HUM 3285: Special Topics in Literature
Postmodern Adolescent Literature
Spring 2012
Dr. Perdigao
class time: M W F 3:00 pm
office hours: M W 4:00-5:30 pm
and by appointment
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)
Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak (1999)
Jerry Spinelli, Stargirl (2000)
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)
Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games (2008)
Rodman Philbrick, The Last Book in the Universe (2000)
Requirements:
Short responses
Presentation
Quizzes
Long essay (5-7 pages)
Final project
20%
10%
20%
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 four.
For the presentation, you will choose a text that we are discussing in class. Your task is to
provide a new way of reading that text, highlighting the text’s central themes, historical contexts,
and placement within the field of young adult fiction. Ultimately, you are to go beyond
summarizing the text to offer a focused reading on a key aspect or key aspects of the work, using
the critical readings as part of your framework. You will have 10-15 minutes for your
presentation.
A quiz will focus on the day’s assigned reading(s). As 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 the responses and the final essay, 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 4701325 and the password is Ryter.
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. If you
miss more than 25% of the classes, you run the risk of failing the course. You are responsible for
all of the work that 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.
Course Schedule
January 9
Introduction
January 11
Patricia Meyer Spacks, “Exploration, Becoming, Growth, and
Pain,” “Epilogue”
Anne Scott MacLeod, “The Journey Inward: Adolescent Literature
in America, 1945-1995”
January 13
The Chocolate War
January 16
Martin Luther King Jr. Day—no class
January 18
The Chocolate War
January 20
The Chocolate War
January 23
Roberta Seelinger Trites, “‘Do I dare disturb the universe?’:
Adolescent Literature in the Postmodern Era”
Trites, “Conclusion: The Poststructural Pedagogy of Adolescent
Literature”
January 25
I Am the Cheese
January 27
I Am the Cheese
January 30
I Am the Cheese
February 1
I Am the Cheese
February 3
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”
February 6
Speak
February 8
Speak
February 10
Speak
February 13
Speak
February 15
Stargirl
February 17
Stargirl
February 20
Presidents Day—no class
February 22
Stargirl
February 24
I Was a Teenage Fairy
February 27
I Was a Teenage Fairy
February 29
I Was a Teenage Fairy
March 2
I Was a Teenage Fairy
March 5
Spring Break—no class
March 7
Spring Break—no class
March 9
Spring Break—no class
March 12
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”
March 14
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
March 16
No class
March 19
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
March 21
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
March 23
The Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy and Goth Girl
March 26
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”
March 28
The Giver
March 30
The Giver
April 2
The Giver
April 4
The Giver
April 6
The Hunger Games
April 9
The Hunger Games
April 11
The Hunger Games
April 13
The Hunger Games
April 16
The Last Book in the Universe
April 18
The Last Book in the Universe
April 20
The Last Book in the Universe
April 23
The Last Book in the Universe
April 25
Conclusions
April 30
Final (8-10 am)
Long essay due in hard copy and to www.turnitin.com