Children's Literature: Birth to Young Adult

The concept of childhood as a stage of life did not emerge until the mid-17th century when philosophers began to distinguish young children as a separate group of individuals, not just “small adults.” This concept was promoted most famously by John Locke, who viewed children as “blank slates” to be shaped and influenced by adults.
It was almost two centuries later that children’s literature clearly emerged as a distinct and independent form of literature, specifically written to benefit children, with the best example of this being, “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.”

Today, we take children’s literature for granted and we all have our memories of either being read to by our parents or reading to our own children. The world of children’s literature is vast. In this seminar, participants will have the opportunity to dig deep into this important world by focusing in on one particular aspect of children’s literature.