ohio state university phd children's literature

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Children's Literature PhD Programs

Colleges for Biblical Archeology

A Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Children's Literature can provide individuals with an extensive background in the various elements of character, style and plotting that make up children's novels and stories. Graduates of Ph.D. programs in literature often go on to become university professors, although they are also suitable for positions in children's advocacy groups, literacy groups, research organizations or publishing firms specializing in children's books. There are a handful of schools around the country offering Ph.D.s in the subject.

University of Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh offers a Ph.D. program in children's literature through its Department of English. The public university actually requires graduate students interested in children's literature to apply to a Ph.D. program in cultural studies and then petition to specialize in children's literature. Graduate students at the school are eligible to take advanced seminars in children's literature, popular children's stories or cultural theory while also working on their individual dissertations. The most essential aspect of a Ph.D. program is often the dissertation paper, which can take three or more years to research, and should further study in a particular subject. Students enrolled in the Ph.D. program in children's literature at the University of Pittsburgh have additional opportunities to teach master's level courses in children's literature or even design a course on childhood books for the school.

Ohio State University

Graduates of Ohio State University 's Ph.D. program in literature for children and young adults have gone on to become literary scholars, poets, novelists and professors in the field of children's literature. The seminars included in the school's program cover topics such as the analysis of visual content in picture story books, ethnographic studies of children and literature, perspectives on international children's literature, gender relations in children's books and much more. The program is particularly focused on exploring how children's literature relates to educational development in elementary and middle schools. Doctoral candidates must complete a dissertation related to one of these particular issues and have it approved by a committee before they can graduate.

University of Florida

The Department of English at the University of Florida allows its doctoral students to focus their studies particularly on children's literature. Students in the program can devote extensive study to a number of topics, including children's literature and media, 20th century children's literature and adolescent literature. Students can also work with the university's graduate coordinator to design and execute their own individualized plans of study in the field of children's literature. The University of Florida also provides its doctoral students extra resources through The Center for Children's Literature and Culture, which houses a local community of faculty, researchers, librarians, teachers and media specialists. Students can take advantage of the center's many symposiums, seminars, scholarly findings and historical collections of children's literature.

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Lindsey Klingele is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer with more than five years of experience writing for consumer and trade publications such as "Meatingplace," "Plate" and "Celeb Life" magazines. She holds a degree in journalism from Central Michigan University and has covered topics ranging from the food industry to popular culture.

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Education: Teaching and Learning Master of Arts

The Master of Arts (MA) program in the Department of Teaching and Learning is a post-baccalaureate degree that serves practicing teachers at all levels (preschool, elementary, middle level and high school) and provides an important first step for graduate students who wish to pursue a doctorate and become scholars and teachers at the university level.

It also provides a base for other professionals who are interested in offering educationally-related services in a wide variety of social and educational settings outside the public schools.

Specializations:

Adolescent, Post-secondary and Community Literacies

Integrated Teaching and Learning

Literature for Children and Young Adults

Reading and Literacy in Early and Middle Childhood

Rethinking Early Childhood and Elementary Education

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education

Sensory Impairments and Inclusion

Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

World Language Education

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World Literatures

Campus: Columbus

College: Arts and Sciences

World literatures is focused on historical and contemporary literature and the processes of globalization. Students analyze, in English translation, a wide range of fiction, poetry and drama produced in different geopolitical regions of the world. Students study different literary texts and traditions in their historical and cultural contexts. Program courses emphasize close reading and analysis of particular texts but also explore the relationships between those texts and the cultures that produced them.

Students investigate many complex issues that surround the subject of world literatures: What is lost when literature is translated from one language to another? How are the globalizing forces of today different from those of the past? How is literature related to social change and stability? As world literatures majors, students consider these and many other questions about literature and globalization.

Get started

Upon admission to the university, students can declare a world literatures major within the Department of Comparative Studies and the College of Arts and Sciences.

To ensure that students’ understanding of different literary traditions is global in scope, all students select courses in which they study the literature of the following geopolitical regions: Africa, the Middle East, East and South Asia and the Pacific Islands, Europe and North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean.

No advanced study of foreign languages is required, only a serious interest in literature, global interconnection and cultural interaction. The world literatures major makes it possible to study the literatures of the entire world without learning multiple languages. At the same time, students are strongly encouraged to study a foreign language beyond the level required for General Education courses and to substitute one or more courses in a foreign language for courses in translation.

The world literatures major requires 36 semester hours: 12 semester hours (four courses) in comparative studies, and 24 semester hours (eight courses) in literatures in other departments. These eight courses are drawn from a list of approved courses in other humanities departments: African American and African studies, comparative studies, East Asian languages and literatures, Greek and Latin, Near Eastern languages and literatures, Slavic and East European languages and literatures, Spanish and Portuguese, and women’s, gender and sexuality studies. Most are focused in the particular literary traditions of the world’s regions, and students must take at least one course in each of those regions.

