This fall, I am teaching English 545: Literature for Adolescents on-line for the first time. That is, this is the first time I’m teaching the course on-line. It’s the umpteenth time I’ve taught the course, and the second time I’ve taught on-line. One thing I learned from teaching on-line this past spring:Â Build the entire course
I’m pleased to announce that Kenneth Kidd and Elizabeth Marshall are the new editors of Routledge’s Children’s Literature and Culture Series. (At IRSCL in Toronto last August, I announced that this transition was in the works. It is now official.) Here’s today’s Routledge press release (click on this sentence). I became editor of Routledge’s Children’s
I’ve been meaning to write this post for a few months. Over the past year or so, I’ve been gradually drifting away from Facebook. Lately, the drift has become a decisive move. Last month, I downloaded my Facebook data – in order to better see precisely what Facebook was collecting. Then, I removed Facebook from
As many teachers do, I teach Sherman Alexie’s Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. When confirmed reports of his sexual harassment and other abuses of power became public, I knew I had to talk to my class about it – I had already taught Absolutely True Diary in my on-line Multicultural Children’s Literature class earlier in
The objects of your nostalgic longing may disappoint you, if you are willing to look at them openly and honestly. If you read, create, or write about children’s literature, today – the 114th birthday of Theodor Geisel (a.k.a. Dr. Seuss) – would be a good time to admit this to yourself. OK, the time for
On February 13 at 10:30 am in Topeka, the Kansas Senate will hear testimony on House Bill 2042, which appears to offer sensible gun regulation but in fact does nothing of the kind. (Try to contain your surprise.) I cannot be there myself. So, I have submitted my testimony in advance. I am also posting
In 1969, Sesame Street made its debut on PBS in the U.S. It has since become not just an American institution, but an international one – broadcast in 150 countries, and in over 30 languages. This show – as cross-media and transnational phenomenon – is thus an ideal subject for the MLA’s textual transactions theme,
It is time again to gather ’round in fluorescent rooms, adjust the sound (“can you hear me?”), smile, and present to all four or fifty-seven who found the right room, the right day. Coffee! Insecurity! MLA! January 3rd through 7th is the Modern Language Association’s annual conference, held this year (2018) in New York City.
The International Research Society for Children’s Literature (IRSCL) – an organization of which I am a member – is today issuing a statement in support of academic freedom, and against the rising tide of nativism/nationalism that threatens to curtail it. We’re issuing it in 20 different languages (with more to come) and you can see
On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s successful hacking of American democracy (congrats, Vlad!), a bit of encouragement for those who oppose the Trump regime’s assaults on healthcare, the environment, women’s rights, civil rights, human rights, the very idea of rights, basic human decency, and truth itself. I’ve divided this into three sections: (1) a resistance
