SYLLABUS

ENGLISH 3---
Literature for Adolescents
Semester of Offering – Face-to-face – Tues./Thurs. 2:00PM-3:20PM

COURSE OVERVIEW
Instructor
Dr. G. Alaric Williams
Email address:
Office hours:

Class meetings
Days: Tuesday and Thursday
Time: 2:00PM-3:20PM EDT
Location:

Course description
This course provides an overview of the literature for adolescents, commonly called
Young Adult Literature (YAL). As a literature course, students will learn about their own and
other cultures, particularly the experiences of adolescents from varying backgrounds, races,
genders, and identities. The course is framed in critical theories of the cultural construction of
adolescence, sociocultural theories of race, Posthumanism, and reader-transactional theories.
Students should expect to develop an understanding of answers to the following lines of
inquiry over the semester: 
 How is adolescence perceived or constructed in our current cultural matrix and how has
the current construction developed from historical beliefs about adolescence?
 How does literature represent, reify, or reconstruct beliefs about adolescence?
 How are beliefs about adolescence imbricated with cultural constructions of identity,
such as race, gender, and sexuality?
 What effects can adolescent literature have on adolescents’ beliefs about the world they
live in?
 What kinds of texts do adolescents read and enjoy and how do those texts
communicate ideologies to adolescents?
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Students will be investigating these questions through an online discussion-based

seminar in novels, graphic novels, and nonfiction texts, as well as critical and theoretical
articles. Students will be expected to respond to readings aesthetically and critically,
individually and with their classmates. While our investigation will draw on literary
understanding, you may also find it useful to draw from other lexicons of knowledge, such as
historical understanding, personal experience, visual literacy, and so forth. As literature for
adolescents is often understood in educational contexts, we will be discussing those concerns.
This is not, however, a pedagogical survey.
As literature for adolescents is a broad category, a one-semester introductory course
cannot represent all trends and genres. Selected texts come from a variety of genres and
represent a variety of identities, but not all possibilities can be included.

Course learning outcomes

Expected Learning Outcomes:
 Students learn to analyze, appreciate, and interpret significant literary works
 Through reading, discussing, and writing about literature, students learn to understand
and value the personal and social values of diverse cultures and identities
 Students examine and interpret how the human condition and human values are
explored through works of art, specifically literature written for or often read by
adolescents
 Students develop an understanding of the genres, formats, modes of thought, and
attributes of young adult literature.
 Students critically examine and interpret a variety of literary, visual, and cultural texts to
investigate beliefs regarding adolescence and its nature and the influences of such
beliefs and understandings on literature written for and about youth.

COURSE MATERIALS AND TECHNOLOGIES

Books and Other Media
You will need access to the materials below at various points in the semester. You must have
access to each of the books on the required list for the duration of the semester. If
money is a concern, you should use local and university library services as you can for these
materials Many of these books are available at local public libraries, some are available as
audiobooks, and they can also be found at local or campus bookstores. If a particular edition or
format is specified, you MUST use that edition or format for the course. In the event of difficult-
to-acquire materials, your professor will provide you with information on how to access them.

REQUIRED
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 Acevedo, Elizabeth. The Poet X. HarperCollins, 2018.

 Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1999.

 Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games. Scholastic, 2008.

 Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War. Pantheon Books, 1974

 Green, John. The Fault in Our Stars. Dutton Books, 2012.

 Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders. Viking Press, 1967.

 King, A.S. I Crawl Through It. Little, Brown Books, 2015.

 Older, Daniel José. Shadowshaper. 2015.

 Power, Rory. Wilder Girls. Penguin Random House, 2019.

 Stevenson, Noelle. Nimona. HarperCollins, 2015. (print copy recommended)

 Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. HarperCollins, 2017.