In addition to those five courses, a strong framework for thinking about the world’s literatures is provided by these three comparative studies courses:

• Introduction to World Literature—This course introduces the world’s diverse literary traditions and helps students identify principles of cross-cultural study.
• Translating Literatures and Cultures—This course focuses on the complexity of translating literary and other texts from one language (and culture) to another.
• World Literature: Theory and Practice—This course builds on the previous two courses to analyze literature in greater depth and more fully explore the role of literature in historical and contemporary contexts of globalization.

The department supports student research in a variety of ways, but most importantly through opportunities to work closely with faculty to develop a personalized research agenda that culminates in a thesis project. Most world literatures majors graduate with research distinction. 

Possible careers

Like students majoring in other disciplines in the College of Arts and Sciences, students majoring in world literatures develop skills in critical thinking and verbal communication that are essential to many positions in government and other service institutions, in business and industry, and in education. The world literatures major also prepares students to further their education in professional schools and in graduate degree programs in the humanities.

Graduates have chosen jobs in the public and private sectors, and many have continued their education to become lawyers, professors, teachers and other professionals. 

Like other liberal arts majors, the Bachelor of Arts in world literatures prepares students to be critical thinkers, creative problem-solvers, and good writers and communicators. Graduates with world literatures degrees have increased understanding of cultural differences and interrelationships, which is especially important in today’s complex global politics and economy.

Go to artsandsciences.osu.edu  to find more information about careers for humanities majors.

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Theses and dissertations not found in the OhioLINK ETD Center can be scanned and delivered as a free PDF. Any individual may email  [email protected]   directly to make a digitization request. Please include the following information:   Author, Title, & Call Number (see above directions for searching the catalog).   After scanning the material, we will email you a link to the PDF on our local server. PDFs will be stored on the server for 15 days.

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Faculty Expertise

Ohio State’s English faculty are all teacher-scholars. Some have published novels, short stories, poems or creative essays; others have edited texts from Old English poems to Shakespeare’s plays to nineteenth-century poems and novels; still others have written books and/or articles on folklore, writing, rhetoric, and literacy, literary theory and criticism that circulate nationally and internationally; while others have published textbooks that have become classics in their fields. Whether in the classroom or advising theses and dissertations, our English faculty speak from deep expertise.

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Comparative Literature Requirements

Advising Sheet for CL [pdf]

Relevant Courses for the Upcoming Term

• CS 2099 The Question of Comparative Studies
• CS 2301 Introduction to World Literature
• CS 3990 Approaches to Comparative Studies
• CS 4990 Senior Seminar in Comparative Studies

Concentration core  (15 credit hours):

At least four in Comparative Studies or Religious Studies and no more than two at the 2000 level. See the list of available classes below. 

• CS 2101 Literature and  Society
• CS 2102.01 Literature and Religion
• CS 2103 Literature and the Self
• CS 2104 Literature, Science, and Technology
• CS 2105 Literature and Ethnicity
• CS H2864 Modernity & Postmodernity: Issues and Concepts
• CS 3603 Love in World Literature
• CS 3604 Women in East Asian and Asian-American Literature
• CS 3606 The Quest in World Literature
• CS 3607 Film and Literature as Narrative Art
• CS 3608 Representations of the Experience of War
• CS 4803 Studies in Asian American Literature and Culture
• CS 4804 Studies in Latino Literature and Culture
• CS 4805 Literature of the Americas
• CS 4808 Utopia and Anti-Utopia (3808 Utopia and Dystopia)
• CS 4809 The Twentieth-Century Novel: Transnational Contexts
• RS 4877 (3877) Myth and Ritual
• CS 4903 World Literature: Theory and Practice
• RS 4972 (3972) Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
• CS 5602 Poetry & Politics 20th century Mediterranean
• CS 5864  Modernity & Postmodernity: Concepts and Theories
• CS 5691 Topics in Comparative Studies (subject to adviser's approval)

Electives  (12 credit hours): Students must take coursework in two different literary traditions, only one of which may be in the English language.  At least 6 credit hours in a non-English literary tradition at the 3000-level or above must be taken in the original (foreign) language.  (Prerequisites may in some cases be required; these will not be counted toward the major.)  The remaining 9-12 credit hours may be in English, in the original or in translation. These must be focused in a particular area and must include at least 3 credits in related non-European and non-North American literatures (e.g., African, Caribbean, East Asian). Coursework is to be chosen from the departments of English, African American and African Studies, East Asian, Greek and Latin, French and Italian, German, NELC, Spanish and Portuguese, and  Slavic and East European. The list of courses that satisfy this requirement is below.

