DOCSLIB.ORG

Abstract, Title Pages

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Abstract, Title Pages UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA The Pedagogy of Epistolarity: Writing to Read—Reading to Write by Judith M. van Manen A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy DEPARTMENT OF SECONDARY EDUCATION Edmonton, Alberta Fall, 2007 University of Alberta Library Release Form Name of Author: Judith M. van Manen Title of Thesis: The Pedagogy of Epistolarity: Writing to Read—Reading to Write Degree: Doctor of Philosophy Year this Degree Granted: 2007 Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Library to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly, or scientific research purposes only. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis, except as hereinbefore provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may by printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatever without the author’s written permission. ___________________________________ 10439 -136 Street Edmonton, Alberta Canada T5N 2E7 Date: _____________________________ University of Alberta Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research The undersigned certify that they have read, and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research for acceptance, a thesis entitled The Pedagogy of Epistolarity: Writing to Read—Reading to Write submitted by Judith M. van Manen in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. _________________________________ Dr. Margaret Iveson, Supervisor _________________________________ Dr. David G. Smith _________________________________ Dr. Joyce M. Bainbridge _________________________________ Dr. Randy Wimmer _________________________________ Dr. Trevor Gambell, External Examiner Date: August 27, 2007 ABSTRACT The present research explores how adolescents develop and redefine their identities through writing about their literary experiences with novels in a reader response program called Reading Room. The empirical data of this study consist of selections from 12 years of penbook letters (nearly one thousand penbooks) written by grade 8 and 9 junior high school students since 1990. Students wrote multiple entries about each of the books they read. Student reflections on their literary experiences took the epistolary form (letters)—most addressed to the teacher. The teacher not only read the penbook letters but also responded to each in writing. Thus, the main pedagogical challenge for the teacher was, first, how to interpret the student writings in terms of their linguistic, developmental, and personalistic features, and second, how to respond to these writings. The study starts by exploring the different senses of place that the students experience in the Reading Room, as well as a curricular overview of the Reading Room program and the various dimensions of the epistolarity of writing about reading. Literary theory defines the scholarly domain that orients to the interpretation of literary sources. It has become an umbrella term for the approaches and philosophies of reading texts. So, in order to gain a measure of the relation between a literary theory of reading and the experience of writing, the works of Peter J. Rabinowitz, Joseph A. Appleyard, and Martha Nussbaum are examined with the objective to draw out the connections to writing, meaning and identity. Next, four interpretive perspectives are presented and applied to selected student penbook letters: discourse analysis, (auto)biography and narrativity, hermeneutics, and critical theory. These interpretive perspectives are tested with the purpose of providing teachers with understandings that could be translated into thoughtful responses to the students’ penbook letters. Finally these insights are brought to bear on the pedagogy of epistolatory writing about reading. It is shown how such pedagogical understanding of the students’ learning and personal growth enables the teacher to tactfully encourage and offer support when and where needed. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Margaret Iveson for her undaunting support, and encouragement on all aspects of my study, to Professor Joyce Bainbridge for her very careful reading and revision comments on early drafts of my thesis, to Professor David Smith for his thoughtful remarks on my work, to Professor Randy Wimmer for reading my work with such care and also joining my examination committee late in the process, and to Professor Trevor Gambell for serving as my external examiner, reading my thesis, and asking probing questions at the oral examination. I also wish to acknowledge Professor Dennis Sumara, my first advisor who provided excellent feedback in the early stages of my work. To my husband Max van Manen I thank him for his loving support and constant reminders that my work was worthy. Without his insistence to revise my early drafts, I doubt whether the study would have been completed. Finally, to all of my students for their generous sharing of their penbook letters. - 1 -1 Contents CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................1 Personal Background..........................................................................................1 Being read to ...................................................................................................1 Books...............................................................................................................2 Families of books.............................................................................................3 The library........................................................................................................4 Teaching..............................................................................................................5 Background to the Study.....................................................................................6 The Dissertation Research Question ................................................................11 Research Methodology .....................................................................................12 CHAPTER TWO SPACES IN THE PLACE OF READING ROOM..................................................15 The Physical Space of Reading Room..............................................................17 The Inner Space of Reading Room...................................................................18 The Social Space of Reading Room .................................................................21 The Space of the Virtual Text............................................................................24 The Pedagogical Space of Reading Room .......................................................25 Overlapping Spaces..........................................................................................26 Student letter .................................................................................................29 Parent letter...................................................................................................31 Setting up the Program .....................................................................................33 Rules for Reading Room periods ..................................................................33 Letter Content Suggestions...........................................................................35 Penbook log...................................................................................................36 Author............................................................................................................36 Penbook letters..............................................................................................36 Reading Room goals and evaluation ............................................................38 Conclusion.........................................................................................................39 CHAPTER THREE THE EPISTOLARITY OF WRITING ABOUT READING ......................................40 The Exchange Dimension .................................................................................41 The Mediatory Dimension .................................................................................44 The Time Dimension .........................................................................................46 Conclusion.........................................................................................................48 CHAPTER FOUR LITERARY THEORY: READING AND WRITING ...............................................49 Exploring Conceptions of Reading, Writing, Meaning, and Identity ..................49 Rabinowitz’s Before Reading ........................................................................49 Appleyard’s Becoming a Reader...................................................................56 Nussbaum’s Poetic Justice............................................................................62 Conclusion.........................................................................................................70 1 - 2 -2 CHAPTER FIVE INTERPRETIVE PERSPECTIVES........................................................................73 Discourse Analysis: Inquiring into Understanding Writing about Reading ........74 Discourse analysis as inquiry ........................................................................74 Discourse analysis
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Case Study of Kurt Donald Cobain
    CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) A CASE STUDY OF KURT DONALD COBAIN By Candice Belinda Pieterse Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Magister Artium in Counselling Psychology in the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University December 2009 Supervisor: Prof. J.G. Howcroft Co-Supervisor: Dr. L. Stroud i DECLARATION BY THE STUDENT I, Candice Belinda Pieterse, Student Number 204009308, for the qualification Magister Artium in Counselling Psychology, hereby declares that: In accordance with the Rule G4.6.3, the above-mentioned treatise is my own work and has not previously been submitted for assessment to another University or for another qualification. Signature: …………………………………. Date: …………………………………. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are several individuals that I would like to acknowledge and thank for all their support, encouragement and guidance whilst completing the study: Professor Howcroft and Doctor Stroud, as supervisors of the study, for all their help, guidance and support. As I was in Bloemfontein, they were still available to meet all my needs and concerns, and contribute to the quality of the study. My parents and Michelle Wilmot for all their support, encouragement and financial help, allowing me to further my academic career and allowing me to meet all my needs regarding the completion of the study. The participants and friends who were willing to take time out of their schedules and contribute to the nature of this study. Konesh Pillay, my friend and colleague, for her continuous support and liaison regarding the completion of this study.
    [Show full text]
  • A Denial the Death of Kurt Cobain the Seattle Police Department
    A Denial The Death of Kurt Cobain The Seattle Police Department Substandard Investigation & The Repercussions to Justice by Bree Donovan A Capstone Submitted to The Graduate School-Camden Rutgers, The State University, New Jersey in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies Under the direction of Dr. Joseph C. Schiavo and approved by _________________________________ Capstone Director _________________________________ Program Director Camden, New Jersey, December 2014 i Abstract Kurt Cobain (1967-1994) musician, artist songwriter, and founder of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band, Nirvana, was dubbed, “the voice of a generation”; a moniker he wore like his faded cardigan sweater, but with more than some distain. Cobain‟s journey to the top of the Billboard charts was much more Dickensian than many of the generations of fans may realize. During his all too short life, Cobain struggled with physical illness, poverty, undiagnosed depression, a broken family, and the crippling isolation and loneliness brought on by drug addiction. Cobain may have shunned the idea of fame and fortune but like many struggling young musicians (who would become his peers) coming up in the blue collar, working class suburbs of Aberdeen and Tacoma Washington State, being on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine wasn‟t a nightmare image. Cobain, with his unkempt blond hair, polarizing blue eyes, and fragile appearance is a modern-punk-rock Jesus; a model example of the modern-day hero. The musician- a reluctant hero at best, but one who took a dark, frightening journey into another realm, to emerge stronger, clearer headed and changing the trajectory of his life.
