A critical study of literature written for children or appropriated by adults for the nursery. The emphasis will be on distinguishing the characteristics and cultural significance of a variety of works from the medieval to the modern period.
This course takes as its focus the history of children's literature in Britain from the Middle Ages to the twentieth century, with an emphasis on nineteenth-century works for children.
The first half of the course concentrates on texts included in the anthology From Instruction to Delight and on John Bunyan's seventeenth-century allegory The Pilgrim's Progress, and is designed to survey the development of a literature shaped specifically for children from its beginnings to the Golden Age of the nursery in the mid-nineteenth century.
The second half of the course will explore one dominant genre in children's literature of the twentieth century: fantasy. Central to our study will be an examination of the construction of childhood across the centuries, consideration of the intersections and relationships between literature, politics, philosophy, commerce, religion, economics, art, and other cultural sites, and an investigation of the dynamic between literature written for adult audiences and books read by children.
As we work through our course we will interrogate hackneyed clichés and popular assumptions such as that the primary function of books read by children (past or present) is to stimulate the imagination of the child, that children's literature is simplistic, conservative, or moral, and that children are naturally sweet, innocent little angels.
This course is a critical study of literature written for children or appropriated by adults for the nursery. The emphasis will be on developing critical reading and writing skills, and on distinguishing the characteristics and cultural significance of a variety of works from the medieval to the post-modern period.
Forum Participation | 10% |
Formal Essay #1 | 15% |
Formal Essay #2 | 25% |
Proctored Final Exam | 50% |
**Evaluation Subject to Change**
Students must write their exam on the day and time scheduled by the University. The start time may vary slightly depending on the off-campus exam centre. Do not schedule vacations, appointments, etc., during the exam period.
CDS reserves the right to make changes to the required material list as received by the instructor before the course starts. Please refer to the Campus Bookstore website at http://www.campusbookstore.com/Textbooks/Search-Engine to obtain the most up-to-date list of required materials for this course before purchasing them.
Students will obtain their lesson notes and assignments from the course onQ site beginning the first day of term.
Anthology
This anthology provides the core material for the first half of the course, so students are encouraged to obtain a copy of the book as early as possible.
Required textbooks will also include a prescribed selection of the following individual works. The selection varies with each new course section, so consult the Campus Bookstore search engine for details of the textbook requirements for the upcoming session:
* Other editions of the texts are acceptable, although you may find it difficult to identify specific passages referenced in the course notes. The one exception is the anthology From Instruction to Delight. Many of the works required for this course are not available in the first edition of the book, so you are strongly discouraged from using it. There are some discrepancies between the second edition of 2004 and the third edition of 2008 recommended for this section of the course, but page numbers for both of these editions have been provided in the course notes, so either is acceptable. The Oxford edition of J.M. Barrie's work includes two novels: Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens and Peter and Wendy. Only the latter of these two is required for this course, and it is available in other editions sometimes simply entitled Peter Pan. You should also be aware that the 2002 edition of The Tale of Peter Rabbit features several illustrations which had not been included in editions of the tale published after 1903.
Page references are provided for both the 2001 Dover edition of The Happy Prince and Other Fairy Tales recommended for this course, and for the 1990 Signet Classic edition of Complete Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde published by the New American Library (1990). Both of these volumes are inexpensive, and either would be fine for the purposes of this course.
The form and content of your writing are inextricably entwined, and as you may expect in an English course of this level, your grade is dependent on the richness and originality of your ideas, the acuity of your critical analysis of the subject texts, and the clarity and precision of your language. Students in this course are strongly encouraged to procure a writing handbook or style guide such as A Canadian Writer’s Reference Like other level-200 courses offered by the Department of English, the course requires that all assignments conform with the MLA format for academic essays and source citation, so if you are not very familiar with these you should secure access to a writing handbook or similar reliable resource to ensure that your essays satisfy departmental requirements.
To complete the readings, assignments, and course activities, students can expect to spend, on average, about 10 - 12 hours per week (120 hours per term) on the course.
SOLUS is Queen’s Student On-Line University System. You’ll have access to a SOLUS account once you become a Queen’s student. You’ll use SOLUS to register for courses, add and drop courses, update your contact information, view financial and academic information, and pay your tuition.
onQ is Queen's online learning platform. You'll log into onQ to access your course. All materials related to your course—notes, readings, videos, recordings, discussion forums, assignments, quizzes, groupwork, tutorials, and help—will be on the onQ site.
Queen’s courses are weighted in credit units. A typical one-term course is worth 3.0 units, and a typical two-term course is worth 6.0 units. You combine these units to create your degree. A general (three-year) BA or BSc requires a total of 90 credit units.
To take an online course, you’ll need a high speed internet connection as well as a microphone and speakers to be able to watch videos, hear sounds, and participate in interactive online activities. A webcam is recommended but not necessary.
System Requirements:
See also Getting Started.
The deadlines for new applications to Queen’s Arts and Science Online courses are in our Upcoming Application Dates section.
Tuition fees vary depending when you start, your year, faculty, and program. Fees for Summer Term 2018 first-year Distance Career Arts & Science Domestic students are as follows: for a 3.0-unit course, $685.90; for a 6.0-unit course, $1371.80 See also Tuition and Fees.
The information below is intended for undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts and Science. Academic Regulations in other Faculties may differ.
| Letter Grade | Grade Point |
| A+ | 4.30 |
| A | 4.00 |
| A- | 3.70 |
| B+ | 3.30 |
| B | 3.00 |
| B- | 2.70 |
| C+ | 2.30 |
| C | 2.00 |
| C- | 1.70 |
| D+ | 1.30 |
| D | 1.00 |
| D- | 0.70 |
| F | 0.00 |
GPA Calculators
Have your SOLUS grade report handy and then follow the link to the Arts and Science GPA calculators.
How does this affect my academics?
See the GPA and Academic Standing page.
Follow the link above for an explanation of how the GPA system affects such things as the Dean’s Honour List, requirements to graduate, and academic progression.
Frequently Asked Questions on the Grading Scheme
Please follow this link to the FAQ's
All textbooks can be purchased at Queen’s Campus Bookstore.
All Queen’s Arts and Science Online courses are open to students at other universities. Before applying as a visiting student, request a Letter of Permission from your home university that states that you have permission to take the course and apply it to your degree. See also Apply.
Please see Queen’s policy statement on academic integrity for information on how to complete an online course honestly.
"This was my best course this term by far. It was hugely evident that Prof. Evans put a ton of work into our notes and correspondences. Very refreshing to see an instructor who actually cares that we learn something in the course and is willing to give so much wonderful feedback. TAs who marked my papers always left helpful comments as well. Overall just excellent!"
- Course evaluation, ENGL 237: Children's Literature (2014)
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