Rebecca Resinski (Hendrix College)
Many of our students first encounter classics through children’s literature, and when they come into our courses, they bring with them their memories of that prior engagement with the ancient world. As students’ familiarity with classical material increases, a gap may open between their earlier reading and what they learn with us, separating their childhood experiences from their experiences in our classes. I incorporate mythologically themed children’s literature into my courses in ways that acknowledge the differences between children’s literature and ancient texts while aiming to bridge the gap between the two and heighten an understanding of each.
I have included children’s literature in typical course offerings as well as designed full courses on the intersection of classics and children’s literature. In the workshop I will discuss readings and assignments I have used in intermediate and upper-level Latin, intermediate Greek, a general classical mythology course, and a course on the Trojan War in ancient and modern literature. I will also share syllabus materials for courses I have offered on mythological anthologies, mythologically themed picturebooks, Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and a survey on the various uses of classical myth in children’s and young adult literature. Dedicated courses allow students to undertake a sustained investigation that deepens over a semester, while children’s literature components in my “regular” courses contribute to students’ learning by framing a concentrated conversation between an ancient text and a modern one and broadening our consideration of how classical myths have been retold and to what audiences.
When students discuss children’s literature adaptations of classical myth alongside ancient sources, I ask them to move beyond observations about “fidelity,” “age-appropriateness,” or explicit “lessons” being taught. Those considerations tend to foreclose thoughtful interpretation rather than promote it. Instead, we closely examine what has been adapted and how, and we see how a study of differences between texts can sharpen a view of each text’s overall project and the experience it creates for an audience. Students practice moving between a micro-study of specific details and the macro-interpretation of the cumulative effects of those details. I present the interpretation of children’s literature as a serious intellectual endeavor that exercises analytic skills and develops an understanding of how different kinds of discourses function.
I appreciate the pedagogical benefits of integrating children’s literature into the curriculum. Children’s literature provides a smooth and quick on-ramp to higher-order critical thinking and builds students’ confidence in their skills. Because the texts pose few initial hurdles, we are able to spend more time on idea development and articulation. Students are generally less intimidated by the texts and feel more empowered to share thoughts and ask one another questions in real-time class meetings and online threaded discussions. In studying children’s literature, classics students encounter vivid examples of the ongoing process of reception, and they continue—in a new register—the conversations with antiquity through children’s literature which might have brought them to us in the first place.