ELECTIVE COURSES IN COMPARATIVE LITERATURE

• Comparative Studies electives
• African American and African Studies electives
• Arabic electives
• Chinese electives
• Classics electives
• East Asian electives
• English electives
• French electives
• German electives
• Greek electives
• Hebrew electives
• History electives
• History of Art electives
• Italian electives
• Japanese electives
• Korean electives
• Latin electives
• Modern Greek electives
• Near Eastern electives
• Persian electives
• Philosophy electives
• Polish electives
• Portuguese electives
• Russian electives
• Scandinavian electives
• Slavic electives
• Spanish electives
• Theatre electives
• Turkish electives
• Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies electives
• Yiddish electives

Comparative Studies (department list)

• 2214 Intro to Sexuality Studies
• 2264 Introduction to Popular Culture Studies
• 2265 Intro to Visual Representation
• 2301 Intro to World Literature
• 2321 Intro to Asian American Studies
• 2322 Intro to Latino/a Studies
• 2340 Intro to Cultures of Science and Technology
• 2341 Technology, Science and Society
• 2350 Intro to Folklore
• 2360 Intro to Comparative Cultural Studies
• 2370 Intro to Comparative Religion
• 2864H Modernity and Postmodernity: Issues and Ideas
• 3603 Love in World Literature
• 3604 Women in East Asian and Asian American Literature
• 3606 The Quest in World Literature
• 3607 Film and Literature as Narrative Art
• 3608 Representations of Experience of War
• 4560 Wexner Center Seminar
• 4564 Topics in Literary Studies
• 4565 History of Literacy
• 4803 Asian American Literature and Culture
• 4804 Latino/a Literature and Culture
• 4805 Literature of the Americas
• 4808 Utopia and Anti-Utopia
• 4809 20 th -century Novel: Transnational Contexts
• 4822 Native American Identity
• 4877 Myth and Ritual
• 4921 Intersections: Approaches to Race, Gender, Class, and Sexuality
• 4972 Theory and Method in the Study of Religion
• 4903 World Literature: Theory & Practice
• 4990 Senior Seminar
• 5602 Poetry and Politics in the 20 th -Century Mediterranean
• 5668 Studies in Orality and Literacy
• 5691 Topics in Comparative Studies
• 5864 Modernity and Postmodernity: Concepts and Theories
• 5957.01 Comparative Folklore
• 5957.02 Folklore in Circulation

African American and African Studies (department list)

• 2201 Major Readings in African American and African Studies
• 2251 Introduction to African Literature
• 2253 Introduction to Caribbean Literature
• 3440 Theorizing Race
• 3451 Themes in Francophone African and Caribbean Literature
• 4407 Eco-Literature in China
• 4452 Swahili Literature I
• 4453 Swahili Literature II
• 4460 Theories in Africana Literature
• 4551 Topics in Africana Literature
• 4582 Special Topics in African American Literature
• 4584H Literature and the Modern Expericence in Africa

Arabic  (department list)

• 2701 Classical and Medieval Arabic Literature in Translation
• 2702 Modern Arabic Literature in Translation
• 2705 The Arabian Nights
• *3105 Intermediate Literary Arabic Reading
• *4626 Intro to the Arabic Qur'an 
• 5401 Translation: Theory and Practice
• *5627 Classical Arabic Poetry
• *5628 Classical Arabic Prose
• *5651 Contemporary Arabic Prose Fiction
• *5652 Contemporary Arabic Poetry and Drama
• 5701 The Qur'an in Translation 
• 5702 Arabic Folk Narrative in Translation

Chinese  (department list)

• 2451 Chinese Literature in Translation
• 4401 Chinese Poetry in Translation
• 4402 Traditional Chinese Fiction in Translation
• 4403 Modern Chinese Literature in Translation
• 4404 Chinese Drama
• 4405 China in Chinese Film
• 4406 China Pop: Contemporary Popular Culture and Media in Greater China
• 6451 History of Chinese Literature I
• 6452 History of Chinese Literature II
• 6453 Classical Chinese Literature in Modern China

Classics (department list)

• 2220 Classical Mythology
• 2401 Intro to the New Testament: History and Literature 
• 2890H Topics in Ancient Literature and Society
• 3100 Topics in Ancient Literature and Culture
• 3101 Greek and Roman Epic
• 3102 Greek and Roman Drama
• 3103 Comic Spirit in Antiquity
• 3104 The Ancient Novel: Narrative Fiction in Greece and Rome
• 3203 War in Ancient Greek and Roman Literature
• 3403 The Hero in Classical Mythology
• 4201 Political Thought and Institutions in the Greco-Roman World
• 5101 Classical Literature: Theoretical Perspectives and Critical Readings

East Asian (department list)

• 3446 Asian American Film
• 4407 Early Asian Cinema
• 5475 Women Writers, Culture, and Society in East Asia

English  (department list)