 Walden, Tillie. On a Sunbeam. Macmillan Publishers, 2018. (print copy recommended)

 Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. First Second Books, 2006. (print copy
recommended)

 Secondary and critical readings will be made available through the university library

GRADING AND FACULTY RESPONSE

How your grade is calculated

ASSIGNMENT POINTS

Attendance and Participation * (See description below)

1-Page Exegesis Presentation 50 (16.67%)

Representations of Diversity Paper 50 (16.67%)

Ideologies of Adolescence Paper 50 (16.67%)

Close Reading Paper 50 (16.67%)

Reading and Discussion Journal 50 (16.67%)

Final Exam 50 (16.67%)

Total 300 (100%)

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See course schedule below for due dates.

Assignment Descriptions
ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION (*See description for impact on grade)
You are expected to attend and participate in class every scheduled class day. You
should be present, have read the necessary materials, be attentive, be ready to answer
questions if I call on you, and actively speak in class discussions. Class discussions are low
stakes – that means that your answers and comments do not need to be correct but should
represent a sincere attempt to engage with the material. The more effort you put into your
participation, the more you will learn. Part of good class participation is listening to what your
classmates say, so if you are the type of person who tends to talk often in discussions, make
sure that you allow others opportunities to speak as well.
You may be absent up to 3 times without any penalty (these 3 unexcused absences can
be for any reason). For each absence after the 3 rd, your final grade in the course will be
reduced by a third of a letter grade (A to A-, B+ to B). 10 or more absences, even if they are
excused, will result in an automatic failure of the course, unless you have spoken with me and
we have agreed to a plan for making up the absences.
Each day of non-participation will count as 1/2 of an absence. I will sometimes specify a
specific mode of participation in class as mandatory for that day (such as speaking during a
class discussion). Similarly, any day in which you attend less than ¾ of the class will also
count as ½ of an absence. Additionally, periodic tardiness or regularly leaving class early will
count as ½ of an absence. A lack of class readiness (such as not reading the book) will also
count as ½ of an absence.
You are responsible for your attendance and participation in the class. You should be
aware of how many absences you have accumulated during the semester; however, if I notice
consistent absences or that you are accumulating absences through non-participation, I may
reach out to you. If your attendance becomes a problem, communicate with me so that we can
arrange for an alternative learning structure to make up for the learning you are missing out on
in class.
In emergency situations, when your attendance at our scheduled meeting is impossible,
you may be able to receive an excused absence. Excused absences do not count against your
grade at the end of the semester (unless you have 10 or more total absences, which is an
automatic failure). Any excused absences must receive instructor approval and must be
documented. Examples of reasons an absence can be excused include attendance of a
funeral for a close family member, hospitalization, a flare-up of a disability registered with the
university, or severe weather which prevents your attendance (such as a blizzard). If you
experience an emergency situation that will prevent your attendance at class, send me an
email with the appropriate documentation and explanation as soon as you become aware of
the circumstance (this can be two separate emails if the documentation comes after class).
There are additional reasons for excused absences, such as religious observance that
prevents your attendance or participation in approved university procedures or sports events.
Some circumstances never function as excused absences (work or work training, non-
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emergent medical meetings or procedures which should be scheduled so as not to interfere

with our class, labs or exams from other classes that are scheduled at times different from the
official university schedule); in these circumstances, you will need to either take an absence in
this course or work with the other organization to schedule a different time.

1-PAGE EXEGESIS (50 points, 16.67% of final grade)

