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While it is frequently lamented that young adults are practically glued to their mobile devices, numbers in traditional publishing and the print market speak a different language: Young Adult Fiction is very much alive! This seminar will focus on the role that YA novels can play in fostering awareness of issues of social injustice, and global issues, and will ask how a good selection of literary texts can help to diversify the English language classroom.
For teachers in the EFL classroom, YA fiction can be much more than merely a means to developing language skills and conveying knowledge about other cultures, contexts, and lived experiences – it can foster creativity, aesthetic understanding, and valuable empathetic understanding of pressing issues for today's youths. In this seminar, we will focus on the various cultural functions of young adult fiction. We will explore how concepts from Cultural Studies and Literary Theory can provide valuable tools for teaching contemporary literature in the EFL classroom. Further, we will discuss how to develop engaging and dynamic approaches to complex and sensitive topics in young adult fiction, and touch upon the issue of handling emerging genres and media adaptations in the classroom.
Participants of this highly interactive seminar should be prepared for extensive reading (both primary and secondary literature) and are required to attend our sessions, participate actively and engage in group assignments. Participants are required to prepare individual and group presentations and will be asked to work on reflection tasks throughout the semester. |
