Claudia Cooper
Assistant Professor Emerita of Education Studies and English and American Literatures
- ccooper@middlebury.edu
- Office Hours
- by appointment
Claudia Cooper has been teaching at Middlebury since 1998. Her interests and research focus on global literature for children, and children’s literacy and Ethiopia.
Professor Cooper earned her doctorate in Human Development and Psychology with a specialization in language and literacy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. There her work focused on the psychosocial aspects of literacy, specifically how children expressed their points of view by indicating emotional high points in their writing, and what relationships could be found with their status as children “at-risk” for academic failure or success.
Professor Cooper holds a joint teaching appointment in Education Studies and the English and American Literatures Department.Recent courses in Education include Literacy Across the Secondary Curriculum, and the Student Teaching Seminar.She also supervises elementary and secondary student teachers in their school placements.Interdisciplinary and cross listed courses include Writing for Children and Young Adults, Global Literature for Youth, Youth Literature and Film, Taboos and Trends in Literature for Children and Young Adults and Images of Africa and Africa’s Self Image.In 2008, she took a winter term class to Ethiopia for an intensive field based learning experience in a course called Reading Cultures: Writing Lives.
Courses Taught
ENAM 0211
Global Literature for Youth
Course Description
Global Perspectives on Literature for Youth
Literature in translation, post-colonial English literature, and the literature of immigrants are a growing part of literature available to American children. We will examine literature from Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia originally written in English or in translation. What makes international literature distinct from multicultural literature? Do these literary traditions bridge cultural gaps? What issues arise in translating for children? What is the phenomenon of "Americanization?" What are the implicit and explicit cultural and/or ethnic expectations regarding authorship and criticism in international literature? In this class we will examine these questions through the lens of literature for children.
Terms Taught
Requirements
ENAM 0500
Special Project: Lit
Course Description
Special Project: Literature
Approval Required.
Terms Taught