EN 302 Witches and Apocalypses in Young Adult Fiction (Fall: 3)
Cross Listed with
BK312
Recent young adult fiction seems oddly focused on both the supernatural
and the post-apocalyptic. In our quest to understand why, we will trace
the genre looking specifically at how supernatural entities might uniquely
speak to adolescent readers; how post-9/11 fears have been translated into
stories where the protagonist must survive in a post-apocalyptic world or
navigate a pre-apocalyptic setting in which s/he must save the world. Finally,
we will consider how earlier themes: social pressure, race and class tension,
family dysfunction, and addiction find expression in the current strand
of young adult fiction.
Cynthia Young
Last Updated: 10-JAN-13