Teaching Queer Young Adult Fiction

‘Young adult fiction’ is a controversial term. While there is no consensus over what exactly designates the genre, the label has firmly established itself as a category used both within the literary market for titles aimed at adolescents, and by authors themselves for texts written with a young audience in mind. In most contexts, ‘young adult fiction’ – or simply YA fiction – is understood to be characterised both by its intended audience (readers between the ages of 12 and 18) and by its subject matter: many or most YA titles have teenage protagonists and address topics and themes relevant to this age group, such as the experience of growing up, friendship, first love, sexuality, and identity. At the same time, YA fiction encompasses a vast diversity of genres, moods, historical and cultural contexts, and settings.

For future teachers in German secondary schools, anglophone YA fiction is of particular interest, because it provides one way of using literature specifically aimed at adolescents to address language- and culture-related topics relevant to ‘Fremdsprachendidaktik’ while also providing a platform to discuss issues of identity relevant to teenagers.

The last few years have seen a proliferation and diversification of, specifically, queer YA fiction. On the one hand, this is proof of the success of emancipatory efforts aimed at the normalisation of queer identities for young people. On the other hand, addressing issues of gender and sexuality in the classroom (alongside discussions of cultural diversity, race, class, and other topics relevant to foreign language education) remains, in many contexts, controversial.

In this course, we will be reading and discussing four recent examples of queer YA fiction which reflect a variety of aspects of gender and sexual identity that intersect with questions of race, religion, and culture, and which cover different literary forms and genres. We will consider what ‘queer’ approaches to pedagogy and foreign language education in general can look like and how the four titles under discussion can foster productive conversations in the classroom. Students will get the opportunity to design concrete learning units and lesson plans with reference to one of the four titles included in the syllabus or others of their own choosing.

Please note:

Personal attendance during the first session is mandatory to maintain enrolment status. Please direct all your inquiries about vacancies to britlit.fragen.fk15tu-dortmundde.

The course starts in the second week (19.10.23).

Sabina Khan. The Love and Lies of Rukhsana Ali (Scholastic)

Akwaeke Emezi. Pet (Faber & Faber)

Alice Oseman. Heartstopper: Volumes 1-4 (Hodder)

Dean Atta. The Black Flamingo (Hachette)

You are supposed to take part in a presentation group (with a focus on teaching) and write (LABG 2016):

• a reflection essay (Unterrichtsskizze) (HRSGe)
• written essay and reflection essay (Unterrichtsskizze) (GyGe/BK)