You will deeply analyze a small section of one of the literary works we read this
semester. In a 12-15-minute presentation, you will dig into the depths of meaning, the writing
style, the word choice, the literary techniques, themes, motifs, artwork, etc. that are contained
in the passage. You should choose a passage that is significant to the type of analysis you
want to do or the work as a whole. After the presentation, you will lead a class discussion of
the whole work which originates from the passage you analyzed.
This is a group assignment in which you will be working in groups of 3-4 students. As a
group assignment, you will receive a composite grade of your group score and your individual
contribution. See my guidelines for group work handout for more information.
The length of the passage you analyze is determined by its format. In a graphic novel,
your passage should be exactly 1 page. In a prose novel, the passage should be 1 paragraph
or no more than 10 consecutive sentences. In a collection of poetry or a verse novel, it should
be 1 poem, up to 1 page in length (or 1 page of a longer poem). In a film, it should be a clip no
longer than 40 seconds. In other formats, choose a passage of equivalent or shorter length.
Your presentation will be graded based on the following criteria:
1. Depth – the analysis goes beyond surface-level meanings to explore deep
ideological and literary meanings.
2. Accuracy – the analysis is brilliant and clever, adeptly applying interpretative
practices to come to reasonable, believable, and useful interpretations.
3. Originality – The analysis does not repeat or replicate any of the interpretations that
we have read or discussed in class, nor does it rely heavily on published or readily
available interpretations.
4. Thoroughness – The presentation addresses multiple specific details in the passage.
It includes all the important components in the passage.
5. Critical Thinking – The video represents significant critical thinking and effective
analysis. The argumentation is effective and accomplishes high-quality intellectual
work.
6. Presentation and Discussion Quality – The presentation is smooth and well-
practiced. Helpful visual aids are provided. The discussion is led effectively using
good questions and topics for consideration. In the discussion, it is clear that your
group values the ideas of your classmates, even when they differ from the argument
you have made about the book.
During the second week of class, your group will sign up for a day to present and lead
the discussion.

REPRESENTATIONS OF DIVERSITY PAPER (50 points, 16.67% of final grade)

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In a 4-5-page paper (or equivalent length in another format approved by the professor),
analyze how one literary work that we read for class represents one culture (LGBTQ culture,
for instance) or identity (such as autistic). Your paper should be an argumentative, analytical
paper that uses critical thinking and evidence from literary work to answer questions such as
the following:
1. How accurately does the work represent the culture or identity?
2. How well does the representation of the culture or identity serve as a mirror or
window to readers?
3. Is the representation of the culture or identity positive, negative, or mixed, and in
what ways?
4. What reasons would this work have for being proliferated or censored in schools,
libraries, or other places? In other words, why should this book be (or not be) read
and who would want it read (or not read)?
5. What is the identity or culture of the target audience of this book (the ideal reader),
and what evidence in this book gestures towards this audience?
In your paper, use specific details from the work of literature and also from secondary
materials if helpful (such as reviews or peer-reviewed articles). The paper will need to be high-
quality writing that has been thoroughly revised and edited, formatted according to MLA style,
and written in an academic tone with an informed audience in mind (your professor).
This is 1 of 3 major papers in the course. You can choose the order in which you turn in
the papers, one at each of three due dates during the semester. You must turn in one of each
kind of paper and clearly delineate which one it is (on an extra line in the heading before the
date – not in your title). The paper needs to discuss one of the books we have read for the
course in the 5 weeks of class before it is due. Each paper must discuss a different book.

IDEOLOGIES OF ADOLESCENCE PAPER (50 points, 16.67% of final grade)

In a 4-5-page paper (or equivalent length in another format approved by the professor),
analyze how one literary work that we read for class represents adolescents/ce. Your paper
should be an argumentative, analytical paper that uses critical thinking and evidence from
literary work to answer questions such as the following:
1. To what extent does the representation adhere to or depart from Nancy Lesko’s 4
Confident Characterizations of Adolescence (or other common understandings of
adolescents)?
2. How does this literary work appeal to adolescent readers?
3. What makes this a work of young adult literature? In what contexts do you think that
adolescents would frequently read this book?
4. What does this book represent as adolescence, or as the adolescent experience?
5. What is this book’s underlying ideology of adolescence?
In your paper, use specific details from the work of literature and also from secondary
materials if helpful (such as reviews or peer-reviewed articles). The paper will need to be high-
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quality writing that has been thoroughly revised and edited, formatted according to MLA style,
and written in an academic tone with an informed audience in mind (your professor).
This is 1 of 3 major papers in the course. You can choose the order in which you turn in
the papers, one at each of three due dates during the semester. You must turn in one of each
kind of paper and clearly delineate which one it is (on an extra line in the heading before the
date – not in your title). The paper needs to discuss one of the books we have read for the
course in the 5 weeks of class before it is due. Each paper must discuss a different book.

