Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

Course Outlines

Summer 2025 - ENGL 493W D100

Seminar in Special Topics (4)

Class Number: 2301

Delivery Method: In Person

Overview

  • Course Times + Location:

    May 12 – Aug 8, 2025: Tue, Thu, 8:30–10:20 a.m.
    Burnaby

  • Prerequisites:

    45 units or two 300-division English courses.

Description

CALENDAR DESCRIPTION:

Advanced seminar. May be organized by author, genre, period, critical approach, or other criteria. This course may be repeated for credit if a different topic is taught. Writing.

COURSE DETAILS:

Metafiction in Texts Adults Write for Young Readers

Metafiction, which creates 1) an awareness in readers that they are reading fiction and 2) layers of unsettling or disruptive meaning in a text, is one of the hallmarks of Modern and Post-Modern fiction. Twentieth- and twenty-first-century fiction for young readers frequently makes use of metafictional plots and techniques, challenging both its readers and those adults who dismiss children’s literature as non-literary. This course examines metafiction from different genres and for different ages of target readership, from picture books to Young Adult fiction. We will use secondary works by critics such as Waugh and Stonehill as a foundation for our analyses of the primary texts, and consider ways in which writers for young readers use metafiction in relationship to (anti-)didacticism and intertextuality. There will be weirdness.

The Writing-Intensive aspect of this course means that students will be getting feedback from each other and the instructor on their written assignments, with opportunities to revise after feedback. Written assignments include a research essay and a report either on some aspect of a course text or on another work of metafiction for young readers. The report can come in a variety of forms, including completely print-based shared online and a combination of print text and getting 20-30 minutes of teaching time in class. Peer reviewing and participation are self-assessed: students reflect on their contributions and justify a grade by providing evidence. 

COURSE-LEVEL EDUCATIONAL GOALS:

  • to develop/refine skills in academic (& possibly non-academic) research in literature,
  • to pursue one topic of interest intensively and achieve a publishable piece of writing on it,
  • to survive mind-blowing reconceptions of reality and reach a higher plane of literary awareness

Grading

  • report shared in Canvas, on some aspect of a course text or on a text beyond the reading list, c. 1000 words 25%
  • proposal and outline for research paper 10%
  • research essay on an individualized topic, c. 3000 words 40%
  • personal reflection on peer feedback, self-assigned mark 10%
  • participation, self-assigned mark 15%

Materials

MATERIALS + SUPPLIES:

Assigned reading also includes legally-copied short works and excerpts from longer works in Canvas, and the instructor will bring numerous picture books to class.

REQUIRED READING:

Summer Reading is Killing Me! by Jon Sciezka (2004)
ISBN: 978-0142401156

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, by Salman Rushdie (1990)
ISBN: 978-0140157376

Project Mulberry, by Linda Sue Park (2005)
ISBN: 978-0544935211

All of This is True by Lygia Day Peñaflor (2018)
ISBN: 978-0062673664

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians, by Brandon Sanderson (2007)
ISBN: 978-0765378958

REQUIRED READING NOTES:

Your personalized Course Material list, including digital and physical textbooks, are available through the SFU Bookstore website by simply entering your Computing ID at: shop.sfu.ca/course-materials/my-personalized-course-materials.

Department Undergraduate Notes:

IMPORTANT NOTE Re 300 and 400 level courses: 75% of spaces in 300 level English courses, and 100% of spaces in 400 level English courses, are reserved for declared English Major, Minor, Extended Minor, Joint Major, and Honours students only, until open enrollment begins.

For all On-Campus Courses, please note the following:
- To receive credit for the course, students must complete all requirements.
- Tutorials/Seminars WILL be held the first week of classes.
- When choosing your schedule, remember to check "Show lab/tutorial sections" to see all Lecture/Seminar/Tutorial times required.

Registrar Notes:

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: YOUR WORK, YOUR SUCCESS

SFU’s Academic Integrity website http://www.sfu.ca/students/academicintegrity.html is filled with information on what is meant by academic dishonesty, where you can find resources to help with your studies and the consequences of cheating. Check out the site for more information and videos that help explain the issues in plain English.

Each student is responsible for his or her conduct as it affects the university community. Academic dishonesty, in whatever form, is ultimately destructive of the values of the university. Furthermore, it is unfair and discouraging to the majority of students who pursue their studies honestly. Scholarly integrity is required of all members of the university. http://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/student/s10-01.html

RELIGIOUS ACCOMMODATION

Students with a faith background who may need accommodations during the term are encouraged to assess their needs as soon as possible and review the Multifaith religious accommodations website. The page outlines ways they begin working toward an accommodation and ensure solutions can be reached in a timely fashion.