    [Show full text]
  • Krist Novoselic
    OVERNMENT G & E GRUNG KRIST NOVOSELIC THE ORAL HISTORY OF A WASHINGTON ROCKER WITH A CIVIC MISSION LEGACY PROJECT History through the people who lived it Krist Novoselic Research by John Hughes and Lori Larson Transcripti on by Lori Larson Interviews by John Hughes October 14, 2008 John Hughes: This is October 14, 2008. I’m John Hughes, Chief Oral Historian for the Washington State Legacy Project, with the Offi ce of the Secretary of State. We’re in Deep River, Wash., at the home of Krist Novoselic, a 1984 graduate of Aberdeen High School; a founding member of the band Nirvana with his good friend Kurt Cobain; politi cal acti vist, chairman of the Wahkiakum County Democrati c Party, author, fi lmmaker, photographer, blogger, part-ti me radio host, While doing reseach at the State Archives in 2005, Novoselic volunteer disc jockey, worthy master of the Grays points to Grays River in Wahkiakum County, where he lives. Courtesy Washington State Archives River Grange, gentleman farmer, private pilot, former commercial painter, ex-fast food worker, proud son of Croati a, and an amateur Volkswagen mechanic. Does that prett y well cover it, Krist? Novoselic: And chairman of FairVote to change our democracy. Hughes: You know if you ever decide to run for politi cal offi ce, your life is prett y much an open book. And half of it’s on YouTube, like when you tried for the Guinness Book of World Records bass toss on stage with Nirvana and it hits you on the head, and then Kurt (Cobain) kicked you in the butt .
    [Show full text]
  • Embodiment, Phenomenology and Listener Receptivity of Nirvana’S in Utero
    ‘WE FEED OFF EACH OTHER’: EMBODIMENT, PHENOMENOLOGY AND LISTENER RECEPTIVITY OF NIRVANA’S IN UTERO Christopher Martin A Thesis Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS May 2006 Committee: Jeremy Wallach Becca Cragin Angela Nelson ii ABSTRACT Jeremy Wallach, Advisor Despite the fact that listening to recorded music is a predominant form of human interaction with music in general, music scholarship often continues to classify listening as a passive form of reception in comparison to the “activity” of actual music performance. This thesis presents the idea that music listening is actually an embodied and agentive form of reception that varies according to different listeners, their listening strategies, and other surrounding contexts. In order to provide detailed analysis of this assertion, Nirvana’s 1993 album In Utero is the primary recording that this thesis examines, arguing that the album contains specific embodied properties that ultimately allow for embodied forms of listening and responses within the musical experience. Phenomenological reasoning and scholarship from popular music studies, history, cultural studies, and other humanities fields contribute to the central argument. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I owe an oversized thank you to the following friends and family for their support: Pat and Priscilla Martin, Veronica Martin, Linda Coleson, and my colleagues in the Popular Culture department. Aaron Weinacht and Patrick Blythe earn special thanks for their continuing willingness to participate in arguments and theories that, as always, range from prescient to ridiculous. Kandace Virgin also deserves my thanks and love for patiently tolerating my stubbornness and need to constantly work ahead, as well as my other idiosyncrasies.
