Critical Approaches to Children's Literature (now closed for 2012/13)
Full time Master of Philosophy (MPhil)
Part time Master of Education (MEd)
This specialist Masters route is aimed at applicants who already have knowledge of and interest in children's literature, and who want to develop expertise in the subject at Masters level. In this route, students will meet old favourites in fiction, film, poetry and picturebooks and make exciting new acquaintances. They will be introduced to topical debates on the nature and social function of this controversial and multifaceted kind of literature. They will also be provided with the tools for a critical assessment of texts written and marketed for a young audience.
It is essential to apply early for this course as no applications will be considered after the 19th March 2012.
Route Content for MPhil and MEd
In 2012-13, the route will comprise two modules, each running for a whole term (8 x 2 hours). One of those modules will be on Visual Texts for Children (see information below). Reference will also be made to writing for children during the course and students will have the opportunity to join informal writing and reading groups on children’s literature. In addition, there will be a choice of two elective courses (4 x 2 hours) which include children’s literature. The generic research training offered within the masters programme includes material relevant for the route.
The course focuses throughout on representations of childhood in texts, and examines what is meant by the contested term 'children's literature'. Participants will be expected to engage with some of the key debates in the field and to consider a range of theoretical perspectives – from Romanticism to reader-response theory; from gender issues to postmodernism; from historical studies and sociocultural viewpoints to semiotics – in addition to examining critically the views of young readers and their reading choices.
As well as considering the ‘classics’, texts studied include picturebooks, poetry, media texts and a wide range of fiction, including international literature and novels for young adults. Close textual study and the history of children's literature are embedded within the course, which also considers texts produced by ever-changing new technologies.
MEd students take the same course over two years on Wednesday afternoons from 2:00-7:00.
PGCE-M students take the taught course over one year on Wednesday afternoons from 2:00-7:00.
Course Description
Visual Texts for Children
This popular module concludes with an empirical study of children making meaning of multimodal texts. Students are prepared for this research by examining the range and scope of pictorial texts – from picturebooks to graphic novels – and by studying the relationship between image, printed word and layout. By the end of the module, they become analytical interpreters of picturebooks and understand more about how visual literacy develops in children.
Key areas of focus are likely to include:
- introduction to the role and scope of international picturebooks
- analysing postmodern picturebooks
- how children read pictures
- understanding multimodality and semiotic theory
- a collaborative project with artists on the MA in Children's Book Illustration at Anglia Ruskin University, including a joint seminar series
Other aspects of the course are likely to include:
- debates about what is children´s literature
- international classic fiction
- historical perspectives on fiction written for children
- some key genres such as adventure stories for girls and boys
- fairy tales, films and fantasy
- contemporary fiction for young adult readers
- contemporary and traditional poetry for children
- adaptations – how literary narratives are transformed into film versions
- the way childhood is represented in films and animations
- images of authority, play and subversion in fiction, film and poetry
What makes this Masters in Children's Literature distinctive?
As well as providing a strong grounding in critical perspectives, this unique interdisciplinary course offers several distinctive elements which distinguish it from other courses on offer in other universities :
- qualitative action research involving empirical work with children
- a strong emphasis on picture books and visual literacy
- coverage of genres such as poetry for children
- the opportunity to undertake writing for children within a supportive environment
- personal reflection via a reading autobiography and a working journal.
In addition, students are welcomed into a thriving research community with opportunities to interact with around a dozen students who have previously taken our MPhil route and are now embarked on doctoral research on children’s literature.
Assignments
The course is assessed through three assignments, each designed to be personally rewarding as well as professionally enlightening and intellectually challenging.
Essay 1
A theorised reading autobiography, focusing on texts for children with particular reference to changing constructions of childhood
Essay 2
An empirical study of children responding to a selected picturebook
Thesis
A topic of the student´s own choosing, which may be either a purely literary study or a small empirical research project
The Teaching Team
In this route you will meet an exceptional team of specialists in children's literature, including Gabrielle Cliff Hodges, Zoe Jaques, Louise Joy, Maria Nikolajeva, Morag Styles, David Whitley and Mary Anne Wolpert.
Route Convenor
MPhil and MEd programmes: Morag Styles – Professor of Children´s Poetry
The Research Environment
All students on the Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature course are automatically members of the Cambridge–Homerton Research and Teaching Centre for Children’s Literature which provides a superb study environment for all our graduate students in children’s literature.
What our students say ...
"Forum for stimulating debate – a new way of thinking and a great group of peers to share feedback with"
"Valuable and rewarding"
"Really wonderful learning environment"