ENGL 384: Diversity of Literature for Young Readers

During Fall 2020, I took Dr. Miskec’s Diversity of Literature for Young Readers course to satisfy a requirement for my minor in children’s literature. With the recent turmoil and greater attention towards race social justice with during the summer of 2020, it certainly had contemporary significance. Moreover, as a CSDS major, I have come to understand the importance of building literacy and a love of reading with children, as it can serve as a building block for academic success and upward mobility. These factors drove me to enhance this course for honors credit by completing a project that explores adaptations as a method of diversifying children’s literature and reflection of shifting cultural values. This project not only allowed me to explore a topic I am passionate about in depth, but also to integrate my experiences as a CSDS major, children’s literature minor, and Cormier citizen-scholar to critically examine pieces of children’s literature. Moreover, this work served as the foundation for a proposal for a poster presentation at the 2021 National Collegiate Honors Conference which will contain an extension of this research.

The artifact included here is a link to a presentation of a portion of my findings at the Fall 2020 Virtual Symposium.