• 2201 Selected Works of British Lit: Medieval through 1800
• 2202 Selected Works of British Lit: 1800 to Present
• 2220 Introduction to Shakespeare
• 2264 Intro to Popular Culture Studies
• 2275 Thematic Approaches to Literature
• 2277 Intro to Disability Studies
• 2280 The English Bible 
• 2281 Intro to African American Literature
• 2282 Intro to Queer Studies
• 2290 Colonial and U.S. Literature to 1865
• 2291 Colonial and U.S. Literature: 1865 to Present
• 2296H Honors Seminar: Literature and Intellectual Movements
• 3361 Narrative and Medicine
• 3364 Special Topics in Popular Culture
• 3372 Science Fiction and/or Fantasy
• 3378 Spec Topics in Film and Literature
• 4513 Intro to Medieval Literature
• 4514 Middle English Literature
• 4515 Chaucer
• 4520.01 Shakespeare
• 4520.02 Special Topics in Shakespeare
• 4521 Renaissance Drama
• 4522 Renaissance Poetry
• 4523 Special Topics in Renaissance Literature and Culture
• 4531 Restoration and 18th‑Century Literature
• 4533 The Early British Novel: Origins to 1830
• 4535 Special Topics in Restoration and 18 th -Century British Literature and Culture
• 4540 19 th -Century British Poetry
• 4542 19 th -Century British Novel
• 4543 20 th -Century British Fiction
• 4547 20 th -Century Poetry
• 4549 Modern Drama
• 4550 Special Topics in Colonial and Early National Literatureof the U.S.
• 4551 Special Topics in 19 th -Century U.S. Literature
• 4552 Special Topics in American Poetry through 1915
• 4553 20th‑Century U.S. Fiction
• 4559 Intro to Narrative and Narrative Theory
• 4560 Special Topics in Poetry
• 4561 Special Topics in Fictional and Nonfictional Narrative
• 4562 Studies in Literature and the Other Arts
• 4563 Contemporary Literature
• 4564.01 Major Author in Medieval and Renaissance Brit Lit
• 4564.02 Major Author in 18 th- and 19 th -entury British Literature
• 4564.03 Major Author in American Lit to 1900
• 4564.04 Major Author in  20 th Century Lit 
• 4569 Digital Media and English Studies
• 4575 Special Topics Literary Forms &Themes
• 4576.01 History of Critical Theory I: Plato to Aestheticism
• 4576.02 History of Critical Theory II: 1900 to Present
• 4576.03 History of Critical Theory III: Issues & Movements in Critical Theory
• 4578H Special Topics in Film
• 4579 Special Topics in Non-Fiction
• 4580 Special Topics in LGBTQ Literatures and Cultures
• 4581 Special Topics in U.S. Ethnic Literatures
• 4582 Studies in African American Literature
• 4583 Special Topics in World Literature in English
• 4584 Special Topics in Literacy Studies
• 4585 History of Literacy
• 4586 Studies in American Indian Literature and Culture
• 4587 Studies in Asian American Literature and Culture
• 4588 Studies in Latino/a Literature and Culture
• 4590HH590 Honors Seminar: Major Periods in Literary History
• 4590.01 Honors Seminar: The Middle Ages
• 4590.02 Honors Seminar: The Renaissance
• 4590.03 Honors Seminar:  18 th -century
• 4590.04 Honors Seminar: Romanticism
• 4590.05 Honors Seminar: Later 19 th Century
• 4590.06 Honors Seminar: Modern Period
• 4590.07 Honors Seminar: Literature in English after 1945
• 4590.08 Honors Seminar: U.S. and Colonial Literature
• 4590.09 Honors Seminar: Selected Topics in Literature and Literary Interpretation
• 4592 Special Topics in Women in Literature and Culture
• 4595 Literature and Law

French  (department list)

• 2501 Topics in French Literature and Culture in Translation
• 2801 Classics of French Cinema
• *3201 French Literary and Visual Texts
• *3202 Literary and Visual Texts of the Francophone World
• *3401 Intro to Contemporary France
• 3701 Intro to French Cinema
• 4053 French and Italian Cinema
• *5103 French Translation and Interpretation
• *5201 Gothic to Renaissance: Texts and Contexts
• *5202 Versailles to the Enlightenment: Texts and Contexts
• *5203 Romanticism to Surrealism: Texts and Contexts
• *5204 World Wars and Beyond: Texts and Contexts
• *5205 Black Africa & Diaspora: Texts and Contexts
• *5206 North Africa: Texts and Contexts
• *5207 Quebec: Texts and Contexts
• *5401 Louis XIV to WWI
• *5402 The Roaring 20s to the 21st Century
• *5403 Topics in French-Speaking Cultures and Literatures
• *5701 Topics in French and Francophone Cinema
• 5702 Studies in Contemporary French Cinema

German (department list)

• 2251 German Literature and Popular Culture
• 2252H The Faust Theme
• 2253 Magic, Murder, and Mayhem
• 2350 Intro to German Studies
• *3200 Topics in German Literature, Art, and Film
• 3252 The Holocaust in Literature and Film 
• *3300 Topics in German Culture Studies
• 3351 Democracy, Fascism, and German Culture
• *3451H Religion in Modern German Literature and Philosophy
• *3600 Topics in German Linguistics/Language
• 3603 Translation I
• 4252 Masterpieces of German Literature
• 4670H Cinema and the Historical Avant Garde

Greek  (department list)

• *2101 Attic Prose
• *2102 Homer
• *2103 The Greek Historians
• *2104 Greek Tragedy
• *5011 Greek Epic
• *5012 Greek Lyric, Iambos, Elegy
• *5013 Greek Historians
• *5014 Greek Drama
• *5016 Readings in Greek Philosophy
• *5030 Special Topics in Greek Literature