    [Show full text]
  • In Search of Nirvana: Why Nirvana: the True Story Could Never Be'true'
    This may be the author’s version of a work that was submitted/accepted for publication in the following source: Thackray, Jerry (2015) In search of Nirvana: Why Nirvana: The true story could never be ’true’. Popular Music and Society, 38(2), pp. 194-207. This file was downloaded from: https://eprints.qut.edu.au/81973/ c Consult author(s) regarding copyright matters This work is covered by copyright. Unless the document is being made available under a Creative Commons Licence, you must assume that re-use is limited to personal use and that permission from the copyright owner must be obtained for all other uses. If the docu- ment is available under a Creative Commons License (or other specified license) then refer to the Licence for details of permitted re-use. It is a condition of access that users recog- nise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. If you believe that this work infringes copyright please provide details by email to [email protected] Notice: Please note that this document may not be the Version of Record (i.e. published version) of the work. Author manuscript versions (as Sub- mitted for peer review or as Accepted for publication after peer review) can be identified by an absence of publisher branding and/or typeset appear- ance. If there is any doubt, please refer to the published source. https://doi.org/10.1080/03007766.2014.994326 In Search of Nirvana: Why Nirvana: The True Story Could Never Be ‘True’ Jeremy Thackray In my book Nirvana: The True Story (2006), I undertake an autoethnographical approach to biography, attempting to impart an understanding of my chosen subject—the rock band Nirvana—via discussion of my own experiences.
    [Show full text]
  • The Kurt Cobain MURDER INVESTIGATION
    The Kurt Cobain MURDER INVESTIGATION By Tom Grant Drawing by Lori Burns CONTENT (Condensed) Introduction 1 The Killing of Kurt Cobain 2 Why Should We Care About a Drug Addict? 3 Courtney Love – On the Inside 4 Case Outline 5 Summary of Events 8 Kurt is Found 14 Courtney Love on Notice – Letter 22 Copycat Suicides 24 The Seattle Police Reports 27-47 Death Certificate 48 The So-Called Suicide Note 49 Media Hype and the Gory Details 57 The Million Dollar Lie 59 The Rome Incident 63 Censorship in America 70 Enter Eldon Hoke 75 Excerpts from “Dead Men Don’t Pull Triggers” 81 Let’s Keep This Simple 93 Hoaxes Associated with the Cobain Case 95 Frequently Asked Questions 98 TV - NBC TV’s Unsolved Mysteries 102 Book - Heavier than Heaven 112 Jack Palladino 114 Film - Kurt and Courtney 115 Book - Love and Death 120 Film - Last Days 122 TV – Hard Copy 123 Film – Soaked In Bleach 126 Audio Tape Excerpts 127 One Step At a Time 134 Tom Grant’s Background 135 INTRODUCTION Kurt Cobain left a drug rehab center in Marina Del Rey, California on April 1, 1994 and was later reported missing. As you probably know, he was found dead just seven days later. My name is Tom Grant. I'm a California state licensed private investigator and former detective with the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. On April 3, 1994, I was hired by Courtney Love, (who was in Los Angeles at the time) to locate her husband after he left a drug rehab center in Marina Del Rey, California.