CLOSE READING PAPER (50 points, 16.67% of final grade)

In a 4-5-page paper (or equivalent length in another format approved by the professor),
perform a close reading of one literary work that we read for class. Your paper should be an
argumentative, analytical paper that uses critical thinking and evidence from literary work. You
can use any method of literary analysis with which you are familiar (such as feminist criticism,
structuralist analysis, or posthumanist analysis). Papers should represent original thinking
about the work and make a single cohesive argument.
In your paper, use specific details from the work of literature and also from secondary
materials if helpful (such as reviews or peer-reviewed articles). The paper will need to be high-
quality writing that has been thoroughly revised and edited, formatted according to MLA style,
and written in an academic tone with an informed audience in mind (your professor).
This is 1 of 3 major papers in the course. You can choose the order in which you turn in
the papers, one at each of three due dates during the semester. You must turn in one of each
kind of paper and clearly delineate which one it is (on an extra line in the heading before the
date – not in your title). The paper needs to discuss one of the books we have read for the
course in the 5 weeks of class before it is due. Each paper must discuss a different book.

READING AND DISCUSSION JOURNAL (50 points, 16.67% of final grade)

You will keep a reading and discussion journal over the course of the semester. You
should make at least 12 entries in your journal, worth 4 points each. Twice during the
semester, I will check in on your journal to ensure that it is up-to-date and doing the right kinds
of work. Each check-in is worth 1 point.
Each entry has two parts: a reading response/discussion question and a
class/discussion response. For the first part, respond to the readings for the week. Your
response should include the beginnings of a literary analysis and a relevant discussion
question. For the second part, record insights that you gained in class. You will need to have at
least 3 specific insights. The first part should be completed before our class meetings for the
week and the second part should be completed during or after our class meetings for the
week.
Half of your grade for each week’s entry is completion (1 point for completing the
reading response and 1 point for the discussion response). The other 2 points each week are
based on the quality of your entry. Your entries should represent critical thinking and learning
about the week’s topic and they should contribute to effective class discussion.
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FINAL EXAM (50 points, 16.67% of final grade)

One of the objectives of this course is the acquisition of knowledge about young adult
literature. The final exam will test your knowledge of the genres, trends, themes, and
characteristics of YAL. The exam is a timed, open-notes test. You are allowed your reading
and discussion journal, any work you completed for the class, all secondary materials we read,
and one of the books we read during the semester (for part 3). You are not allowed to have
any of the other books we read during the semester.
Part 1 of the exam will be an identification portion, in which you will be provided with
quotes from the books we read during the semester. You will need to identify the book, its
genre(s), and briefly explain the relevance of the quote or book to young adult literature as a
whole.
Part 2 of the exam will ask you to demonstrate knowledge of adolescent reading
practices and important theoretical understandings of young adult literature.
Part 3 of the exam asks you to justify one book that we read during the semester as
canonical young adult literature. You will need to answer, in essay form (approximately 2
pages), what makes this book an exemplar of the literature written for or read by adolescents.
Parts 1 and 2 must be completed within the allotted time, but you may continue to work
on part 3 after the allotted time through the end of finals week (you can also work on part 3
prior to the beginning of the exam period).

REVISION OF PAPER (Optional assignment)

You are allowed to revise one major written assignment in the semester, which must be
completed by the beginning of finals. To qualify for a revision, the original submission must
have been turned in on time, represent an honest effort at the assignment, and have received
a grade of B+ or lower (and you must have turned something in originally). Revisions should
be extensive and represent how you have progressed in your learning over the course of the
semester. You can choose a different text or passage to analyze for your resubmission. You
must turn in a 1-page letter describing what you have changed in the new submission and how
that represents additional learning in support of the class’s learning objectives. The highest
grade a revision can obtain is a 90%.