Hebrew  (department list)

• 2700 Biblical and Post‑Biblical Hebrew Literature in Translation 
• 2701 Medieval Hebrew Literature in Translation 
• 2702 Modern Hebrew Lit in Translation 
• 2703 Prophecy in the Bible and Post‑Biblical Literature 
• 2704 Women in Biblical and Post‑Biblical Hebrew Literature
• 2705 The Holocaust in Lit and Film
• 2708 Biblical and Post-Biblical Wisdom Literature
• *4601 Modern Hebrew Short Story
• *4602 Modern Hebrew Poetry
• *5601 Intro to Hebrew Literary & Cultural Texts
• *5602 The Bible as Literature: Selected Readings 
• *5603 Readings in Rabbinic Literature
• 5802 The Problem of Evil in Biblical & Post‑Biblical Literature

History   (department list)

• 2125 The History of Latin America through Film
• 2260 European Thought and Culture, 19 th Century
• 2261 European Thought and Culture, 20 th  Century
• 2455 Jews in American Film
• 2965 Colonialism at the Movies: American History in Film

History of Art  (department list)

• 2901 Introduction to World Cinema
• 3901 World Cinema Today
• 4901 Classic Film Theories
• 5901 Silent Cinema: 1895-1927
• 5902 Classical Sound Cinema: 1927-1948
• 5903 Recent Cinema: 1948-Present
• 5905 Avant Garde Cinema
• 5910 History of Documentary Cinema

Italian  (department list)

• 2053 Intro to Italian Cinema
• 2054 Dante in Translation
• 2055 Mafia Movies
• *3220 Italian Culture through the Ages
• *3221 Reading Italy: Italian Lit and Culture
• *4223 Italian Cinema
• *4224 Survey of Italian Literature
• 4331 Italian Translating

Japanese  (department list)

• 2451 Japanese Lit in Translation
• 2452 Modern Japanese Lit in Translation
• 4400 Japanese Film and Visual Media
• 4401 Japanese Lit and Film in Critical Perspective
• *5454 Japanese Lit: Classical Period
• *5455 Japanese Lit: Medieval and Edo Periods
• *5456 Japanese Lit: Modern Period

Korean  (department list)

• 2451 Korean Literature in Translation
• 5400 Performance Traditions of Korea
• 5405 Korean Drama in Translation
• 6445 Studies in Korean American Literature
• 6454 Korean Literary Traditions

Latin  (department list)

• *2101 Cicero
• *2102 Vergil
• *2105 Latin Lyric
• *2106 Roman Comedy

Modern Greek   (department list)

• 2100 Greece and Beyond: The Crossing of Borders through Film
• 2500H Greek Identities: Ancient and Modern
• 3710 Modern Greek Lit in Translation
• *5000 Modern Greek Language and Literature
• *5510 Contemporary Greek Prose
• *5520 Contemporary Greek Poetry

Near Eastern Languages and Cultures  (department list)

• 2244 Films of the Middle East
• 3702 Literatures and Cultures of the Islamic World
• 3703 Middle Eastern Literature and Post Colonial Theory
• 3704 The Novel in the Middle East
• 4601 Israeli and Palestinian Literature
• 5202 Representing the Middle East in Film
• 5568 Studies in Orality and Literacy
• 5571 Canon and Communities in the Near East
• 5672 Poetry and Politics in the 20 th -century Mediterranean

Persian  (department list)

• 2301 Persian Mythology and Folklore
• 2701 Persian Literature in Translation
• 2704 Intro to Persian Epic
• *5601 Persian Prose
• *5602 Persian Poetry

Philosophy  (department list)

• 2450 Philosophical Problems in the Arts
• 2470H Honors Philosophy of Film
• 5460 Philosophy in Literature

Polish  (department list)

• 5230 Polish Literature

Portuguese  (department list)

• 2150 Intro to Literatures of the Portuguese-Speaking World
• 2335 Cannibal Brazil: Cultural Encounters and Negotiations of Identity in Lit & Culture
• *3450 Intro to the Study of Literatures an d Cultures
• 4510 Portuguese Translation
• *4551 Literatures from Middle Ages to Neo-Classicism
• *4552 Literatures from Romanticism to the Present
• *4560 Cultural Experessions of Portugal and Lusophone Africa
• *4561 Cultural Expressions of Brazil
• 4597.01 Coloniality and Post-coloniality in the Literatures of Portugal and Portuguese-Speaking Africa
• 4597.02 Representing Identity in the Cinema of the Portuguese-Speaking World
• *5650 Topics in Literature of the Portuguese-Speaking World

Russian  (department list)

• 2250 Masterpieces of Russian Literature
• 3460 Modern Russian Experience through Film
• 3644 Russian Fairy Tales and Folklore
• 4220 Love and Death in Russian Literature and Film
• 4221 Revolution and Restoration in Russian Literature
• 5250 The Russian Writer

Scandinavian  (department list)

