Children’s Literature
Term 2
TTh, 9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
This course takes as its starting point the idea that much contemporary young adult (YA) fiction sees surveillance as a central, intensely problematic fact of modern life. With that in mind, we will look at how recent YA novels explore both the danger and liberating possibilities of surveillance in a digital age. Some of these present the interplay between terrorism, state surveillance, and civil rights; others focus on voluntary peer-to-peer surveillance through social media; and yet others consider the digital surveillance of consumers by corporations. In each case we will consider the teen subjects’ responses to being watched, and the role these responses play in forming civic and personal identity. Readings will in all likelihood include novels by Lois Lowry, Cory Doctorow, J. K. Rowling, Suzanne Collins, and M. T. Anderson.