    [Show full text]
  • Dark Slivers: Seeing Nirvana in the Shards of Incesticide by Nick Soulsby Table of Contents
    Dark Slivers: Seeing Nirvana in the Shards of Incesticide By Nick Soulsby Table of Contents Foreword ..................................................................... 3 1.0 The Greatest Gift .............................................. 7 2.0 (MIA) The Complete Anthology ...................... 19 3.0 Two Nuns and a Pack Mule ............................ 31 4.0 The Rich Man’s Eight Track Tape..................... 43 5.0 My War ........................................................... 57 6.0 Double Nickels on the Dime ........................... 69 7.0 Project Mersh ................................................. 85 8.0 Post-Mersh ................................................... 101 9.0 Hairway to Steven ........................................ 115 10.0 Big Black Songs About… ............................... 131 11.0 Over the Edge ............................................... 143 12.0 Family Man ................................................... 155 13.0 Songs the Lord Taught Us ............................. 177 14.0 Dry as a Bone ............................................... 205 15.0 Coda ............................................................. 221 Reading Nirvana: A Bibliographical Note ................. 243 Acknowledgements ................................................. 258 1 Dry as a Bone 205 14.0 Dry as a Bone Incesticide was sandwiched between two major studio album releases— Nevermind and In Utero—and with fans also able to go purchase Nirvana’s newly reissued first studio album, Bleach, Incesticide has been
    [Show full text]
  • The Grunge Inferno: Dante As Read by Kurt Cobain
    Dante e l’arte 6, 2019 93-104 The Grunge Inferno: Dante as read by Kurt Cobain Giulio Carlo Pantalei Università Roma 3 [email protected] https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5105-2527 Abstract This essay seeks to investigate the peculiar and undoubtedly intense relationship between Dante’s Inferno and Kurt Cobain, lead songwriter to Grunge arguably most famous band, Nirvana, and main spokesman of the so-called «Generation X» at the beginning of the 90s in the Western Culture. Clues leading to Dante›s first Cantica could be surprisingly found within all the records published by Nirvana, from Bleach (1989) to In Utero (1993), revealing an interesting cross section about the interpretation and the adaptation of Dante›s imaginarium in the United States and both a definitely enhanced picture of Kurt Cobain›s artistic legacy and an exploration of the reading of the poem by the Western youth at the end of the last Century. Precise and fatal references to the XIIIth Canto concludes the survey, donating all the human depth beyond this intersection between Grunge era and Italian Middle Ages. Key Words: Dante; Inferno; Kurt Cobain; Grunge; Nirvana; XIIIth Canto. Riassunto Questo saggio cerca di indagare il particolare e indubbiamente intenso rapporto tra l’Infer- no di Dante e Kurt Cobain, cantautore di Grunge, probabilmente il gruppo più famoso, i Nirvana, e portavoce principale della cosiddetta “Generation X” all’inizio degli anni ‘90 nella cultura occidentale. Gli indizi che conducono alla prima Cantica di Dante potrebbero essere sorprendentemente trovati in tutti i dischi pubblicati dai Nirvana, da Bleach (1989) a In Utero (1993), rivelando un’interessante sezione trasversale sull’interpretazione e l’adatta- mento dell’immaginario dantesco negli Stati Uniti e sia un quadro decisamente migliorato dell’eredità artistica di Kurt Cobain, sia un’esplorazione della lettura della poesia da parte dei giovani occidentali alla fine del secolo scorso.
    [Show full text]
  • Understand Seattle
    ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 189 Understand Seattle Seattle today . 190 Blink and you’ll miss something. The evolution of Seattle in the 2010s continues at a blinding pace. HiStory . 192 A short, action-packed story of yo-yoing fortunes on the way from rambunctious lumber town to high-tech city of the future. The Way of life . 196 A city of latte lunches, cutting-edge culture and outdoor fashion that has modestly produced numerous global brands. MuSic . .200 Seattle’s greatest hits could fill a best-selling album, with Ray Charles, Quincy Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Nirvana, Macklemore and more. ©Lonely Planet Publications Pty Ltd 190 Seattle Today Ever since the pioneering Denny party felled the trees for their first log cabin on Alki Beach in 1851, Seattle has rarely stood still. Yet, even by its own roller-coaster standards, the recent pace of change has been astronomical. Currently stirring up local debate is a massive public-transportation project, the burying of a 60-year-old freeway, landmark new laws on cannabis and same-sex marriage, and a whole dynamic new neighborhood being hatched on the southern shores of Lake Union. Best on Film The City that Never Stands Still Sleepless in Seattle (1993) Meg If you last visited Seattle in 2010, you could be in for Ryan and Tom Hanks are irresistibly a surprise or three. A number of visible changes have adorable in this riff on An Affair to marked the city that never stands still in the last few Remember. years, and a couple more are well into the developmen- Singles (1992) Attractive slackers tal stage.
