Department of English at Illinois State University

Children's Literature Faculty

 

The image "We and Our Instructor" used with permission of Milner Library, courtesy of the International Collection of Child Art.

Children's Literature

 

The children's literature program is a strong component of the English Studies Department at Illinois State University. We have been offering courses for over seventy years and are more established in children's literature than any other university's English department in the U.S. In any given semester we offer fifteen to twenty sections of children's literature, on the undergraduate and graduate levels.

The children's literature program has long embraced both literary and educational approaches to children's literature. The program is cutting edge in its advocacy of using books written for children to foster the analytical study of children's texts. Moreover, our children's literature faculty employ a variety of theoretical models in their ongoing scholarship of the textual study of children's books.

Undergraduate Courses in Children's Literature

  • ENG 170: Foundations in Literature for Children
  • ENG 271: Literary and Cultural Studies for Young Children
  • ENG 272: Literary and Cultural Studies for Pre-Adolescents
  • ENG 290: Language Arts
  • ENG 370: Studies in the History of Literary and Cultural Studies for Young People
  • ENG 372: Studies in Contemporary Literary and Cultural Studies for Young People
  • ENG 373: Verse for Children
  • ENG 374: Storytelling
  • ENG 375: Studies in Literary and Cultural Studies for Adolescents

 

Graduate

Illinois State University has a well-established graduate program in Children's Literature. Students in the Master's in English program may enroll in a children's literature emphasis, and students in the Ph.D. in English Studies may also choose children's literature as a specialization.

The following courses are available on the graduate level:

  • ENG 370: Studies in the History of Literary and Cultural Studies for Young People
  • ENG 372: Studies in Contemporary Literary and Cultural Studies for Young People
  • ENG 373: Verse for Children
  • ENG 375 Studies in Literary and Cultural Studies for Adolescents
  • ENG 390: Research Studies in Language Arts
  • ENG 470: Studies in Children's Literature (topics vary; may be repeated for credit)
  • ENG 471: Critical Theories in Children's Literature
  • ENG 492: Recent Research in English Language Arts

Degree requirements for the Master's in English (emphasis in Children's Literature):

  • ENG 401: Introduction to Graduate Studies
  • ENG 402: Introduction to the Composing Process (required for students on assistantship, only)
  • ENG 370: History of Children's Literature
  • One course in critical theory (ENG 471 preferred; can substitute 382 or 482)
  • At least 3 courses in Literary and Cultural Studies for children's or adolescents
  • At least 4 electives, in Literary and Cultural Studies, language, compostion, or approved cognate fields (up to 6 hours from fields such as Fine Arts, Psychology, Curriculum & Instruction, HIstory or Sociology)

For more information visit the Master's in English page:

Degree requirements for the Ph.D. in English Studies (emphasis in Children's Literature):

1. At least 13 courses and a teaching internship distributed as follows:

  • 5 courses in children's and/or adolescent literature
  • 2 courses in the theory of children's literature, language arts, or a related pedagogical perspective
  • Four graduate seminars: ENG 510, 540, 560, 590.
  • Two elective courses.
  • A teaching internship (591).

2. Written comprehensive exams in three areas: English studies; research specialization; pedagogy and professional studies.

3. A dissertation of original scholarship in children's and/or Adolescent Literature that explores some pedagogical aspect relevant to the field.

To view the English course catalog descriptions online, please visit the Graduate Catalog.