LIS 304LEA: Literature and Resources for Young Adults SPRING 2003 (0

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Dominican University Mission: Dominican University, a comprehensive Catholic institution sponsored by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, prepares candidates to pursue truth, to give compassionate service and to participate in the creation of a more just and humane world. The University Motto, Caritas et Veritas, characterizes the essence of this mission.

Dominican University

Graduate School of Library and Information Science

LIS722 01: Library Materials for Young Adults

Spring 2010

Mondays, 6-9p.m.

Contact Info:

Janice M. Del Negro

Crown 323

708.524.6871

[email protected]

Office Hours (appointments strongly suggested):

Mondays and Tuesdays, 3:30-4:30p.m.

Other times by appointment

The goal of this course is to provide graduate library school students with an understanding of the scope of contemporary young adult literature in the United States, to acquaint them with the tools necessary to effectively address young adult literature collection development issues, and to kindle the enthusiasm and intellectual curiosity needed to pursue mastery of this ever-burgeoning field.

Reaching this goal will enable students to achieve the following objectives:

• To arrive at a working definition of young adults (YA) and YA literature
• To gain an understanding of the history of YA literature
• To become familiar with a range of authors, works, & genres for YAs
• To gain experience in discussing YA literature & resources
• To apply the skills, techniques, and established criteria for evaluating, reviewing, and selecting young adult books
• To demonstrate knowledge of print and electronic professional journals and collection development resources that support the evaluation, selection, and discussion of YA literature
• To become familiar with techniques for introducing literature to YAs
• To identify and discuss literary and societal trends and issues, including intellectual freedom, affecting work with young adults in libraries and schools
• To gain an understanding of and familiarity with forms of popular culture oriented toward and appealing to young adults

Books for Required Reading (see schedule/reading list):

There is no textbook for LIS722. You do not necessarily have to buy the books for required reading; many of the titles can be found in the public library. If you wish to own the books, many are available in paperback and can be purchased at trade bookstores or online from amazon.com. Amazon.com is convenient and less expensive, especially if you are willing to buy used books.

A stylemanual (MLA, APA, etc.) for citations, footnotes, etc. is strongly encouraged.

Course Requirements/Assignments

Come to every class on time prepared to participate in discussions and activities related to the assigned books and any other assignments, including the examination of assigned websites. Open discussion is the rule in my class; any question relevant to the topic at hand is welcome. Through discussion students demonstrate that they have read and reflected upon the materials assigned, and contribute to an atmosphere of open inquiry that facilitates the learning process.Class participation is worth 25% of your grade. Infrequent class participation will substantially lower your overall grade.

Assignments

Complete the following projects to hand in and/or present in class; an assignment sheet with directions and expectations will be handed out for each project.

1) Book Reviews (6): 30% (due February 8, February 22, March 1, March 15, March 29, and April 5)

2) Issues/Themes in YA Lit Presentation (with partner); topic to be assigned: 20% (sign up for date)

3) Thematic Dyad Comparison Paper; 25% (due April 19)

4) Class participation,including Mock Printz Discussion on May 3 (25%)

Grading

All assignments must be turned in by the due date in order to receive full credit. Due dates are not flexible unless an agreement is made with the instructor at least 24 hours in advance of class time on the due date. Emergencies will be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Oral presentations are graded on the speaker’s ability to connect with the audience, organization of information, use of language, fluency, use of visual aids, and adherence to time limits.

Grades for written assignments are based on clarity of writing, comprehensive attention to both the topic and the assignment requirements, quality of work, and visible demonstration of effort.

Professional, grammatically correct writing is expected. To state this requirement plainly, spelling, punctuation, and grammar count. If this is a problem, find someone whose skills you trust to proofread your written work, or go to the Academic Resource Center (Lower Level, Parmer Hall, 708/524-6682) for assistance. Please remember that spell-check is fallible.

For a refresher course on grammar and punctuation, see the following:

Gordon, Elizabeth. The Deluxe Transitive Vampire: The Ultimate Handbook of Grammar for the Innocent, the Eager, and the Doomed. Pantheon Books, 1993.

Strunk, William. The Elements of Style. 4th Edition. Longman, 2000.

Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Gotham Books, 2003.

Class participation is worth 25% of your grade. Infrequent class participation will substantially lower your overall grade. Class participation will be evaluated as follows:

• A: Excellent, consistent, voluntary participation grounded in thorough analysis, evaluation, and synthesis of assigned reading and integration of additional materials. Shows initiative by posing and answering questions. Facilitates ongoing discussion both in class and on discussion board. Keeps analysis focused, responds thoughtfully to other students' comments and attempts to answer their questions. In class, contributes to collective understanding. Discovers, interprets and incorporates material that is not assigned and reviews additional recommended materials.

