ENGL 80600. Carrie Hintz. Bodies and Minds of Children’s Literature. Thursdays 4:15 PM-6:15 PM. 2/4 credits. [CRN 36091] 

Location: Room 3308

E-mail: chintz@gc.cuny.edu

Room: 4105

Office hour: 3 PM- 4 PM, Thursdays

Course Description:

This course will engage with contemporary theory and criticism about race, class, gender, sexuality and dis/ability in children’s literature.  We will also spend some time discussing recent cognitive literary theories (by Maria Nikolajeva, Roberta Trites and others) that raise questions about embodied knowledge, representation, perception, temporality and memory.  The seminar will be helpful for anyone interested in recent literary theories about the body and the mind –whether you specialize in children’s/ YA literature or not. This seminar will include a workshop component (roughly 5 weeks) focusing on the writing and scholarship of seminar participants.  It is therefore ideally suited for first year students working toward the first exam, students developing a publication or dissertation chapter, or anyone who would benefit from the workshop process.

Course Goals:

• You will learn about current popular and scholarly discussions about embodiment in children’s literature, and recent thinking in the areas of race, class, gender, dis/ability and cognition.
• You will formulate questions and topics for seminar discussion.
• You will develop your own project which nurtures your own scholarly interests.