class time: M W F 3:00 pm office hours: M W F 11:00-11:50 am
2:00-2:50 pm office: 626 Crawford phone: 321-674-8370 email: lperdiga@fit.edu website: my.fit.edu/~lperdiga
Course Description :
Adolescent literature has a particularly interesting place in literary studies; it is not quite
“children’s literature” yet it is not quite for adults. In this class, we will explore the rise of the adolescent novel—from Cormier’s “classics” in the 1970s to contemporary young adult fiction— and the literary, historical, and cultural contexts surrounding its development, how it, as a genre, is a child of late twentieth-century American culture. In particular, we will examine the novels through the lenses of postmodernist theories, focusing on how the adolescent characters offer examples of the postmodern individual struggling to define him/herself within society. The adolescents in these novels are disempowered by (and within) the institutions that surround them; some are able to find a voice and self-definition while others fail in the quest. By reading these novels through the lenses of postmodernist theories about identity and language, we will discover what is really at stake in the texts, how these books can be more philosophically problematic and challenging than “adult” literature. Ultimately, we will work to understand how adolescence is constructed within and between these texts, what it takes to survive adolescence as well as what is often lost in the process in the quest for self-discovery.
Texts :
Roberta Seelinger Trites, Disturbing the Universe: Power and Repression in Adolescent
Literature (2004)
Robert Cormier, The Chocolate War (1974)
Robert Cormier, I Am the Cheese (1977)
Walter Dean Myers, Monster (1999)
Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak (1999)
Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl (2004)
Francesca Lia Block, I Was a Teenage Fairy (1998)
Barry Lyga, The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl (2007)
Lois Lowry, The Giver (1993)
Rodman Philbrick, The Last Book in the Universe (2000)
Requirements :
Short responses
One oral presentation (4 pages)
Quizzes
Long essay (5-7 pages)
Final project
20%
20%
10%
30%
20%

You will write four short (1-2 pages, @250-500 words) responses to the novels. These responses become the foundation for class discussion. The responses are not formal essays but they should draw on the critical texts to discuss key issues in the novels. While these pieces are informal responses, quality is important—demonstrate that you are critically engaged with the novels. I will provide some topics for the novels during the course; choose three.
You will choose a novel for a presentation . The format for the presentations is similar to that of a scholarly conference; you will present a four page formal paper that connects critical readings with that novel. A four page paper should be presented in ten minutes; make sure that you practice reading aloud and time yourself.
A quiz will focus on the day’s assigned reading(s). The quiz may be announced the day before class or be a “pop quiz.” As a result, regular attendance is mandatory; make-up quizzes are unlikely.
The long essay consists of 5-7 pages written in MLA format and includes a works cited page.
The essay must be typed; use a standard 12-point font with margins of approximately 1¼ inches
(about 250-300 words per page).
For responses, the presentation, the long essay, and the final project, students are required to submit their papers to www.turnitin.com on the assigned date; failure to submit the paper to turnitin.com and/or to turn in the hard copy in class on the due date will lead to a failure of the assignment.
Our class ID is 2802705 and the password is Firefly .
Academic Dishonesty will be handled in accordance with Humanities and Communication
Department policy. Cheating and plagiarism will result in failure of assignment and/or failure of course and will be reported to the Dean of Students and recorded in your permanent student file.
Dishonest conduct may lead to formal disciplinary proceedings. Be certain that you are familiar with Florida Tech’s academic dishonesty policy
(http://www.fit.edu/current/documents/plagiarism.pdf).
Cell phone policy: If your phone rings, if you try to make an outgoing call or text messages are sent or received (translation: basically any variation of playing with your phone when you should be paying attention) you are responsible for bringing pizza (or an acceptable alternative) to the following class.
Attendance is required. Absenteeism and tardiness will adversely affect your final grade.
Excessive absenteeism could lead to failure of the course. You are responsible for all of the work you miss. Since this class is not primarily a lecture course, participation is expected. Informed in-class participation demonstrates your engagement with the readings and is reflected in your final grade.

August 21
August 24
August 26
August 28
August 31
September 2
September 4
September 7
September 9
September 11
September 14
September 16
September 18
September 21
September 23
September 25
September 28
September 30
October 2
Course Schedule
August 17
August 19
Monster
Monster
Monster
Speak
Speak
Speak
Speak
Stargirl
Introduction
Patricia Meyer Spacks, “Exploration, Becoming, Growth, and
Pain,” “Epilogue”
Anne Scott MacLeod, “The Journey Inward: Adolescent Literature in America, 1945-1995”
The Chocolate War
The Chocolate War
The Chocolate War
Roberta Seelinger Trites, “‘Do I dare disturb the universe?’:
Adolescent Literature in the Postmodern Era”
I Am The Cheese
I Am The Cheese
I Am The Cheese
Labor Day—no class
I Am The Cheese
Roberta Seelinger Trites, “‘I don’t know the words’: Institutional
Discourses in Adolescent Literature”
Patricia Head, “Robert Cormier and the Postmodernist Possibilities of Young Adult Fiction”
Lauren Adams, “Disorderly Fiction”

October 5
October 7
October 9
October 12
October 14
October 16
October 19
October 21
October 23
October 26
October 28
October 30
November 2
November 4
November 6
November 9
November 11
November 13
November 16
November 18
November 20
Stargirl
Stargirl
I Was a Teenage Fairy
Columbus Day—no class
I Was a Teenage Fairy
I Was a Teenage Fairy
I Was a Teenage Fairy
Catherine Driscoll, “Feminine Adolescence,” “Puberty,” “The Girl of the Century”
Roberta Seelinger Trites, “‘Maybe that is writing, changing things around and disguising the for-real’: The Paradox of Authority in
Adolescent Literature”
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
The Giver
Veterans Day—no class
The Giver
The Giver
Roberta Seelinger Trites, “Conclusion: The Poststructural
Pedagogy of Adolescent Literature”
John Stephens, “‘Is This the Promised End…?’: Fin de Siècle
Mentality and Children’s Literature”
Madeleine L’Engle, “Do I Dare Disturb the Universe?”
Roberta Seelinger Trites, “‘When I can control the focus’: Death and Narrative Resolution in Adolescent Literature”
The Giver
The Giver
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
The Last Book in the Universe
The Last Book in the Universe

November 23
November 25
November 27
November 30
December 2
December 9
The Last Book in the Universe
Thanksgiving—no class
Thanksgiving—no class
The Last Book in the Universe
Conclusions
Long essay due in hard copy and to www.turnitin.com
Final (1-3 pm)