• A-: Demonstrates good preparation; knows readings well and has contemplated their implications; offers interpretations and analysis of readings and materials beyond “just the facts.” Discussion board posts are similarly thoughtful and make associations between readings. Contributions both in-class and on discussion board go beyond the obvious, indicating interest in and understanding of terms and concepts. Shows initiative – poses and answers questions.

• B: Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of readings beyond repeating basic facts by consistently and voluntarily contributing to discussion; responds to others’ comments; asks constructive questions; offers and supports suggestions. Average but timely discussion board participation.

• C: Does not voluntarily contribute to discussion, but contributes to a moderate degree when called on. Knows basic facts of readings, but does not show evidence of interpretation. Rarely asks questions in class; slow to post on discussion board

• D: Present, not disruptive. Infrequent involvement in discussion; responds when called on but does not offer much. Comments do not rely on assigned reading. Limited or untimely posts to discussion board.

• F: Absent, or present/disruptive. Disruptive is defined as engaging in standards of conduct inappropriate to a community of scholars. If you are significantly late to class without prior excuse, notification or adequate explanation, it is equivalent to being present/disruptive.

Technus Interruptus Policy:

• All members of the class (including the professor) are expected to turn off all cell phones, pagers, and any other electronic equipment during class so that full attention can be given to the work at hand. Anyone (this includes the professor) whose cell phone, pager,etc. goes off during class must bring treats for the class the following week.

• If you are using a laptop and are linked to a wireless network during class, woe betide you if the professor catches you doing something that is not class related.

E-Mail: All e-mail communication will be sent to your Dominican e-mail address.

Format for Written Assignments

Written work must be double-spaced with 1 or 1.5 inch margins and no less than 12 point type. Exception to 12 point rule: please include your name in 10 point type in the footer of all written assignments. No title page is required. Your name, the class number (LIS 722 01), and the name of the assignment must be single-spaced on the upper left hand corner of your written work.

Academic Honesty and Integrity

"All students of the GSLIS are expected to observe high standards of academic honesty and integrity. Any student whose conduct violates such standards may be subject to disciplinary action as determined by due process." (GSLIS Bulletin, p. 48)

Plagiarism is unethical and unprofessional and will result in project failure. Each student is responsible for understanding what plagiarism is and how to avoid it. See Purdue University's "Avoiding Plagiarism," or Indiana University's "How to Recognize Plagiarism", if you are unsure about what is and what is not considered acceptable behavior when using other people's words and ideas.

Strip published Monday, October 23, 2006

Used with permission

The GSLIS Grading Policy states that compliance with the parameters of an assignment, “good, solid work” that “demonstrates strong comprehension of the course materials,” is a B+. Class assignments that, in addition to meeting the minimum requirements, manifest an understanding of the place of the assignment in the greater context of the course and the profession, will earn an A. See policy for additional clarification.

GSLIS DOMINICAN GRADING POLICY (Effective 12/15/2004)

Why do children want to grow up? Because they experience their lives as constrained by immaturity and perceive adulthood as a condition of greater freedom and opportunity. But what is there today, in America, that very poor and very rich adolescents want to do but cannot do? Not much: they can "do" drugs, "have" sex, "make" babies, and "get" money (from their parents, crime, or the State). For such adolescents, adulthood becomes synonymous with responsibility rather than liberty. Is it any surprise that they remain adolescents?

~Thomas Szasz

Schedule and Readings

January 18: Introduction to course

Read for January 18:

Blume, Judy. Forever. Bradbury Press, 1975.

Daly, Maureen. Seventeenth Summer. Dodd, Mead, 1942.

Hinton, S.E. The Outsiders. Dell, 1967.

Lipsyte, Robert. The Contender. Harper, 1967.

Zindel, Paul. The Pigman. Bantam, 1968.

January 25: the Rise of YA Literature

Read:

Block, Francesca Lia. Weetzie Bat. Harper, 1989.

Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street.Arte Publico, 1984.

Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate War. Dell, 1974.

Hamilton, Virginia. Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush. Philomel, 1982.

Kerr, M.E. Dinky Hocker Shoots Smack. Harper & Row, 1972.

Mohr, Nicholasa. El Bronx Remembered.Harper & Row, 1975.

February 1: Journeys

Read 4:

Bradbury,Jennifer. Shift. Atheneum, 2008.

de la Pena, Matt. Mexican Whiteboy. Delacorte. 2008.

