The information contained on this page is designed to give students a representative example of material covered in the course. Any information related to course assignments, dates, or course materials is illustrative only. For a definitive list of materials, please check the online catalog 3-4 weeks before the course start date.
LL ED 465 Fantasy Literature For Children (3):
Overview
In this course we'll explore a range of fantasy literature written for children. Of course, fantasy is not limited to children's literature. Rather, fantasy forms what I like to think of as a nebula of genres, some invented or adopted for young readers. Our focus will be on the eight genres that dominate the field of children's fantasy today: literary fairy tales, reworked fairy tales, animal fantasy, ghost fantasy, science fantasy, magic adventure fantasy, light fantasy, and mythopoeic fantasy. The latter, as expressing themes and concerns central to the fantastic, we'll approach in its three variations: traditional quest, modern quest, and female quest. At the outset we'll briefly consider different rationalizations for fantasy literature and then examine some of the representative novels that illustrate fantasy from such different perspectives as literary, social, and psychological angles.
The roots of modern fantasy are myth, legend, and fairy tale, each a wide road that may be taken to approach and theorize fantasy. In this course we'll follow the fairy tale path first reading selected fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen and the Grimm Brothers. Then we'll read (and I'll encourage you to watch) examples of reworkings of those classical tales. In Lesson 3 we'll discuss four of Andersen's most famous stories: "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid," "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," and "The Nightingale," plus two of his lesser-known tales: "The Red Shoes" and "The Shadow." We'll also read an article about Disney's movie adaptation of "The Little Mermaid."
Our discussion on adaptation will naturally lead us to the theme for Lesson 4: Reworked Fairy Tales. In movies and in literature, a strong contemporary trend in fantasy is to "rewrite" fairy tales. You can find reworkings of Cinderella, Beauty and Beast, Hansel and Gretel, and many more stories. Donna Jo Napoli is one of many prominent authors who revisit familiar fairy tales and rework them into novel-length stories. We'll be reading her book Zel, a reworking of "Rapunzel". To better appreciate Napoli's version, we'll also read the original "Rapunzel" by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.
In Lesson 5 we’ll take a closer look at talking animals, a convention of beast fable stretching back to antiquity. Stories about talking animals can be found all over the world. Add to this children's natural curiosity about animals and it becomes obvious that animal fantasy occupies an important place on the map of children's fiction. The novel we'll study is Terry Pratchett's The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, a delightful adventure-cum-mystery story about anthropomorphized animals who strike an inter-species deal with the humans.
If animals can talk, plan and think—as any cat owner will swear is the case—where then are ghosts on our map of the impossible? Like stories about talking animals, stories of ghosts and other supernatural phenomena also have been part of the fantasy mode from the beginning. Ghosts and apparitions can take different functions in the story. Our reading of Virginia Hamilton's Sweet Whispers, Brother Rush in Lesson 6 will illustrate a number of those functions along with the unavoidable puzzles that the use of ghosts entails.
The novel we'll read next is Nancy Farmer's The House of the Scorpion—a great example of a hybrid genre, science fantasy, which emerges from collapsing science fiction into fantasy. The two, of course, have coexisted for much of their history and share a great overlap. For analogy, think of Star Trek as science fiction, The Lord of the Rings as fantasy, and Star Wars as science fantasy. The latter involves imaginative technologies but also contains elements of magic (The Force). It is technologically savvy but set in the past. Farmer's The House of the Scorpion, a chilling story about human cloning, is set in the imaginary future. Its focus, however, is not technology but philosophy and ethics in the form of questions about human rights, human nature, and personal liberties.
It wouldn't be a proper "Fantasy Literature for Children" course without casting some of our attention to Harry Potter. In Lesson 8 we'll thus be reading the last book in that series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. The series is diverse and eludes easy classification. In its use of filmic techniques and mechanisms of pop culture, Rowling's series celebrates the profusion of magic and the extraordinary. I have thus tentatively called it magic adventure fantasy. In discussing the book, we'll consider both the Harry Potter phenomenon and what seems to be a peculiarly American response to the Potter series—a strong, negative reaction from certain Christian groups. We'll thus read two chapters from Richard Abanes' Harry Potter and the Bible for a sense of how this argument looks from the anti-Harry crowd.
