Simmons College and The Carle Announce Spring 2017 Graduate Courses
Amherst, MA — Simmons College and The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art are pleased to announce spring course offerings. Classes are for candidates in the four graduate programs in children’s literature offered at The Carle, as well as for non-degree students. Courses take place at the Museum’s Amherst, Massachusetts location, a site which offers students countless opportunities to meet artists, authors, and scholars in the field of children’s literature. Classes are held during weekday evenings and weekends. For registration information, please contact cathryn.mercier@simmons.edu.
CHL 401-18: Criticism of Literature for Children (4 credits)
Mondays, January 23 – May 8, 2017 (4:00 pm – 6:50 pm)
This course develops the individual critical voices of students and acquaints them with the literary canon and a variety of literacy perspectives through exposure to many influential schools of literacy criticism. It also applies critical skills in the examination of a range of novels (realism and fantasy), short stories, biographies, nonfiction, and translated works published for children.
Instructor: Megan D. Lambert
CHL 421-18: Children’s Book Publishing (4 credits)
Fridays, February 3, March 31, April 28, 2017 (4:00 – 7:00 pm)
Saturdays, February 4, April 1, April 29, 2017 (10:00 am – 12:00 pm)
Sundays, February 5, April 2, April 30, 2017 (9:00 am – 12:00 pm)
This course surveys the history of children’s book publishing in the U.S. and then focuses on the various stages of the contemporary children’s book publishing process editing, art direction and design, and marketing. Practitioners from each of these areas will share their expertise and involvement in the evolution of a books creation. The final assignment requires that each student develop a publishing project and show how such a book would be published.
Instructor: Vicky Smith
Classes may be subject to cancellation depending on enrollment.
Those interested in the program are encouraged to attend an information session at The Carle on November 13 (12:00 -1:00 pm), December 10 (3:00 – 4:00 pm), or January 15 (12:00 – 1:00 pm). Visit www.simmons.edu/gradstudies/visit/events/ to register.
“Part of what makes this so special is that both The Carle and Simmons understand the importance of children’s books,” says Cathryn Mercier, Director of the CSCL. “The people who come to this program are passionate about literature for young people. I want to deepen the range of tools they have to illuminate children’s literature. To understand a novel’s or a picture book’s ambition is to understand the ambition of being human, whether one is a child, an adolescent, or an adult.”
The satellite program, begun in the fall of 2008, includes four different tracks for students: an M.F.A. in Children’s Writing, an M.A. in Children’s Literature, a dual M.F.A. in Writing for Children/M.A. in Children’s Literature degree, and a dual M.A. in Children’s Literature/M.S. in Library Science in collaboration with the Library Science program at Mount Holyoke in South Hadley. This partnership builds upon The Center for the Study of Children’s Literature (CSCL) at Simmons College, which opened in 1977 with funding from The National Endowment for the Humanities.
About the Simmons Graduate Programs in Children’s Literature
Simmons College administers the nation’s first Master of Arts in Children’s Literature as well as a Master of Fine Arts (M.F.A.) in Writing for Children. The programs provide a rigorous, disciplined study of children’s books for those who are — or who intend to be — involved in teaching, library services, publishing, writing, or related fields. To develop a critical vocabulary essential for appraising text and illustration, students apply a high level of scholarly analysis to children’s literature ranging from folklore and mythology to contemporary realistic fiction and nonfiction. With an emphasis on historical and critical analysis—including feminist, ideological, and multicultural perspectives—the interdisciplinary curriculum draws upon art, history, education, sociology, psychology and media studies. Notable alumni include Kristin Cashore, author of the Graceling trilogy, and Gregory Maguire, author of Wicked.
About The Museum
The mission of The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, a non-profit organization in Amherst, MA, is to inspire a love of art and reading through picture books. The only full-scale museum of its kind in the United States, The Carle collects, preserves, presents, and celebrates picture books and picture book illustrations from around the world. In addition to underscoring the cultural, historical, and artistic significance of picture books and their art form, The Carle offers educational programs that provide a foundation for arts integration and literacy.
Eric Carle and the late Barbara Carle founded the Museum in November 2002. Eric Carle is the renowned author and illustrator of more than 70 books, including the 1969 classic The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Since opening, the 40,000-square foot facility has served more than half a million visitors, including 30,000 schoolchildren. Its extensive resources include a collection of more than 10,000 picture book illustrations, three art galleries, an art studio, a theater, picture book and scholarly libraries, and educational programs for families, scholars, educators, and schoolchildren. Educational offerings include professional training for educators around the country. Museum hours are Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday 12 noon to 5 p.m. Open Mondays in July and August and during MA school vacation weeks. Admission is $9 for adults, $6 for children under 18, and $22.50 for a family of four. For further information and directions, call 413-559-6300 or visit the Museum’s website at www.carlemuseum.org.