• 3350 Norse Mythology and Medieval Culture
• 4250 Masterpieces of Scandinavian Literature
• 4450 The Films of Ingmar Bergman

Slavic (department list)

• 2345 Introduction to Slavic Literature and Culture 
• 3320 Science Fiction: East vs. West
• 3360 Screening Minorities: Representations of the Other in Slavic Film
• 4260H Dead Man Writing: LiteraryRepresentations of Capital Punishment
• 4560H Cinderella’s Fantasy: Gender and Women in Western and Eastern Europe 
• 5280 Slavic and East European Literature
• 5570 The Austro-Hungarian Grotesque

Spanish  (department list)

• 2320 Don Quixote in Translation
• 2321 The Spanish Don Juan Theme in Theatre
• 2380 Introduction to Latin American Film
• 2520 Latin American Literature in Translation: Fictions and Realities
• *3450 Introduction to the Study of Literature and Culture in Spanish
• *4551 Spanish Golden Age Lit
• *4552 Modern Spanish Lit
• *4555 Indigenous, Colonial, and National Literatures of Spanish America
• *4556 Modern Spanish American Literature
• *4557.10 INtro to Latino/a Literature in the U.S.
• *4557.20 Intro to Other Latino Literature in the U.S.
• *4565H Latin American Indigenous Literatures and Cultures
• *4580 Latin American Film
• *4581 Spanish Film
• *4590H Interdisciplinary Protocols: Identity and National Formation in Latin America: Perspectives from Literature

Theatre  (department list)

• 2341H Moving Image Art
• 3731 Theatre Histories and Literatures
• 5341 Studies in the Documentary

Turkish   (department list)

• 2701 Turkish Literature in Translation
• 5241 Travels in Turkey
• *5627 Classical Turkish Poetry
• *5651 Modern Turkish Poetry and Prose

Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies   (department list)

• 2300 Approaches to Feminist Inquiry
• 2550 History of Feminist Thought
• 3317 Hollywood, Women and Film
• 3320 Topics in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• 4375 Women and Visual Culture
• 4527 Studies in Gender and Cinema
• 4560 Chicana Feminism
• 4576 Women and Visual Cultures of Latin America

Yiddish  (department list)

• 3371 Yiddish Literature in Translation
• 3399 The Holocaust in Yiddish and Ashkenazic Literature and Film
• *4721 Studies in Yiddish Literature
• *5651 Modern Yiddish Prose

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EDUTL 2368 - Introduction to Children's Literature

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EDUTL 2368 - Intro to Children’s Literature

Anyone know if this class is easy?

The Ohio State University

Stepney, Lois, PhD

Assistant clinical professor.

Pronouns: She/her/hers

614-292-2529 | [email protected]

Curriculum Vitae

Assistant Clinical Faculty Lois Marie Clay Stepney, PhD, MSW, LISW-S has served in the Columbus Community since 1995 in the mental health and medical fields as a master’s level social worker in both clinical and administrative roles. Two of the accomplishments Dr. Stepney is most proud of involving clinical work includes starting a juvenile sex offender treatment program as the Director of Community Support Programs at the Ohio Youth Advocate Program which continues almost two decades later under the National Youth Advocate Program. In addition, Dr. Stepney led the conceptualization and expansion of the comprehensive YOU Matter Program at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, which provides emotional support to staff, faculty, students, and volunteers dealing with exposures to potentially traumatic events in their work at a Level 1 Pediatric Trauma Center and Research Institute.

In academia, Dr. Stepney served in the College of Social Work at The Ohio State University as the MSW Program Director from Autumn 2016 – Spring of 2020, leading the charge in scaling the online program from 17 enrolled students to more than 400 during her tenure. Dr. Stepney also served as the Curriculum Director in the College of Social Work until Spring Semester of 2021, involved in the coordination of efforts launching the curriculum re-design for the MSW Program. Dr. Stepney’s scholarship interest is in the areas of healing justice, helping professionals’ wellness, Black Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) wellness, social work pedagogy, and transformative social work practices.

PhD – The Ohio State University – 2023 - Social Work MSW – The Ohio State University - 1995 BSW – Oakwood University (formerly known as Oakwood College) - 1994

Areas of expertise

Pediatric Medical Social Work Trauma Social Work Practice Healing Justice Professional Development Trainings Social Work Curriculum Development and Pedagogy

Areas of interest for mentoring PhD students

Medical Social Work Trauma Work Healing Justice Work-Related Traumatic Stress Reactions Including Compassion Fatigue, Secondary Traumatic Stress, Vicarious Trauma, and Second Victim Phenomena Social Work Curriculum Development and Pedagogy

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Do China’s children have a crime problem?

Source: NYT (6/26/24) China’s Anguished Debate: Do Its Children Have a Crime Problem? China has been considered relatively progressive on juvenile justice. But several high-profile killings have prompted calls for the law to come down more harshly on minors. By  Vivian Wang , Reporting from Beijing

A photograph of Gong Xinyue in her bedroom, in her village in northwestern China. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

For nearly two years, Gong Junli has been waiting. Since his 8-year-old daughter, Xinyue, was stabbed multiple times and her body left in a grove of poplar trees in northwestern China, he has imagined her killer finally being brought to justice.