Hwa, Kim Dong.The Color of Earth;tr. from the Korean by Lauren Na;First Second, 2009.

Myers, Walter. Monster. HarperCollins, 1999.

Oaks, J. Adams. Why I Fight. Jackson/Atheneum, 2009.

Wolf, Allan. Zane's Trace. Candlewick Press, 2007.

Recommended add’l reading (like you have time):

Anderson, LaurieHalse. Chains. Simon & Schuster, 2008.

Bauer, Joan. Hope Was Here. Putnam, 2000.

Beaudoin, Sean. Going Nowhere Faster. Little, Brown, 2007.

Belton, Sandra. Store-Bought Baby. Greenwillow, 2006.

Brooks, Martha. True Confessions of a Heartless Girl. Farrar, 2002.

Crutcher, Chris. Deadline.Greenwillow Books, 2007.

McGowan, Anthony. Jack Tumor. Farrar, 2009.

Stratton, Allan. Chanda's Secrets. Annick, 2004

Tan, Shaun. The Arrival. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 2007.

Watts, Julia. Finding H. F. Alyson, 2001.

Weaver, Will. Full Service.Farrar, 2005.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Miracle’s Boys. Putnam, 2000.

February 8: Morality Tales

Read 4:

Anderson, Laurie Halse. Speak. FSG, 1999.

Hautman, Pete. Godless. Simon & Schuster, 2004.

Juby, Susan. Getting the Girl: A Guide to Private Investigation, Surveillance and Cookery. Harper, 2008.

Lynch, Chris. Inexcusable. Atheneum, 2005.

Ruby, Laura. Bad Apple.HarperTeen, 2009.

Stork, Francisco X. Marcelo in the Real World. Scholastic/Arthur A. Levine, 2009.

Recommended add’l reading:

Alvarez, Julia . Before We Were Free. Knopf, 2002.

Cook, Eileen.What Would Emma Do?Simon Pulse, 2009.

Deuker, Carl. Painting the Black. Houghton Mifflin, 1997.

Dowd, Siobhan. Bog Child. Random House/David Fickling Books. 2008.

Hautman, Pete.How to Steal a Car.Scholastic, 2009.

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. Simon & Schuster, 2003.

Naidoo, Beverley. The Other Side of Truth. HarperCollins, 2001.

Picoult, Jodi. My Sister’s Keeper. Atria Books, 2004.

Trueman, Terry. Stuck in Neutral. HarperCollins, 2000.

Volponi, Paul. Black and White. Viking, 2005.

Warman, Jessica. Breathless.Walker, 2009.

Williams-Garcia, Rita. Jumped. HarperCollins, 2009.

Zusak, Markus. I Am the Messenger. Knopf, 2005.

February 15: Drugs, Sex, and Rock and Roll

Read 4:

Burgess, Melvin. Doing It. Holt, 2004.

Going, K. L. Fat Kid Rules the World. Putnam, 2003.

Koertge, Ron. Stoner & Spaz. Candlewick Press, 2002.

LaRochelle, David. Absolutely Positively Not. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2005.

Tharp, Tim.The Spectacular Now. Knopf, 2008.

Tamaki, Mariko.Skim. Groundwood/House of Anansi, 2008.

Recommended add’l reading:

Aidinoff, Elise. The Garden. Harper Tempest, 2004.

Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Pocket Books, 1999.

Green, John. Looking for Alaska. Dutton, 2005.

Grimes, Nikki. Dark Sons.Hyperion/Jump at the Sun, 2005.

Hamilton, Virginia. Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush. Philomel, 1982.

Hill, Kirkpatrick. Do NotPass Go. McElderry, 2007.

Jenkins, A. M. Out of Order. HarperCollins, 2003.

Kerr, M.E. Deliver Us from Evie. HarperCollins, 1994.

Koja, Kathe. Buddha Boy. Foster/Farrar, 2002.

Les Becquets, Diane.Season of Ice. Bloomsbury, 2008.

Myers, Walter Dean. Harlem Summer. Scholastic, 2007.

Wynne-Jones, Tim. A Thief in the House of Memory.Farrar/Melanie Kroupa, 2005.

February 22: Families: Whole, Fractured and Created

Read 4:

Brooks, Bruce. Midnight Hour Encores. HarperTrophy, 1988.

Cohn, Rachel. The Steps. Aladdin, 2004.

Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk. HarperCollins, 2001.

Jiménez,Francisco.Reaching Out. Houghton Mifflin, 2008.

