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Moeller, Robin A. "‘No thanks, those are boy books’: A Feminist Cultural Analysis of Graphic Novels as Curricular Materials." Diss. Ph.D. Indiana University, 2008. 
Added by: joachim (29/11/2012, 17:03)   
Resource type: Thesis/Dissertation
Language: en: English
BibTeX citation key: Moeller2008
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Categories: General
Keywords: Children’s and young adults’ comics, Didactics, Gender, Reception
Creators: Moeller
Publisher: Indiana University (Bloomington)
Views: 8/401
Attachments   URLs   http://www.iucat.i ... ELLS/77851915/5/0#
Abstract
During my own professional experience as a school library media specialist, I often heard my female students designate graphic novels as being “boy books;” therefore I sought to examine the ways in which a group of Midwestern high school students read gender in three graphic novels recommended for teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association. The framework for this qualitative study was informed by the fields of cultural studies and feminism. After spending four months observing and interacting with the students and teachers in this particular high school, I, along with a male research assistant, conducted unstructured focus group interviews and individual interviews with eight female and seven male participants who had read each graphic novel. Analysis of the data included a coding process that was performed on the interview transcripts as well as my own fieldnotes. The results of this analysis indicated that the participants enjoyed reading graphic novels, although to varying degrees, and did not feel that they were “boy books.” Despite this, the participants did express a sense that their teachers and peers did not consider graphic novels to be legitimate sources of curricular material compared to traditional texts which they referred to as “real books.” The male participants found graphic novel reading to be a very rewarding experience whereas the female participants felt that graphic novel reading did not sufficiently challenge their imaginative and analytical skills as they had experienced with traditional novels. At the end of this research, I suggested ways in which graphic novels can become legitimated within the context of schooling.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents (viii)
List of Abbreviations (x)

1. Introduction (1)
What Are Graphic Novels?: A brief history (2)
Literature Concerning the Use of Graphic Novels in the Curriculum (7)
Contextualizing “Culture” (8)
Why Graphic Novels? (10)
Conceptual Framework (12)
Purpose of Study and General Research Questions (14)

2. Review of Related Literature (15)
Conceptual Framework (15)
– Cultural Studies (15)
— The importance of cultural studies in education (19)
– Feminist Cultural Analysis (21)
Media Literacy (23)
Examinations of Gendered Responses to Curriculum and Materials (25)
Gendered Reading Practices and Preferences in Youth (27)
Intersections of Ethnicity, Class, and Gender in Meaning-Making (34)
Reading Gender (41)
– In Literature (41)
– In Other Forms of Media (44)
Graphic Literature as Curricular Material (46)
Portrayals of Gender in Comic Books and Graphic Novels (49)
Library Collection Development (51)
Summary (53)
A Note About the Selection of Terms (56)

3. Methodology (57)
Pilot Study (58)
Site Selection (60)
– The media specialist (61)
– The LIS students (62)
– The library media center (62)
– Becoming the “cookie lady” (63)
Population Selection (66)
– Recruitment (66)
– The participants (67)
– The graphic novels (68)
Data Gathering Methods (69)
– Interaction with the research assistant (71)
– Data collection process (72)
Data Analysis Procedures (74)
– Coding (75)
– Memo writing (77)
– Theoretical sampling, saturation, and sorting (78)
Dominant, Negotiated, and Oppositional Readings (79)
Trustworthiness (81)
Ethical and Political Considerations (82)

4. Data Analysis (84)
Ways of Reading the Three Novels (84)
Reading and Talking Graphic Novels (92)
Defining the Stereotypical Graphic Novel Reader (93)
Becoming Graphic Novel Readers (97)
Describing Where Graphic Novels Fit into the Context of Schooling (98)
Troubling the Term “Graphic Novel” (101)
Conclusion (102)

5. Discussion and Conclusions (105)
How Do High School Students Read Gender as it is Portrayed in Graphic Novels? (105)
How Do the Students’ Responses Possibly Relate to the Perceived Gender Differences in Graphic Novel Preference? (108)
How Do Students Think that Graphic Novels Should be Used in the Context of Schooling? (110)
Implications (113)
Suggestions for Future Research (118)

References (121)

Appendix A: American Library Association Illustrations (130)
Appendix B: Informed Consent Statement (132)
Appendix C: Introductory Questionnaire (135)
Appendix D: Focus Group Interview Discussion Guide (137)
Appendix E: Debriefing Script (138)
Added by: joachim  Last edited by: joachim
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