But justice is complicated when the accused is also a child.

The boy who the police say killed Xinyue was 13 years old at the time. As his trial opens on Wednesday, it will try to answer a question gripping Chinese society: How should China deal with young children accused of heinous crimes?

Countries around the world have long struggled to balance punishment and forgiveness for children. But the debate is especially notable in China, where a history of relative leniency toward young offenders stands in stark contrast to the limited rights of adult criminal defendants. For decades, the government has emphasized educating and rehabilitating juvenile offenders, rather than imprisoning them.

Recently, though, a backlash has emerged. Following a spate of high-profile killings allegedly committed by children in recent years, many Chinese have called for the country to come down more harshly. And the government has responded. Xinyue’s killing is one of the first cases known to go to trial since the government lowered the age, to 12 from 14, at which children can be prosecuted on charges of murder and other serious crimes.

Gong Junli, Xinyue’s father, has been waiting nearly two years for the trial of the person accused of killing his daughter. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

Several incidents this year renewed the debate. In January, the police in central China dropped charges against a boy accused of killing a 4-year-old girl by pushing her into a manure tank, because he was under 12 and too young to be prosecuted,  Chinese media reported . In March, the police said three 13-year-old boys near the city of Handan, also in central China, dug a grave in an abandoned greenhouse, took a classmate there and killed him. The boys were indicted soon after.

On Chinese social media, hashtags related to the Handan killing   drew over a billion views in one day, with legal scholars and ordinary social media users alike calling for the perpetrators to be punished severely, even with death. Some suggested that young people were more willing to commit crimes because they knew they could not be legally punished. A professor of criminal law with over 30 million followers on Chinese social media accused those seeking to spare minors from punishment of “moral relativism.”

But others pointed to factors that may have pushed children toward crime, such as parental neglect or poverty. Many in China have worried that poor children in rural areas — who have been the accused in some of the highest-profile cases — are being abandoned as a price of economic progress. Many of those children are described as “left-behind,” because their parents leave them at home while they search for better jobs far away.

As public pressure grew, the Supreme People’s Court last month issued  new guidelines on preventing juvenile crime, including by potentially holding guardians responsible for their children’s actions.

It also announced that it had recently sentenced four children between 12 and 14 years old to prison terms ranging from 10 to 15 years, its first acknowledgment of trials in that age group. The court, which said the children had committed unspecified violent offenses, said it sought to show “tolerance without indulgence.”

Mr. Gong said Xinyue was a sweet-tempered child who loved the cartoon “Paw Patrol” and eating mangoes and strawberries. On Sept. 25, 2022, her grandparents were watching her while Mr. Gong, a single father who worked in construction, was on a site more than 100 miles away. That afternoon, Mr. Gong’s father called to say that Xinyue was missing.

The village in northwestern China’s Gansu Province where Xinyue lived. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

Mr. Gong raced back to their village, a poor community of about 40 households   nestled amid terraced corn and potato fields in Gansu Province. By the time he arrived, Xinyue’s body had been found.

The police arrested a 13-year-old neighbor. According to an indictment document shared by Mr. Gong, the boy, whom Mr. Gong said he had seen around but didn’t know well, had “developed hatred toward females,” because he was “unhappy with his mother’s disciplinary methods.” The boy had placed a knife in the tree grove, then led Xinyue there and stabbed her in the neck, the indictment said, citing physical evidence, witness testimony and the boy’s confession.

It is unclear whether the boy, who the indictment said was being held at a local jail, has had access to a lawyer. Rights activists have accused Chinese officials of sometimes extracting confessions under pressure. The local police and court declined requests for comment.

Several attempts to reach the boy’s parents were unsuccessful. A Chinese Communist Party-controlled news outlet,  Red Star News , reported that it had interviewed his mother, identified as Ms. Chen. Ms. Chen did not say whether she believed her son had killed Xinyue, but she apologized and said she had offered compensation to Mr. Gong’s family.

Xinyue’s grandfather helped care for her while her father was away working. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

Ms. Chen also said that her son had been bullied, once being forced by classmates to eat feces. And she acknowledged that she had beaten him over his studies.

After the boy’s arrest, Mr. Gong expected a quick resolution. But for over a year, prosecutors did not charge the boy. Mr. Gong also expected a death sentence, given the wide range of crimes that carry that penalty in China. Upon learning that the law prohibited the execution of minors, he was outraged.

The law claimed to protect minors, he said. But “has the child we lost been protected?”

China has long been considered relatively progressive on juvenile justice, more so than  some Western countries , said  Anqi Shen , a law professor at Northumbria University in England. International conventions recommend 12 as a minimum age for prosecution. China in the 1970s set its minimum age at 14. (In the United States, the minimum age of criminal responsibility varies by state, with most having no specified lower limit.)

