ENH2990

Formative influences: children's fantasy narratives

H Scutter

8 points
* 2 hours per week
* First semester
* Clayton

Objectives On the successful completion of this subject students should have gained a familiarity with the contemporary canon of children's fantasies; an understanding of the cultural constructedness of the child reader and of childhood; and a grasp of the relevant theoretical approaches to the genre.

Synopsis Through a study of modern fantasy narratives for children, we will explore the oral and literary traditions of myth, hero legend and fairy tale which underpin adult and children's literature. Using such theoretical approaches as structuralism, psychoanalytic criticism, feminism and cultural studies, we will consider the shaping influences of traditional material as it is represented to children, and as it informs adult consciousness. The ideological assumptions implicit in cultural variants will be questioned as we trace narrative patterns to their sources in other and earlier cultures.

Assessment Seminar paper (1500 words) 20%
* Essay (2500 words): 40%
* Test (2 hours): 30%
* Participation 10%

Prescribed texts

Boston L The children of Green Knowe Puffin
Cooper S The dark is rising Puffin
Garner A The owl service Collins Lions
Hoban R The mouse and his child Penguin
Le Guin U A wizard of Earthsea Penguin
L'Engle M A wrinkle in time Puffin
Lewis C S The lion, the witch and the wardrobe Puffin
Mahy M The changeover Methuen/Puffin
Mayne W Earthfasts Red Fox
O'Brien R Mrs Frisby and the rats of NIMH Puffin
Tolkien J R R The hobbit Puffin

Recommended texts

Bettelheim B The uses of enchantment Thames and Hudson
Inglis F The promise of happiness CUP
Opie I The classic fairy tales OUP
Stephens J Language and ideology in children's fiction Longman
Zipes J Fairy tales and the art of subversion Routledge