Resources
If you are a teacher, a student, or both (and, honestly, aren’t we all both?), here are some resources for you.
- The Cat, Seuss, and Race (program written for the Adventure Theatre Company’s 2019 production of The Cat in the Hat). This is my most succinct explainer on Seuss and racism. For longer conversations, you might take a look at these interviews:
- Valerie Strauss, “No, a Virginia school district didn’t ban Dr. Seuss books. Here’s what really happened,” Washington Post, 26 Feb. 2021. This reprints my 2017 interview with the Washington Post.
- Rebecca Onion, “How Dr. Seuss Responded to Critics Who Called Out His Racism,” Slate, 3 Mar. 2021.
- Adrienne Westenfeld, “A Dr. Seuss Expert Cuts Through the Noise on the Cancel Culture Controversy,” Esquire, 5 Mar. 2021.
- Metafiction for Children (2010): a 4-minute introduction to metafiction
- “Literature for Adolescents” class on E. Lockhart’s The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, part 1
In the summer of 2018, while preparing the video content for my undergraduate Literature for Adolescents class, the university-provided video management system wasn’t working. So, I posted the first four weeks – video content only – onto YouTube. At the time of this writing, the above is the most popular of the videos. I’ve gotten better at video-editing since then. But this gives you a flavor of my on-line classes. You can find the entire first four weeks on its very own YouTube playlist.
Courses: Current, Future, & Past
Office hours — by appointment — only: please drop me a line!
(Due to campus carry, regular office hours are no longer offered.)
Office location: ECS Bldg. 103 OR via Zoom!
Please note: my office is a gun-free zone.
Email: philnel@ksu.edu
Fall 2025
- English 384: Multicultural Children’s Literature. On-line, asynchronous. Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 650: American Comics. Hy-Flex. Weds. 7:05-8:20 synchronous & then asynchronous. Syllabus on Canvas.
Spring 2026
- English 213: Writing Arguments for Architecture Students. Tues. & Thurs., 11:30-12:45.
- English 690: Censoring Children’s Literature. Hy-Flex. Thurs. 7:05-8:20 synchronous & then asynchronous.
Selected Syllabi from Previous Semesters
- English 355: Literature for Children (Spring 2025). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 384: Multicultural Children’s Literature (Fall 2024). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 440: Harry Potter’s Library (Fall 2013). Via Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
- English 545: Literature for Adolescents (Fall 2020). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 660, Sec. A. Don DeLillo (Fall 2001). Via Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
- English 680, Sec. B: 20th Century American Children’s Picturebooks (Fall 2005)
- English 695: Censoring Children’s Literature (Fall 2023). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 703: Critical Approaches to Children’s Literature (Spring 2025). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 710: Dr. Seuss (Spring 2012). Via Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.
- English 725/655: African American Children’s Literature (Fall 2022). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 725: Radical Children’s Literature (Spring 2018). Syllabus on Canvas.
- English 825: Nostalgia and the Cultures of Childhood. HyFlex. Thursdays 7:05-8:20 pm and asynchronously. Syllabus on Canvas.