Award Date

1-1-2007

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Curriculum and Instruction

First Committee Member

Cynthia Giorgis

Number of Pages

254

Abstract

In this study, adolescent female readers participated in an after-school literature based discussion group or "Book Group" as we came to call it, reading contemporary young adult novels that deal with issues of the body. The purpose of this study was to examine the adolescent girls' experiences within the literature discussions, as most studies relating to literature circle discussions, book clubs, or book groups do not focus on the students' experiences. A related purpose of the study was to investigate how literature based discussion groups reflect and reveal readers' own identities as well as dominant social discourse about issues of femininity. This study was grounded in several areas of research into best practices in adolescent literacy as well as evolving theories on adolescent bodies as sites inscribed by power, culture, and gender. Findings for the study revealed multiple aspects of girls' reading and gendered identities as well as issues of conflict within the readers regarding issues related to the body and their appearance.

Keywords

Adolescent Literacy; Analysis; Adolescent; Bodies; Body Image; Book; Book Group; Experiences; Girls; Girls' Literacy; Literature Circles; Reading; School; Study

Controlled Subject

Individualized reading instruction; Language arts

File Format

pdf

File Size

6277.12 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

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