Hollins University 

Department/Program:
English

Institution Address:
Hollins University
P. O. Box 9678
Roanoke, VA
24020
USA

Degree(s) Granted:
M.A.
M.F.A.

Faculty involved in the program:
Amanda Cockrell, Director acockrell@hollins.edu
Michelle Abate, Assistant Professor of English
Julie Pfeiffer, Associate Professor of English

Courses offered:
ENG 510: Creative Writing Seminar: Children’s Literature
A workshop course in the writing of imaginative literature for children — picture books, poetry, fiction, drama, and creative nonfiction — with some study of published works in the appropriate genre. May be taken for more than one year for credit.

ENG 528: Children’s Book Artists
The role of art in children’s literature; a survey of traditional and contemporary works emphasizing but not limited to the European and American tradition; an examination of how artists interpret and reinterpret the text.

ENG 529: Children and Poetry
Historical and critical approaches to British and American poetry for children, including religious and didactic verse; women poets “lost from the nursery” in the 19th century; the influence of black poetry (including performance poetry) on writing for children; nonsense; nursery rhymes and the oral tradition; and contemporary trends in children’s poetry in Britain and America, including “urchin verse.”

ENG 535: Traditions and Adaptations in Literature for Young Children
Modern literature for young children as it re-creates and adapts a variety of literary traditions originating in older oral and written sources. Alphabet books, nursery rhymes, folktales, ballads and legends, historical picture books, animal tales and other forms of fantasy, with some consideration of dramatic and film adaptations of traditional stories. In 2005 the course will focus on folklore and children’s books of southern Appalachia, comparing regional tales and books with parallel stories in other traditions.

ENG 536: The Fantastic in Children’s Literature
The nature of the fantastic in children’s literature, from 19th-century classics through Pooh and Oz to works by Sendak, Cameron, L’Engle, Le Guin, and the young adult science fiction and fantasy of Heinlein and Garner. Offered in 2006.

ENG 538: Minority Images in Children’s Literature
The imaging of American minority groups in picture books and novels for children and young adults.

ENG 539: Children’s Literature and Critical Theory
An introduction to literary theory; an examination of major 20th-century critical and theoretical trends and how they have affected and continue to affect children’s literature. Offered in 2006.

ENG 541: Exploring The Boundaries: Books For And About Boys
Writing concerned primarily with the maturation of boys and designed explicitly or implicitly for a reading audience of boys, from the beginnings of children’s literature to the present. An examination of the ideas about gender, reading and writing that led to a genre called the “boys’ book,” the issues of masculinity, sexuality, and socialization that permeate the “boys’ book,” and the developments that have tended to de-emphasize gender-specific reading audiences in the 20th century.

ENG 542: History and Criticism of Children’s Literature
An introduction to British and American literature for children, from its roots in the oral tradition and medieval literature through 20th-century works. Required for all students. Offered every year. Offered in 2006.

ENG 544: Children’s Film
An exploration of films produced primarily for juvenile audiences, with particular attention to the films’ entertainment and didactic value, the treatment of controversial themes, and the depiction of children.

ENG 545: Children’s Literature in Translation
Is translated children’s literature a means of bridging cultural differences or of obscuring them? What survives in the process of translation, and what is the spectrum of choices along which translators of children’s literature must decide to place themselves? Knowledge of one or more languages besides English is desirable, but not necessary.

ENG 546: The Modern Young Adult Novel
A chronological survey of novels published for and about teenagers since The Catcher in the Rye, from modern classics to current attention getters. Is there really such a thing as “young adult” literature? How might we read it as scholars, critics, and writers? How does it shape perceptions of gender, race, and class?

ENG 550: Special Topic: The Rise (and Fall) of the Family Story
Before the advent of YA problem novels and the resurgence of fantasy, the dominant mode of writing for children was arguably the family story: a low-key, often humorous depiction of a group of middle-class children within (or adventuring out of) a realistic family setting In this course, we will look at the ways family stories reinforce or challenge ideas about childhood, education, family structure, gender, and ethnicity. We will see what kinds of narrative possibilities might be offered within an essentially undramatic situation. We will look at reasons for the decline of the form and at its influence on other forms such as the problem story, mystery, fantasy, and historical fiction. Readings will include critical studies by Eleanor Cameron and Marcus Crouch as well as a range of classic family fiction.

ENG 558: Myth and Folktale: Children’s Literature
An examination of myths and folktales from diverse cultures and the ways in which they express and shape collective values, from the Grimm Brothers to African-American and Caribbean folktales.

ENG 563: Gender and Identity in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Fantasy literature has always been a powerful tool for examining how we acquire identities. Science fiction writers have, in the last decades, begun to explore implications of and alternatives to our culture’s gender divisions. In this course we will survey the way children’s fantasy and science fiction.

ENG 572: Special Topic: Storytelling
This class will provide a brief history of storytelling as it has developed in the United States, focusing particularly on storytellers who came out of the public library traditions, but also discussing traditional storytellers and storytellers with theatrical backgrounds. Students will be introduced to techniques for selecting and learning stories. Performance techniques will be demonstrated by the instructor. Some time will be devoted to using props such as puppets, felt boards, and various objects as a way to enrich the story experience for very young children or the disabled. Students will be expected to read certain texts on the art of storytelling, to familiarize themselves with traditional folktales, to select appropriate stories for telling, and to learn and perform as least three stories for the class.

ENG 573: Gender and Girls' Fiction
This course uses contemporary theories about gender as a framework for readings of classic texts for girls. Gender theory leads us to new perspectives on both girls' fiction itself and scholarly criticism of that fiction.

ENG 583: Advanced Creative Writing Tutorial
Graduate tutorial seminar in the generation, examination, and interpretation of texts in children's literature in the light of literary history and theory with attention to the writing of the students in the class. The exact contents of any given seminar will be determined by the needs and interests of its members. Offered every year. Limited to students in the M.F.A. program in children's literature.

ENG 599: Thesis
Students may choose either a scholarly or a creative thesis. A scholarly thesis consists of 10,000 to 20,000 words, exclusive of the bibliography. More than just a synthesis of criticism, it must have some element of original contribution. It must be text-based rather than child-based; i.e., it may not be pedagogical. It may be: critical, historical, analytical, literary, or an addition to the genre with a critical introduction. It should contain a substantial bibliography which is as complete as possible. A creative thesis consists of a minimum of 17,000 words. It may consist of fiction, poetry, drama, or literary nonfiction for children.

For more information:
http://www.hollins.edu/grad/childlit/childlit.htm