History of Children's Literature
by La Trobe University
This course material is only available in the iTunes U app on iPhone or iPad.
Course Description
In this subject, students investigate the development of literature for children from the traditional literatures of myth and legend, folk and fairy tales, through early publishing, to the emergence of genres of adventure, fantasy and realism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Discuss these lectures on Facebook in David Beagley's Teaching Area.
| Name | Description | Time | Price | ||
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1 |
Conclusions | Concluding the history of children's literature. | 43:15 | Free | View in iTunes |
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2 |
Why Fantasties Endure | Looking at Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and the Wizard of Oz. Why are tales of fantasy the most popular and enduring? | 53:08 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 3 | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | Oz comes from the movie musical, the book that inspired Hollywood. This book comprises of wonderful magic and fantasy of the wizard of oz. | -- | Free | View in iTunes |
| 4 | Through the Looking-Glass | Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871) is a novel by Lewis Carroll (Charles Lutwidge Dodgson), the sequel to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865). Set some six months later than the earlier book, Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. Though not quite as popular as Wonderland, Through the Looking-Glass includes such celebrated verses as "Jabberwocky" and "The Walrus and the Carpenter", and the episode involving Tweedledum and Tweedledee. | -- | Free | View in iTunes |
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5 |
Peter Pan | Peter Pan, created by the Scottish author J.M. Barrie, is one of the most popular and treasured literary creations of the early 20th century. What makes it so timeless, and how has the story been interpreted over the last hundred years? | 54:46 | Free | View in iTunes |
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6 |
Boys and Exicting Adventures | Adventure stories aimed at boys tend to be a lot more exciting and heroic then those for girls. Why is this the case, and what themes are typical in these? | 48:39 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 7 | Peter and Wendy | Story of two kids Peter and Wendy how they grow from childhood to adulthood. | -- | Free | View in iTunes |
| 8 | Treasure Island | Treasure Island is an adventure novel, a thrilling tale of "buccaneers and buried gold". Traditionally considered a coming of age story, it is an adventure tale of superb atmosphere, character and action, and also a wry commentary on the ambiguity of morality—as seen in Long John Silver—unusual for children's literature then and now. | -- | Free | View in iTunes |
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9 |
Girls and Domestic Adventures | Adventure stories aimed towards girls are often restricted by domestic elements. Is that their only appeal? | 53:54 | Free | View in iTunes |
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10 |
Tales of Adventure | The characteristics of an adventure tale, and the golden age of children's literature. | 49:22 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 11 | A Little Princess | This book about Sara Crewe, a pupil at Miss Minchin's London school is left in poverty when her father dies but is later rescued by a mysterious benefactor. | -- | Free | View in iTunes |
| 12 | What Katy Did | Katy Carr is untidy, tall and gangling and lives with her brothers and sisters planning for the day when she will be beautiful and beloved, and amiable as an angel. An accidental fall from a swing seems to threaten her hopes for the future, but Katy struggles to overcome her difficulties with pluck, vitality and good humor. | -- | Free | View in iTunes |
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13 |
Poetry for Children by Adults | A history of poetry written by adults for children. | 51:57 | Free | View in iTunes |
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14 |
Poetry for Children by Children | What are the characteristics of poetry written by children? | 49:37 | Free | View in iTunes |
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15 |
How Literature Reflects Changing Childhood | How medieval literature reflected the changes in the philosophy of childhood. | 51:48 | Free | View in iTunes |
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16 |
Chapbooks for Children | The affecting and instructing history of chapbooks for children, as developed particularly by Mr John Newbery, printer and bookseller. | 53:59 | Free | View in iTunes |
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17 |
King Arthur, Robin Hood, and Chivalry | The origins and retellings of Arthurian legends and Robin Hood. | 51:06 | Free | View in iTunes |
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18 |
Beowulf and the Epic Hero | How heroes work in epic tales, old english tales and literature, the legend of Beowulf, and how these devices are used in the tales of Tolkien. | 49:13 | Free | View in iTunes |
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19 |
"The Beginning of the Armadillos" | -- | 14:38 | Free | View in iTunes |
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20 |
Disneyfication | The formulaic structure of Disney story-telling, and how they change classic fairy tales. | 53:33 | Free | View in iTunes |
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21 |
Types of Tales and Types of Telling | The ways of reading into fairy tales, the types of telling, and why they have endured through the ages. | 47:53 | Free | View in iTunes |
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22 |
Little Red Cap [Little Red Riding Hood] | -- | 7:44 | Free | View in iTunes |
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23 |
Folk and Fairytales | Folk tales and fairy tales were not originally created for children. How are they defined and how have they changed? How are the stories evolving back into tales for adults? | 49:51 | Free | View in iTunes |
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24 |
Little Red Riding Hood | What is the origin of Little Red Riding Hood, and how has the story been interpreted through the years? | 46:24 | Free | View in iTunes |
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25 |
Myths and Legends: Pantheons | What are myths about? Why are these stories labelled as myth while others aren't? How do myths portray life and death? | 56:40 | Free | View in iTunes |
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26 |
Myths and Legends: Creation, Creators and Creatures | Myths and legends - are creatures created by a creator? How the origin of myths play through in themes of children's literature. | 51:59 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 27 | Introduction to History of Children's Literature | David Beagley introduces the History of Children's Literature. | 0:46 | Free | View in iTunes |
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28 |
Interpretation: Considering the Literature | How do books work? How are they interpreted and translated? What signs and symbols do we read from their representation? | 51:54 | Free | View in iTunes |
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29 |
Introduction: Once Upon a Time... | History of Children's Literature will take you back to the roots of story telling and examine the beginnings of children's literature. | 46:17 | Free | View in iTunes |
| 29 Items |
Customer Reviews
Very good!
Fascinating lectures, I just wish they were in order.
Excellent lectures on the origin of story
Mr. Beagley's well planned lectures provide an excellent overview of the development of story in general starting with mankind's original beliefs about the world that eventually became myth. As he moves forward in time the focus shifts to how and why literature was written for children and what the intents and styles are for girls and boys. Aimed at those familiar with stories, but novices in the field of children's literature, the lectures point out what each story (or in some cases version of a story) were trying to say (or multiple interpretations of what it was trying to say) without stating if such an intent was good or bad. Recommended.
Entertaining and educational
These are a fascinating series of lectures which covers not only children's literature, but the larger body of world literature past and present. Well done!
