Although many students read classic children’s stories like “Pinocchio,” “Peter Pan” and “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” when they were growing up, few people get the chance to revisit these childhood favorites in college.
For almost 10 years, Binghamton University has offered students the chance to take ENG 112R/300M: Children’s Literature, a course that delves into a genre that is often neglected by academia. The course looks at the psychology and the inner workings of popular childhood stories. It also offers students the opportunity to fulfill humanities, composition and oral communication requirements.
“You’re reading things that are enjoyable, and they usually stick with you,” said the course’s instructor Elizabeth Signorotti, an adjunct lecturer in the English department. “They’re things that have built up or helped to build our sense of culture, because these are the tales we hear when we’re growing up and the stories that affect our world and our lives.”
Signorotti, who introduced the course to BU, said she became more interested in children’s literature after having her own kids.
“I became aware of this whole area of literature that was designed particularly for children,” she said. “I started looking backward and thinking about whether or not literature wasn’t always directed toward children and whether or not this genre was governed by children’s imagination.”
Throughout the course, students examine medieval, classic and contemporary fairy tales and novels. They look at the evolution of children’s literature as a genre and learn to analyze and think critically about the texts.
“[The class] stands out,” said Tracy Afonso, a sophomore accounting major, who’s taking the class this semester. “In other English classes we read more traditional literature and here we get to look at children’s literature and get different perspectives.”
Signorotti said she picks slightly different books each semester and in the past has taught such classics as “Robinson Crusoe” and contemporary favorites like “Harry Potter.”
“I choose the books I like,” Signorotti said. “I choose the ones I think are the most teachable, which is to say books that have something to offer beyond just the plot, one that can offer many different interpretations.”
Over the years, Signorotti also assigned different creative projects to students.
“I had students write their own fairy tales,” she said. “They had to use all the rhetorical tools that we would find in classical fairy tales and perhaps update them or improve upon them. Those were really entertaining.”
This semester, students had to prepare a demonstration speech. One student showed the class his wrestling moves, another performed an Irish dance and one girl conducted a short palm-reading session.
In addition to the creative projects, students engage in serious analyses of the texts. Signorotti pointed out that during lectures, students examine the works of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, applying them to children’s texts.
“We’re going to start Charles Kingsley’s ‘The Water Babies’ and he [incorporates] a lot of Darwinism into it,” said Signorotti. “So you get a historic and scientific perspective.”
Students have always competed to sign up for Signorotti’s course. She said the class always fills up quickly and this semester 50 people petitioned for it.
Junior English major Amanda Rae Bussing said she’s excited to re-read her favorite childhood stories.
“I want to know the meaning behind what I read when I was younger,” she said. “We’re going to read ‘Peter Pan’ and I’m in love with ‘Peter Pan.’”