In Lesson 9 we'll leave Euro-American fantasy for an experience of a postcolonial realization of light fantasy. Sometimes also called word-play or allegorical fantasy, the genre stretches back to Carroll's Alice books and includes some of the greatest word-play storytelling by Dr. Seuss, Norton Juster, and others. In Salman Rushdie's Haroun and the Sea of Stories, the genre also proves to be a great vehicle for political, social, and artistic reflection. Like many other novels in this course, Haroun is also a compelling defense of imagination, a defense of creative freedom made even more dramatic because Rushdie wrote it, in part, as a response to fatwa (excommunication and death sentence) laid on him by Ayatollah Khomeini and Islamic fundamentalists.
From Lesson 10 through 12 we'll explore mythopoeic fantasy. Sometimes called high fantasy, epic fantasy, or myth fantasy, the genre derives from the templates created by Lewis and Tolkien and forms the core of the fantastic, understood as a literary mode and a cognitive strategy. Mythopoeic fantasy, as the name suggests, has a mythic quality to it. It seems to go beyond the particulars of its story to explore the nature of good and of evil. Its tone is serious, and its secondary worlds are morally charged universes in which human actions are meaningful. The protagonists are usually on quests to save the world from some great evil or prevent the tyranny of some powerful and evil ruler. Last but not least, the embedding of the story in the conventions of myth and myth making allows it to suggest a spiritual and intuitive perception of reality.
While J. R. R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings is perhaps the best known example of mythopoeic fantasy, in Lesson 10 we'll look at Lewis' The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The novel and series make up the second major template for the genre. Lewis' Chronicles are classics that seem to inspire fierce loyalty among their fans and deep bile among their detractors. In our course, we'll take the first book of the series and examine it as a Christian, traditional quest type of mythopoeic fantasy.
In Lesson 11 our focus will be what may be called a modern, secular rebuttal to the Chronicles. We'll read the first volume of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, a novel published in the States as The Golden Compass (in Europe as Northern Lights). Pullman's series is a phenomenal accomplishment—a unique blending of theoretical physics, criticism of traditional church dogma, and Milton's Paradise Lost. Although antithetical to Lewis' Christian position in the Chronicles, Pullman's work takes up the same questions and explores them with equally "religious" convictions. We'll thus take The Golden Compass as illustrating mythopoeic fantasy in its secular-humanist, modern quest type.
The last book we'll read is The Other Wind by Ursula Le Guin, one of the most acclaimed writers of science fiction and fantasy in the United States. Her Earthsea series, some of which chronicles the life of the wizard Ged and some of which—the life of a woman named Tenar—has long been considered among the best of fantasy writing. Interestingly, the series consists of two different trilogies, the latter written about 20 years after the former. The Other Wind is the conclusion of the second trilogy in which Le Guin subverts a number of male-centered assumptions long perpetuated in fantasy.
NOTES: In addition to the different types of fantasy literature and the literary critiques and analyses of these works, we'll also be wrestling with the overall importance of these books in the lives of children. Toward this end, we'll read about imagination and its role in the lives of children throughout the course. Such readings will not be explicitly tied to individual lesson topics, though you'll be encouraged to make your own connections. Readings that address this underlying theme will be noted in the lessons with the image at the beginning of this paragraph.
Course Philosophy
- Risk taking. I tend to value risk taking and reaching beyond the assigned course readings. If you can connect an idea to the assigned readings, or to your own research, or to something you read on the discussion forum, then please take the risk and share your idea. This is how we can all profit from our interaction!
- Understanding literature. Each of us will have his or her own ideas about the stories we are reading in the course. Each of us will see meanings or shades of meanings that may not be as apparent to others. Although I’m your instructor, I am not in any privileged position when it comes to knowing what the author intended the stories to mean or even if the author had any intentions. Such is the nature of literary understanding. Literature talks to us in images and metaphors. As Ursula Le Guin says in her essay “The Question I Get Asked Most Often," fiction is “experience translated by, transformed by, transfigured by the imagination. Truth includes but is not coextensive with fact. Truth in art is not imitation, but reincarnation" (p. 268). That is why, as she then adds, “reading is a most mysterious act" (p. 269). For some of you, this may seem esoteric, but we can all agree that literature is not intended to be as exact as an instructional manual. Reading literature is neither exact nor stable. We can pick up a story we've read many times,reread it, and take away something different . . . something new from our previous readings. So neither you nor I know what these stories “mean." And in this course you do not need to play the "guess what's in the instructor's head" game. What you do need to do is read and think and post, supporting what you think with what you have read. One of the joys for me of reading literature comes with sharing my ideas about a story and hearing other people's ideas. Such exchange is potentially rich, and it is this richness to which we will strive.