Voigt, Cynthia. Homecoming. Atheneum, 1981.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Miracle’s Boys. Puffin, 2006.

Recommended add’l reading:

Alvarez, Julia. Finding Miracles. Laurel-Leaf, 2006.

Bauer, Cat. Harley, Like a Person. Knopf, 2007.

Bloor, Edward. Tangerine. Harcourt, 2006.

Blundell, Judy.What I Saw and How I Lied. Scholastic, 2008

Bunce, Elizabeth C. A Curse Dark as Gold. Arthur A. Levine Books, 2008.

Cart, Michael, ed. Necessary Noise: Stories About our Families as They Really Are. HarperTempest, 2003.

Dessen, Sarah. Lock and Key: A Novel. Viking, 2008.

Ferris, Jean. Of Sound Mind. Sunburst, 2004.

Frost, Helen. The Braid. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.

Frost, Helen. Keesha’s House. Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 2007.

Gaiman, Neil.The Graveyard Book. HarperCollins, 2008.

Gonzalez, Julie. Wings. Delacorte Press, 2005.

Headley, Justina Chen. Nothing but the Truth (And a Few White Lies). Little, Brown, 2007.

Hernandez, David. Suckerpunch. HarperTeen/HarperCollins, 2008.

Johnson, Angela. The First Part Last. Simon Pulse, 2004.

Kantor, Melissa. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where’s My Prince? Hyperion, 2007.

Kidd, Sue Monk. The Secret Life of Bees. Penguin, 2005.

Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. Harper Torch, 1998.

Lawrence, Iain. Gemini Summer. Delacorte Press, 2006.

Mahy, Margaret. The Tricksters. Scholastic, 1986.

Marchetta, Melina. Saving Francesca. Knopf, 2006.

Murdock, Catherine Gilbert. Dairy Queen: A Novel. Houghton Mifflin, 2006.

Myers, Walter Dean. Bad Boy: A Memoir. Amistad, 2002.

Perkins, Mitali. Monsoon Summer. Laurel-Leaf, 2006.

Reinhardt, Dana. A Brief Chapter in My Impossible Life. Wendy Lamb Books, 2007.

Rosenberg, Liz, ed. Roots & Flowers: Poets and Poems on Family. Henry Holt & Co., 2001.

Rottman, S.L. Shadow of a Doubt. Peachtree, 2003.

Sáenz, Benjamin Alire. He Forgot to Say Goodbye. Simon & Schuster, 2008.

Schraff, Anne. Lost and Found. Scholastic, 2007.

Sones, Sonya. One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies. Simon Pulse, 2005.

Staples, Suzanne Fisher. Under the Persimmon Tree. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2005.

Triana, Gaby. Cubanita. Rayo, 2006.

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle: A Memoir. Scribner, 2006.

Werlin, Nancy. The Rules of Survival. Dial Books, 2006.

Wittlinger, Ellen. Zigzag. Simon Pulse, 2005.

March 1: Identity & A Sense of Self

Read 4:

Alexie, Sherman. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian. Little, Brown, 2007.

Burd, Nick. The Vast Fields of Ordinary. Dial, 2009.

Curtis, Christopher Paul. Bucking the Sarge. Wendy Lamb, 2004.

Johnson, Maureen. Suite Scarlett. Scholastic/Point. 2008.

Yang, Gene Luen. American Born Chinese. First Second, 2006.

Zusak, Markus. Fighting Ruben Wolf.Push, 2002.

Recommended add’l reading:

Abdel-Fattah. Does My Head Look Big In This? Orchard, 2007.

Clarke, Judith. Kalpana’s Dream. Front Street, 2005

De la Pena, Matt. Ball Don’t Lie. Delacorte, 2005.

Desai Hidier, Tanuja. Born Confused. Scholastic, 2002.

Flake, Sharon. The Skin I’m In. Hyperion, 1998.

Fleischman, Paul. Seek.Cricket, 2001.

Gratz, Alan. Samurai Shortstop. Dial, 2006.

Na, An. The Fold. Putnam’s, 2008.

Smith, Sherri L. Sparrow. Delacorte, 2006.

Thompson, Craig. Blankets: An Illustrated Novel. Top Shelf Productions, 2003.

Vaught, Susan R. Big Fat Manifesto. Bloomsbury, 2008.

Woodson, Jacqueline. Show Way. Putnam, 2005

March 8: MidSemester Vacation

March 15: Romance and (a little) Humor

Read 4:

Cohn, Rachel. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. With David Levithan. Knopf, 2006.