In recent years especially, Beijing has encouraged prosecutors to divert juvenile offenders to educational programs or community service. Studies worldwide  show   that  imprisoning juvenile offenders does little to reduce recidivism. Between 2008 and 2022, the number of juvenile convictions plummeted by nearly 70 percent.

But the alternatives to prison have been riddled with holes. Juvenile correctional facilities and reform schools were often overseen by police officers rather than specially trained staff. Parents could choose not to send their children there.

Officials were even less sure what to do with those under 14. In 2018, a 12-year-old boy who the police said killed his mother was  allowed to return to school several days  later; the police said they had no choice because they couldn’t bring charges.

The public furor over that case helped push the government to  lower the age of criminal responsibility to 12 in 2021, said Zhang Jing, a consultant for the China Association for the Prevention of Juvenile Crime, in Beijing.

Xinyue’s bedroom in her village. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

It is unclear whether juvenile crime rates are actually rising. The Supreme People’s Court recently  announced  that it had sentenced 12,000 minors in the first three months of 2024, a year-on-year increase of nearly 80 percent. But that could reflect changes in officials’ decisions to prosecute, rather than an actual increase in offenses by juveniles, experts said. China does not publicize arrest statistics. And social media has helped magnify individual cases.

The debate about punishment has in some ways overshadowed the conversation about prevention — and in particular, how to help the so-called left-behind children involved in some of these crimes.

Studies have found that left-behind children — of whom there are around 70 million — are more likely to be  bullied  or  abused , partly because they may receive less supervision or affection. The three suspects in the Handan case were left-behind, as was the victim, according to state media.

In response, many Chinese have urged parents to return to their villages to raise their children, or suggested parents should be held liable if their children can’t be.

But Professor Zhang, in Beijing, said those calls overlooked the reasons parents separated from their children in the first place. China prohibits most children from attending schools outside their hometowns, making it difficult for workers to bring children with them.

Mr. Gong was often away working for long periods. His village had few jobs, and he wanted to provide Xinyue with a better life. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

“Punishing the parents is useless. Wouldn’t it be better to change the parents’ environment?” Professor Zhang said. He has also called for more resources for rehabilitation and prevention, such as police officers specially trained to deal with juveniles.

Mr. Gong also acknowledged the impossible choices many parents faced. He himself had often been away for weeks or months at a time, because his village had few jobs.

“Who doesn’t want to give their child or family a better life?” he said. “But everyone has to do that in their own way.”

Now, Mr. Gong has been staying near home, working spare jobs while waiting for the trial.

Xinyue was buried in the grove where she died. Mr. Gong cut down the poplars and planted cherry and peach trees in their place. He imagined Xinyue being reborn and eating from them.

Xinyue’s burial place in her village. Mr. Gong planted fruit trees nearby. Credit…Andrea Verdelli for The New York Times

Li You and Siyi Zhao contributed research.

Vivian Wang  is a China correspondent based in Beijing, where she writes about how the country’s global rise and ambitions are shaping the daily lives of its people.   More about Vivian Wang

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Literature for Children and Young Adults (EDUTL-ES, ECL)

Specialization leading to an Education Specialist in Teaching and Learning

Core Requirements (15 hours)

Teaching & learning required courses (6 hours).

• EDUTL 8003 Logics of Inquiry in Educational Research (3)
• EDUTL 8015 Diversity and Equity in Education (3)

Multicultural Education and Diversity in Education Requirement (3 hours)

Alternative courses may be available, consult your advisor

• EDUTL 6808 Critical and Cultural Perspectives in Teaching and Learning (3)

Research Methods (6 hours)

More advanced courses may be taken, consult your advisor

• EDUTL 6052 Classroom-Based Inquiry: MA (3)
• ESQREM 6625 Introduction to Educational Research (3)

Specialization Requirements (15 hours)

Students must meet with a faculty advisor within the first two semesters to plan a program of study. With the approval of a faculty advisor and the Graduate Studies Committee, the program of study may deviate from the curriculum below depending on scholarly and research interests.

Required Courses (12 hours)

• EDUTL 7308 Literary Experience and Understanding: Readers, Texts and Contexts (3)
• EDUTL 7324 Literary Theory and Adolescent Literature (3)
• EDUTL 8307 History of Children’s and Young Adult Literature (3)
• EDUTL 8890 Advanced Seminar (3)

Supporting Courses (choose one, 3 hours)

• EDUTL 7322 Literature Across the Curriculum (3)
• EDUTL 7343 Literature in Middle Childhood Education (3)
• EDUTL 7356 Advanced Literature for Adolescents (3)
• EDUTL 7360 Reading and Writing Poetry for Educators: Bridges to Literacy and Life (3)
• EDUTL 7361 Literature in Early Childhood Education (3)
• EDUTL 7364 Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults (3)

Apprenticeship (3-6 hours)

Consult your faculty advisor

• EDUTL 8998 Research Apprenticeship in Teaching and Learning (3‐6)

Applied Project (3 hours)

Consult your faculty advisor   

• EDUTL 8999 Research (3)

Minimum hours post MA/MS: 36

Note: Students exact curriculum may vary depending upon program of study determined by student and advisor.