- Plurality of interpretations. That a work of literature has no single correct reading does not mean that anything goes. Like you, I do have views based on what I read from the stories. Thus, I’ll expect you to support your views with something you've read in the story or to make a connection between the story and a piece of scholarship. Even though we will respect the rights of other readers (or scholars) to make their own meaning, we will not have to agree with them. Each of us can have strong views about what we've read. I may from time to time say some things rather forcefully about some of the books. That does not mean I expect you to agree with me. I do expect, however, that you will consider the idea. And, of course, vice versa.
Student Expectations
A Web-based course grants you a great deal of freedom but also a great deal of responsibility. While you don't have a fixed schedule of classes, you do have a fixed schedule of deadlines by which assignments must be completed. In general, you should expect to put in about as much work, and about as many hours, as you would for a traditional resident-instruction course.
Note that this course requires much reading. Pace yourself accordingly and don't allow yourself to get behind. This class is also highly participatory as you will be in electronic discussions with your classmates throughout the semester.
Course Objectives
After finishing this course, you should be able to:
- Distinguish a variety of types of fantasy including literary fairy tales, reworked fairy tales, animal fantasy, ghost fantasy, science fantasy, magic fantasy, light fantasy, and mythopoeic fantasy.
- Identify the mythic functions of mythopoeic fantasy.
- Contemplate the concepts of good and evil as they are developed in works of mythopoeic fantasy.
- Evaluate the required works of fantasy in terms of literary quality, including theme, language, characters, and narrative structure.
- Explore the impacts and controversies that these works may have evoked.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the role of imagination in the lives of children.
- Examine fantasy literature from the perspectives of children and literature scholars.
Required Course Materials
Most World Campus courses require that students purchase materials (e.g., textbooks, specific software, etc.). To learn about how to order materials, please see the Course Materials page. You should check LionPATH approximately 3–4 weeks before the course begins for a list of required materials.
Many of the University Libraries resources can be utilized from a distance. Through the Libraries website, you can
- access magazine, journal, and newspaper articles online using library databases;
- borrow materials and have them delivered to your doorstep—or even your desktop;
- get research help via email, chat, or phone using the Ask a Librarian service; and
- much more.
You must have an active Penn State Access Account to take full advantage of the Libraries' resources and service. The Off-Campus Users page has additional information about these free services.
Technical Requirements
For this course we recommend the minimum World Campus technical requirements listed below:
| Operating System | Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8*; Mac OS X 10.5 or higher *Windows 8 support excludes the tablet only RT version |
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| Processor | 2 GHz or higher |
| Memory | 1 GB of RAM |
| Hard Drive Space | 20 GB free disk space |
| Browser | We recommend the latest ANGEL-supported version of Firefox or
Internet Explorer. To determine if your browser fits this criterion,
and for advice on downloading a supported version,
please refer to the following ITS knowledge base article: Supported Browsers and Recommended Computers.
Note: Cookies, Java, and JavaScript must be enabled. Pop-up blockers should be configured to permit new windows from Penn State websites. Due to nonstandard handling of CSS, JavaScript and caching, older versions of Internet Explorer (such as IE 6 or earlier) do not work with our courses. |
| Plug-ins | Adobe Reader [Download from Adobe]
Flash Player (v7.0 or later) [Download from Adobe] |
| Additional Software | Microsoft Office (2007 or later) |
| Internet Connection | Broadband (cable or DSL) connection required |
| Printer | Access to graphics-capable printer |
| DVD-ROM | Required |
| Sound Card, Microphone, and Speakers | Required |
| Monitor | Capable of at least 1024 x 768 resolution |
If you need technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the Service Desk.
For registration, advising, disability services, help with materials, exams, general problem solving, visit World Campus Student Services!
Major Assignments and Grading
- Posting on Discussion Forum (40% of your grade). Because we meet only in cyberspace, it is vital to post regularly each week. In fact, this course can work only if each of us regularly posts his or her considered thoughts in the discussion threads. I expect you will post in a thoughtful and pertinent manner at least twice each week to the threaded discussions. Not only should you respond to the assigned readings, but you should also respond to the ideas put forth by your fellow classmates.
