Viterbo University - La Crosse, Wis.

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Sample Four-year Plan - Literature

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Undergraduate Catalog

English 394: Literature for Young Adults (PDF Version)
MC 570, MWF 9:00 a.m.–9:50 a.m.
Spring 2011
Grant T. Smith, Ph.D.

Office: MC 533
Office Hours: T Th 1–3 p.m., MWF 2–3 p.m.
Phone: 3485
Email: gtsmith@viterbo.edu

S Y L L A B U S

Required Texts:

Godless by Pete Hautman
The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
In the Name of God by Paula Jolin
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
Holes by Louis Sachar
True Believer by Virginia Euwer Wolff
Blankets by Craig Thompson
Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi
Crossing Stones by Helen Frost
Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers
One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia
Chains and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

Course Description:

In this course we shall read, discuss, and analyze selected prose and poetry written for adolescents.

Format: Class sessions will consist of lectures and discussions. I expect the students to read carefully the assigned texts and be able to discuss the relationship between each selection and the various themes listed above.

Policies:

Click here for the university definitions of an excused and unexcused absence.
Click here for the university policy on sexual harassment.
Click here for the university policy on plagiarism.
If you are a person with a disability and require any auxiliary aids, services or other accommodations for this class, please see Jane Eddy in Murphy Center Learning Center 332 (796-3194) within ten days to discuss your accommodation needs. If there other accommodations that need to be made for you to succeed in the class, please indicate those needs to the instructor. Click here for a link to the Learning Center.
In the event of an infectious disease outbreak, university officials will monitor progress and work with local, state, and national authorities to determine the best course of action regarding institutional operations. Information related to any widespread infectious diseases outbreak will be available on Viterbo’s website and Viterbo Health Services website (http://www.viterbo.edu/HealthServices.aspx). In addition, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) website has extensive information on health threats (http://www.cdc.gov). If you have specific questions about your personal health, please contact your medical provider or Health Services.

Core Abilities:

Thinking—Students engage in the critical and creative thinking
Ethical Decision Making—Students respond to ethical issues
Communication—Students communicate effectively orally and in writing
Aesthetic Sensitivity—Students engage in artistic experiences and reflect critically upon them
Cultural Sensitivity—Students demonstrate a respect for the diversity of the human experience
Community Involvement—Students demonstrate responsible citizenship

English Department Student Learning Outcomes:

Read critically
Critically read and analyze a variety of texts.

Write effectively
Invent, draft, revise, and edit effectively for various audiences and purposes.

Research and document proficiently
Demonstrate proficiency in the use of bibliographic resources and other research tools to find, incorporate, and properly cite sources, according to MLA style.

Understand literary classifications
Demonstrate familiarity with classification of literature written in English, including:

Historical development
Genres
Theories

Understand development of English
Demonstrate familiarity with the basic history of the development of the English language.

Transfer skills to work
Connect academic training to potential professional experience.

Links related to English Department Student Learning Outcomes:

Thinking—The students will engage in critical thinking when they explicate or “close read” literary texts; when they identify formal elements such as point of view, literary language, symbolism, imagery; when they consider texts and authors in relation to historical, cultural, ideological, and theoretical contexts; when they compare what they are reading with what they have read previously; when they relate what they are reading to the wider world and to universal issues of human life. Click here for a Critical Thinking Web Page. Click here for a Logical Fallacies Web Page.
Communication—The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their interpretations, insights, analyses, and evaluations of the assigned literature. Click here for the English Department’s Home Page on Writing a Critical Analysis of Literature.
Aesthetic—The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their understanding of the elements of a “masterpiece” of young adult literature. The students will evaluate the lasting quality of literature from the formal and contextual elements embedded in the literature.
Ethics—The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their responses to the ethical questions and dilemmas posed in the assigned readings. Ethics is generally defined as the principles of conduct governing an individual or group; concerns for what is right or wrong, good or bad. The students will not plagiarize. Click here for the Viterbo University plagiarism statement. Click here for the English Department plagiarism statement. Click here for the Viterbo University Institute of Ethics in Leadership.
Cultural Sensitivity—The students will read various texts by diverse authors. The students will articulate in class and in assigned writing assignments their understanding of life values represented in different texts in relation to their own. Individual projects are designed to give the students an opportunity to move outside of their own culture and to study and interact with a new culture. Click here for the university’s statement on sexual harassment.

Course Requirements:

Attendance: 100 points (Students are permitted three unexcused absences during the semester)

Reflection Essays: 400 points (Four one-page reflection papers)

Midterm Exam: 200 points

Final Exam: 300 points

Course Schedule:

Week One: January 17

Introduction

Do you know how to read?

Benetton Power Point and Benetton Semiotics

How good is this stuff?

Read “The Body” by Stephen King and “Shaving” by Leslie Norris

Summary of “Shaving”

What is Young Adult Literature? "

Vandergrift's Young Adult Literature Page

Intro to Young Adult Literature

Young Adult Literature: What is It in Today's World

"Lifetime developmental tasks that confront adolescents"

Read the short essay on Structuralism

Weeks Two and Three: January 24, 31

What role does religion play in my life?

Read The Bronze Bow, Godless, and In the Name of God

Discussion questions on The Bronze Bow

Discussion questions on Godless

Elizabeth George Speare

Pete Hautman

“One University Under God”

A Teacher’s Guide to Religion in the Public Schools

First reflection paper on The Bronze Bow, Godless, or In the Name of God (100 points)

Weeks Four and Five: February 7, 14

Am I a racist?

Read Lockdown by Walter Dean Myers

Read One Crazy Summer by Rita Williams-Garcia

Click here for a Unit Plan on One Crazy Summer

Black Panther Party

What Was the Black Panther Party?

Read Monster by Walter Dean Myers

A web site on Walter Dean Myers
Discussion questions on Monster

Weeks Six and Seven: February 21, 28

Who Am I?

Read True Believer

Discussion questions on True Believer

Read an interview with Virginia Euwer Wolff

Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie

Discussion questions for Part-time Indian

Second reflection paper on True Believer or Part-time Indian (100 points)

Week Eight: Spring Break March 7

Weeks Nine and Ten: March 14, 21

What are my virtues?

Read The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Discussion questions for The Book Thief

Mark Zusak (author)

United States Holocaust Museum

Nazi Propaganda

Holocaust

Mein Kampf

Read Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork

Discussion questions for Marcelo in the Real World

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave

Plato—Book VII of The Republic

Midterm essay due on The Book Thief or Marcelo in the Real World (200 points)

Weeks Eleven and Twelve, March 28, April 4

Holes and Speak

Anderson's home page

A lesson plan and discussion questions for Speak

Discussion questions on Holes;

A gigantic list of palindromes

A variety of lesson plans on Holes

Holes and Speak have been made into motion pictures—view both of them and be prepared to discuss strengths and weaknesses of film adaptations of the novels.

Structuralism

Third reflection paper due on Holes or Speak (100 points)

Weeks Thirteen and Fourteen: April 11, 18

What is the past? What is the future?

Read Chains and Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson

The Revolution’s Black Soldiers

Discussion questions for Chains

Read Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Discussion questions for Ship Breaker

Easter Break: April 22, 25

Weeks Fifteen and Sixteen: April 27, May 2

What’s New in Young Adult Literature?