

BOOK REVIEW ASSIGNMENT IS DUE!  For the first hour of class, we will discuss Bat-Ami's Two Suns in the Sky.  Then, groups will spend thirty minutes searching the web for useful sites on African American history.  After you have shared these sites with each other, I will lecture on the African American literary experience(s).  The reason for the (s) is that it is important to appreciate the diversity of experiences and traditions that are part of any people's artistic and emotional lives.  Whenever we talk about any ethnic or racial group, we need to be sure not  to assume that all people of a similar ethnic or racial background have had the same experience.  This idea is also behind what is now called "Whiteness" studies -- a topic interogates what it means to be "white."  Homework:  Read Myers' Monster and find one web site to share with the class on any of the following topics:  African American children's literature; African American male incarceration; Walter Dean Myers.

Monday, February 11, 2002

For the first hour of class, we will share our web sites and discuss Myers’ Monster.  Then, I will ask the groups to use the Internet to find out information on the Chinese Cultural Revolution in preparation for reading Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl.  Once we have shared our knowledge on the Cultural Revolution, groups may use the remaining class time to work on their web page project.  Homework:  Read Red Scarf Girl .

Monday, February 18, 2002

For the first hour of class, we will discuss Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl .  Then, I will ask the groups to locate web sites on Native American children’s literature.  We will discuss these sites, and then I will lecture briefly on the Native American experience(s).  Homework:  Read the collection of young Native American writers’ works in Rising Voices.

Monday, February 25, 2002

For the first hour and a half of class, we will discuss Rising Voices .  Then, I will lecture briefly on the Puerto Rican-American experience(s).  At the end of class, I will distribute the Take Home Mid-Term Exam which will must be e-mailed to me no later than noon on March 11, 2002.  Homework:  Complete the Take Home Exam and read Cofer’s An Island Like You.

Monday, March 4, 2002

Spring recess. Class will not meet.

Monday, March 11, 2002

For the first hour and a half of class, we will discuss Cofer’s An Island Like You.  Then, groups will spend thirty minutes on the Internet, searching for useful sites on the genre of the short story.  After sharing what we learn, I will ask groups to work on their web page projects for the remainder of class.   Homework:  Read Frank’s Life Is Funny.

Monday, March 18, 2002

For the first hour and a half of class, we will discuss Life Is Funny .  Then, I will lecture briefly on the Mexican-American experience(s).  For the remainder of class, groups may work on their web page projects.  Homework:  Read Martinez’ Parrot in the Oven.

Monday, March 25, 2001

For the first hour of class, we will discuss Martinez’ Parrot in the Oven.  Then, I will give a lengthy lecture, with excerpts from primary texts, on the Japanese American experience(s).  Homework:     Read Yamanaka’s Name Me Nobody.

Monday, April 1, 2002

If the computers have not already crashed and burned, they probably will today – April Fools’ Day.  But seriously, folks, we will discuss Yamanaka’s Name Me Nobody.     Then, groups will look up useful web pages on Gay and Lesbian Children’s and Adolescent Literature.    After sharing the sites, groups can work on their web page project.   Homework:    Groups should be working their projects.

Monday, April 8, 2002

Today, groups may spend the entire class time working on their projects.

Monday, April 15, 2002

Groups will present their portions of the Web Page Project.    Diskettes will be due at the beginning of class.    Also, students should have logged their 10,000 Confer characters by no later than 7pm.  Then, in the last half hour of class, I will go over the study sheet for the Final Examination.

Monday, April 22, 2002

The Final Examination will take place from 7:15-9:15.     Students will receive their Web Page Project and Confer Grades.