- Biweekly Reaction Paper (40% of your grade). Once every two weeks throughout the course you’ll be asked to submit a 700-to 1,000-word reaction paper to the readings that were assigned in the previous weeks. Biweeklies should discuss at least briefly each reading assignment. Biweeklies may focus primarily on one particular piece as long as you mention something about the other assigned readings. I expect you will discuss both the works of fantasy and the scholarly essays. You should submit each biweekly to the appropriate drop box and also post it to the appropriate threaded discussion for your classmates to read. In this way, your paper will not only be read by your instructor, but it will also be read, perhaps even commented upon, by your fellow classmates.
- Testimonials (20% of your grade). Read three fantasy novels or collections of shorter fiction that are NOT among the required readings or library reserves for this course. Write a 300-to-500 word testimonial for each book or collection. Tell us what you liked about the book and what you disliked. Tell us about any puzzles or questions the book raised for you and note any patterns in the novel or connections. Good testimonials are more about telling us your response to the book and less about retelling the story. For the titles to choose, you may want to consult reference books such as Ruth Nadelman Lynn’s Fantasy Literature for Children and Young Adults: A Comprehensive Guide Fifth Edition (2005), Neil Holland’s Read On...Fantasy Fiction: Reading Lists for Every Taste (2007), or the most recent Diana Tixier Herald and Bonnie Kunzel’s Fluent in Fantasy: The Next Generation (2008). You can also browse one of the many bibliographies available online, for example the website of Rutgers University Center for Children and Childhood Studies (http://children.camden.rutgers.edu/experts/reading_multicultural_children_books.htm), the “What’s New in Science Fiction and Fantasy for Children and Young Adults” list compiled by Susan Fichtelberg, Valerie Frankel, Diana Tixier Herald, Bonnie Kunzel, Farah Mendlesohn, and Sharon Rawlins (http://www.genrefluent.com/), or the children's and young adult literature resources on the website of author Cyntia Leitich Smith (http://www.cynthialeitichsmith.com/index.html). Other places to look include websites such as http://sffrd.library.tamu.edu/ , http://www.sfbooklist.co.uk/ , http://www.sfsite.com/ , http://www.scifi-fantasy-info.com/ After you’ve read the chosen fantasy novel you should submit the testimonial to the appropriate drop box and also post it to the appropriate threaded discussion for your classmates to read.
For more specific assignment descriptions, read also the "Assignments and Activities" description in the "Course Content" under each lesson.
Please refer to the University Registrar's information about University grading policies.
If, for reasons beyond the student's control, a student is prevented from completing a course within the prescribed time, the grade in that course may be deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. The symbol DF appears on the student's transcript until the course has been completed. Non-emergency permission for filing a deferred grade must be requested by the student before the beginning of the final examination period. In an emergency situation, an instructor can approve a deferred grade after the final exam period has started. Under emergency conditions during which the instructor is unavailable, authorization is required from one of the following: the dean of the college in which the candidate is enrolled; the executive director of the Division of Undergraduate Studies if the student is enrolled in that division or is a provisional student; or the campus chancellor of the student's associated Penn State campus.
For additional information please refer to the Deferring a Grade page.
Course Schedule
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Lesson 2: Overview: Fantasy Literature for Children |
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Lesson 3: The Literary Fairy Tale |
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Lesson 4: Reworked Fairy Tales |
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Lesson 5: Animal (Talking Beasts) Fantasy |
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Lesson 6: Ghost (Suspense and the Supernatural) Fantasy |
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Lesson 7: Science Fiction |
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Lesson 8: Magic Adventure (Extraordinary Worlds, Magical Powers) Fantasy |
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Lesson 9: Light (Humorous, Word-Play, Allegorical) Fantasy |
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Lesson 10: Mythopoeic (Christian, Traditional Quest) Fantasy |
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Lesson 11: Mythopoeic (Secular-Humanist, Modern Quest) Fantasy |
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Lesson 12: Mythopoeic (Taoist-oriented, Female Quest) Fantasy |
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Lesson 13: Wrapping Up |
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Formal instruction will end on the last day of class. Provided that you have an active Penn State Access Account user ID and password, you will continue to be able to access the course materials for one year, starting from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered (with the exception of library reserves and other external resources that may have a shorter archival period). After one year, you might be able to access the course based on the policies of the program or department offering the course material, up to a maximum of three years from the end date of the academic semester in which the course was offered. For more information, please review the University Course Archival Policy.
