Feminist Aliens, Black Vampires, and Gay Witches: Creating a Critical
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Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Graduate Theses and Dissertations Dissertations 2013 Feminist Aliens, Black Vampires, and Gay Witches: Creating a Critical Polis using SF Television in the College Composition Classroom Dawn Eyestone Iowa State University Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd Part of the Curriculum and Instruction Commons, Educational Methods Commons, English Language and Literature Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Recommended Citation Eyestone, Dawn, "Feminist Aliens, Black Vampires, and Gay Witches: Creating a Critical Polis using SF Television in the College Composition Classroom" (2013). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. 13037. https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/etd/13037 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Iowa State University Capstones, Theses and Dissertations at Iowa State University Digital Repository. 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Feminist aliens, black vampires, and gay witches: Creating a critical polis using SF television in the college composition classroom by Dawn Eyestone A dissertation submitted to the graduate faculty in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Major: English (Rhetoric and Professional Communication) Program of Study Committee: Barbara Blakely, Major Professor Greg Wilson Gloria Betcher Abby Dubisar Joel Geske Iowa State University Ames, Iowa 2013 ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF TABLES .................................................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. vi CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................... 1 Problems and Gaps .............................................................................................................. 1 Goals for the Composition Classroom .......................................................................... 7 Key Questions for the Study ............................................................................................. 8 Important Intersections in Existing Scholarship ..................................................... 9 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF SIGNIFICANT LITERATURE ...................................................... 10 Critical Pedagogy .................................................................................................................. 10 Politics and the Polis ........................................................................................................... 15 Media Literacy and Categories of Identity ................................................................ 41 Using Television Critically ................................................................................................ 54 Key Features of SF: The Alien Other and the Alternate Reality ......................... 57 Using Television in the Classroom ................................................................................ 61 CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ..................................................................................................... 66 Ethnography and Critical Literacy ................................................................................ 66 Trustworthiness Features and the Researcher’s Role ........................................... 68 Site and Respondent Selection ........................................................................................ 72 Data Collection ...................................................................................................................... 77 Methodology Emerging from a Pilot Project ............................................................. 78 Major Assignments for Analysis in the Study............................................................ 80 Scaffolding for the Rhetorical Analysis ........................................................................ 84 Scaffolding in English 250: Summary and Documented Essay ................... 84 Scaffolding in English 205: Analyzing Archetypes ........................................... 91 Tracking Movement in Student Work .......................................................................... 92 CHAPTER 4 PRESENTATION OF DATA .................................................................................. 94 Prefacing the Data ................................................................................................................ 94 Documenting Movement ............................................................................................ 94 Method of Data Analysis ............................................................................................. 95 Student Resistance ....................................................................................................... 97 Sorting the Data .................................................................................................................... 102 Movement in Critical Thinking ....................................................................................... 109 Critical Thinking as a Whole ..................................................................................... 110 iii Page Critical Categories of Identity .................................................................................. 113 Communicating about Critical Issues .................................................................... 115 Discussing Stereotypes ........................................................................................ 115 Identifying the Fiction .......................................................................................... 118 Applying Critical Theory ..................................................................................... 121 Goals for Composition Curriculum ................................................................................ 123 Making Claims and Supporting Arguments ........................................................ 123 Rhetorical Issues—Audience, Purpose, Context, Authorship ...................... 131 Language Choices and Expression ......................................................................... 140 Student Reflections on the SF Genre ............................................................................ 143 Some Initial Conclusions ................................................................................................... 144 CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION OF DATA ............................................. 147 Answering the Research Questions .............................................................................. 147 Analyzing the Data ............................................................................................................... 149 Making Critical Connections between Entertainment and Reality ............ 150 Critical Analysis and the Pleasure of Entertainment ...................................... 163 Examining Categories of Identity in SF Television .......................................... 169 CHAPTER 6 SOME CONCLUSIONS ABOUT THE STUDY................................................... 185 Effectiveness of SF as a Pedagogical Tool ................................................................... 185 Possible Alternatives for Similar Projects .................................................................. 186 Additional Notes about the Study .................................................................................. 189 Evolution of Theory and Practice .................................................................................. 192 REFERENCES ....................................................................................................................................... 194 Works Cited ............................................................................................................................ 194 Works Consulted .................................................................................................................. 197 Works Used in Class and for Assignments ................................................................. 198 APPENDIX A ASSIGNMENT SHEETS ......................................................................................... 202 Summary ................................................................................................................................. 202 Documented Essay .............................................................................................................. 205 Rhetorical Analysis of Television ................................................................................... 208 Archetype Analysis .............................................................................................................. 211 Final Portfolio ........................................................................................................................ 213 iv Page APPENDIX B DATA COLLECTION DOCUMENTS ................................................................... 218 Consent Form ........................................................................................................................ 218 Student Questionnaires ....................................................................................................