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The Role of the Interruption in Young Adult Epistolary Novels Betty J

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The Role of the Interruption in Young Adult Epistolary Novels Betty J University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2015 The Role of the Interruption in Young Adult Epistolary Novels Betty J. Herzhauser University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Curriculum and Instruction Commons Scholar Commons Citation Herzhauser, Betty J., "The Role of the Interruption in Young Adult Epistolary Novels" (2015). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/5701 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Role of the Interruption in Epistolary Young Adult Novels by Betty J. Herzhauser A dissertation submitted for partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Childhood Education and Literacy Studies College of Education University of South Florida Major Professor: James King, Ed.D. Jenifer Schneider, Ph.D. Patricia Jones, Ph.D. Marc Santos, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 12, 2015 Keywords: Text structure, reading, text complexity, writing, hermeneutics, heteroglossia Copyright © 2015, Betty J. Herzhauser Dedication To my children who never allow me to take myself too seriously To my husband who is unwavering in his love and support and really believes all things are possible Acknowledgments In 2004 I had the privilege of spending the summer as a fellow with the Tampa Bay Area Writing Project in Tampa Florida. Here is where my journey for advanced degrees was rekindled through the power of learning with inspired and inspiring teachers. Through the years I have been honored to work with these exceptional people, meet other teachers from around the world through conferences and workshops who continued to influence my desire to learn more about the art of writing and teaching. During my years of study for my Master’s Degree, Dr. Margaret Hewitt encouraged and challenged me to continue my studies. It is because of her wit and wisdom that I have completed this journey. Table of Contents List of Tables .............................................................................................................................................. iii List of Figures .............................................................................................................................................. iv Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... v Chapter One: Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 1 Overview ........................................................................................................................................... 1 The Interruption without Pardon: Adapting Old Ways with New Technologies ............................. 4 Written Communication Has Experienced a Renaissance ................................................................ 5 The Phone Becomes More Than a Voice ......................................................................................... 6 Sophisticated Communication and Interruption of Written Text ..................................................... 7 The Text and the Author ................................................................................................................... 8 Young Adult Literature in the Classroom ....................................................................................... 10 Heteroglossia: Many Voices, One Story ......................................................................................... 10 The Reader: Creator of Meaning .................................................................................................... 11 The Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................................ 13 Research Questions ......................................................................................................................... 13 Hermeneutics ..................................................................................................................... 13 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................................ 14 Conceptual Framework ...................................................................................................... 14 Heteroglossia and Rhetorical Choices ............................................................................................ 14 Summary of Methodology .............................................................................................................. 17 Text Selection .................................................................................................................... 17 Ethnographic Content Analysis ......................................................................................... 18 Using Epistolary Texts in the Classroom ........................................................................................ 20 Chapter Two: Review of the Literature ...................................................................................................... 22 The Epistolary Novel ...................................................................................................................... 22 Reader Response ............................................................................................................................. 25 Letter Writing and Polyphonic Texts .............................................................................................. 27 Expansion of Literacy Skills ........................................................................................................... 28 Abbreviated Writing .......................................................................................................... 29 Spelling and Conventions .................................................................................................. 29 Authentic Language ........................................................................................................................ 30 Voice .................................................................................................................................. 30 Self-discovery Through the Novel ..................................................................................... 30 Text Complexity ............................................................................................................................. 31 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 33 Chapter Three: Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 35 Hermeneutics: How the Parts Relate to the Whole ......................................................................... 36 Ethnographic Content Analysis ...................................................................................................... 37 i Methodological Perspectives .......................................................................................................... 38 Social Constructivism ........................................................................................................ 38 Ethnographic Positionality ................................................................................................. 39 Case Study of Falling for Hamlet .................................................................................................. 40 Coding System ................................................................................................................... 40 Complicated Text ............................................................................................................................ 50 Polyvocal Texts .................................................................................................................. 51 After the Interruption ...................................................................................................................... 54 The Effect of the Interruption on the Narrative .............................................................................. 57 Radical Change Theory in Young Adult Literature ........................................................................ 59 Rules Learned and Applications ..................................................................................................... 59 Selection Procedure ........................................................................................................................ 60 Coding Revisited ............................................................................................................................. 63 Initial Coding ..................................................................................................................... 63 Second Coding ................................................................................................................... 63 Coding What
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