Academic Integrity
According to Penn State policy G-9: Academic Integrity (for undergraduate students in undergraduate courses) and policy GCAC-805 Academic Integrity (for graduate students and undergraduate students in graduate courses), an academic integrity violation is “an intentional, unintentional, or attempted violation of course or assessment policies to gain an academic advantage or to advantage or disadvantage another student academically.” Unless your instructor tells you otherwise, you must complete all course work entirely on your own, using only sources that have been permitted by your instructor, and you may not assist other students with papers, quizzes, exams, or other assessments. If your instructor allows you to use ideas, images, or word phrases created by another person (e.g., from Course Hero or Chegg) or by generative technology, such as ChatGPT, you must identify their source. You may not submit false or fabricated information, use the same academic work for credit in multiple courses, or share instructional content. Students with questions about academic integrity should ask their instructor before submitting work.
Students facing allegations of academic misconduct may not drop/withdraw from the affected course unless they are cleared of wrongdoing (see G-9: Academic Integrity or GCAC-805 Academic Integrity as appropriate). Attempted drops will be prevented or reversed, and students will be expected to complete course work and meet course deadlines. Students who are found responsible for academic integrity violations face academic outcomes, which can be severe, and put themselves at jeopardy for other outcomes which may include ineligibility for Dean’s List, pass/fail elections, and grade forgiveness. Students may also face consequences from their home/major program and/or The Schreyer Honors College.
How Academic Integrity Violations Are Handled
World Campus students are expected to act with civility and personal
integrity; respect other students' dignity, rights, and property; and help
create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the
fruits of their own efforts. An environment of academic integrity is
requisite to respect for oneself and others, as well as a civil community.
In cases where academic integrity is questioned, procedures allow a student to accept or contest/appeal the allegation. If a student chooses to contest/appeal the allegation, the case will then be managed by the respective school, college or campus Academic Integrity Committee. Review procedures may vary by college, campus, or school, but all follow the aforementioned policies.
All academic integrity violations are referred to the Office of Student Accountability and Conflict Response, which may assign an educational intervention and/or apply a Formal Warning, Conduct Probation, Suspension, or Expulsion.
Information about Penn State's academic integrity policy is included in the information that students receive upon enrolling in a course. To obtain that information in advance of enrolling in a course, please contact us by going to the Contacts & Help page.
University Policies
- Accommodating Disabilities
- Graduation
- Additional Policies
Penn State welcomes students with disabilities into the University’s educational programs. Every Penn State campus has an office for students with disabilities, including World Campus. The Disabilities and Accommodations section of the Chaiken Center for Student Success website provides World Campus students with information regarding how to request accommodations, documentation guidelines and eligibility, and appeals and complaints. For additional information, please visit the University's Student Disability Resources website.
In order to receive consideration for reasonable accommodations, you must contact the appropriate disability services office at the campus where you are officially enrolled, participate in an intake interview, and provide documentation. If the documentation supports your request for reasonable accommodations, your campus's disability services office will provide you with an accommodation letter. Please share this letter with your instructors and discuss the accommodations with them as early in your courses as possible. You must follow this process for every semester that you request accommodations.
Students with disabilities participating in internship, practicum, student teaching, or other experiential learning opportunities as part of their degree requirements may also be eligible for reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access and opportunity. These accommodations are determined through an interactive process involving the student, their University supervisor, and the site supervisor. Student Disability Resources can assist students with identifying potential barriers, facilitating accommodation requests, and coordinating with University supervisors to promote inclusive learning experiences.
Note: If you are planning to graduate this semester, please communicate your intent to graduate to your instructor. This will alert your instructor to the need to submit your final grade in time to meet the published graduation deadlines. For more information about graduation policies and deadlines, please refer to Graduation at the Chaiken Center for Student Success.
For information about additional policies regarding Penn State Access Accounts; credit by examination; course tuition, fees, and refund schedules; and drops and withdrawals, please see the World Campus Student Center website.
Disclaimer: Please note that the specifics of this Course Syllabus are subject to change, and you will be responsible for abiding by any such changes. Your instructor will notify you of any changes.