African Americans and Children's Literature

This course explores two distinct themes: how African descended people have been depicted in American and British children's literature and how African Americans have established a tradition in writing for children and young adults. It will also examine two related questions: How has African American childhood been constructed in children's literature and how have African American writers constructed childhood in children's literature? We will look at such classic white writers for children like Helen Bannerman, Annie Fellows Johnston, and Mark Twain as well as efforts by blacks like the Brownies Book, published by the NAACP, and children's works by black writers including Langston Hughes, Ann Petry, Shirley Graham Du Bois, Arna Bontemps, Virginia Hamilton, Walter Dean Myers, Mildred Taylor, Floyd and Patrick McKissack, Julius Lester, Rosa Guy, Sharon Bell Mathis, bell hooks, and others.

For AFAS majors, this course counts as Area Requirement 1.

Course Attributes: EN H; BU Hum; AS HUM; AS SD I; FA HUM; AR HUM; AS SC

African Americans and Children's Literature

AFRICAN AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN STUDIES 3254

Section 01