COURSE SCHEDULE
Readings Due by Class Start Assignments Due at the
Week Dates Topics (Bring YA books to class BOTH Beginning of Class
days of the week)

1 Adolescence In Class: Read selections from Act

and Literature Your Age! (Lesko)
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Readings Due by Class Start Assignments Due at the

Week Dates Topics (Bring YA books to class BOTH Beginning of Class
days of the week)

“Introduction” (Hintz and

Tribunella)

First entry in reading and

Hinton, S. E. The Outsiders
discussion journal

“The Youth Lens” (Petrone et

al.)
From Romance
2
to Realism “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding
Glass Doors” (Bishop)

“Leaning in: A Student’s Guide

to Social Justice Content”
(DiAngelo and Sensoy)

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U

Give
From Realism
3
to Social Justice
“The Danger of a Single Story” Group 1: 1-Page Exegesis
(Adichie)

Older, Daniel José.

Shadowshaper
4 Urban Fantasy
“Diversity is Not Enough” Group 2: 1-Page Exegesis
(Older)

Selections from Making

Comics (McCloud – read first!)

Yang, Gene Luen. American

Born Chinese
Graphic Novels
5 Your choice of one of the
and Comics
Selections from “Same three papers
Difference: Graphic Alterity in (adolescence, diversity,
the Work of Gene Luen or close reading)
Yang…” (Gardner)
Group 3: 1-Page Exegesis

6 The Trauma Anderson, Laurie Halse.

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Readings Due by Class Start Assignments Due at the

Week Dates Topics (Bring YA books to class BOTH Beginning of Class
days of the week)

Speak.

“Like Falling Up into a Group 4: 1-Page Exegesis

Novel Storybook: Trauma and
Intertextual Repetition in
Laurie Halse Anderson’s
Speak” (Tannert-Smith)

Acevedo, Elizabeth. The Poet Reading and Discussion

X Journal Check
The Verse
7
Novel
“Narratives of Struggle” Group 5: 1-Page Exegesis
(hooks)

King, A.S. I Crawl Through It.

The School
8
Story
“Suspending Damage” (Tuck) Group 6: 1-Page Exegesis

Stevenson, Noelle. Nimona.

Your choice of one of the

“To ‘All the Monster Girls’: remaining 2 of 3 papers
9 Rebellion
Violence and Non-Normativity (adolescence, diversity,
in Noelle Stevenson’s Nimona” close reading)
(Precup)
Group 7: 1-Page Exegesis

Cormier, Robert. The

Chocolate War.

Power and Selections from Disturbing the Sign up for next week’s
10
Bleak Lit Universe (Trites) conference in class

Selections from Power, Voice, Group 8: 1-Page Exegesis

and Subjectivity (Nikolajeva)

11 Dystopia Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger

Games.

Conference with No class meeting today Attending your

Professor (individual conferences with scheduled conference
counts as attendance
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Readings Due by Class Start Assignments Due at the

Week Dates Topics (Bring YA books to class BOTH Beginning of Class
days of the week)

the professor instead)

Reading and Discussion

Power, Rory. Wilder Girls.
Journal Check
12 Horror
“Restorying the Self” (Thomas Group 10: 1-Page
and Stornaiuolo) Exegesis

Walden, Tillie. On a Sunbeam.

The third of the three

papers (adolescence,
13 Romance
diversity, close reading)
“New Hopescapes” (Toliver)
Group 11: 1-Page
Exegesis

Green, John. The Fault in Our

Popular YAL
Stars.
14
Turn in Reading and
YAL in Review “Against YA” (Graham)
Discussion Journals

By start of this week:

Take final exam (turn in part 3 by
Finals Final Revision of a Major
the end of finals week)
Assignment