    [Show full text]
  • Suicide and Self-Destruction in the Seattle Grunge Scene
    Central European University, Budapest Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology The social life of death: Suicide and self-destruction in the Seattle Grunge Scene M.A Thesis By: Yotam Kramer CEU eTD Collection 15/6/2016 2 Contents 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................... 3 2. Literature review ................................................................................................................................ 6 2.1 Macro-System ............................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.1 On Commodification ............................................................................................................. 6 2.1.2 Popular Music as a Reflection of Historical Social Changes ...................................................... 9 2.2 Mezzo-System ............................................................................................................................. 12 2.2.1 Subcultures, Rock Culture and the Grunge Alternative Rock Scene ................................... 12 2.2.2 Pierre Bourdieu’s Cultural Production and Consumption ................................................. 14 2.3 Micro-System .............................................................................................................................. 17 2.3.1 Suicide: Classical and Contemporary Views ............................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Composition's Eye/Orpheus's Gaze/ Cobain's Journals
    Geoffrey Sirc University of Minnesota _________________________________________ COMPOSITION'S EYE/ORPHEUS'S GAZE/ COBAIN'S JOURNALS I feel this society somewhere has lost its sense of what art is, Art is expression. In expression you need 100% full freedom and our freedom to express our art is seriously being fucked with. Fuck, the word fuck has as many connotations as does the word Art and I’m far beyond the point of sitting down and casually complaining about this problem to the right wing control freaks who are the main offenders of destroying art. I wont calmly and literally complain to you! Im going to fucking kill. Im going to fuck- ing destroy your macho, sadistic, sick, right wing, religiously abusive opinions on how we as a whole should operate according to your conditions. Before I die many will die with me and they will deserve it. See you in Hell. Love, Kurdt Cobain. (110-111) mong other things, Kurt Cobainʼs Journals proves an interesting composition textbook, one geared more for teachers, perhaps, than students, because it reminds us what to look for in writing and, hence, Awhat to have college writers look at in order to help them develop voice and content in their prose. Iʼm thinking, for example, of Jim Corderʼs dark night of the soul in 1975, coming face to face with his worst nightmare: namely, the writing assignments he gave his students. Corder writes how, “in an excess of zeal during the first meeting of my freshman composition class, I vowed that I would write an essay every time they did and that I would turn my essays over to them as they turned theirs in to me” (163).
    [Show full text]
  • The Un'gathering of the Tribes: Performing, Writing
    THE UN’GATHERING OF THE TRIBES: PERFORMING, WRITING, AND REMAKING MASCULINE IDENTITY AT 1990S ALTERNATIVE ROCK FESTIVALS A THESIS IN History Presented to the Faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF ARTS by DANIEL GORDON FITZGERALD B.A., Eastern Illinois University, 1999 Kansas City, Missouri 2013 THE UN’GATHERING OF THE TRIBES: PERFORMING, WRITING, AND REMAKING MASCULINE IDENITITY AT 1990S ALTERNATIVE ROCK FESTIVALS Daniel Gordon Fitzgerald, Candidate for the Master of Arts Degree University of Missouri-Kansas City, 2013 ABSTRACT In the early 1990s, a number of up-and-coming American rock bands working in the so-called “alternative rock” genre coupled boyish sensitivity with aggressive sounds that fused punk rock, hard rock, and underground styles to create a genre that provided a thoughtful twist on the angry young man archetype. During this same period, a new wave of traveling all-day, multi-band rock festivals offered bands and audiences a venue for performing their new thoughtful alternative identities. Although Lollapalooza—the first major American alternative festival of the ‘90s—was initially successful in bringing together diverse groups from America’s alternative-aligned countercultures, musicians, fans, and journalists ultimately abandoned the festival when it traded passionate, high volume sensitivity for aggressive hyper-masculinity. As Lollapalooza’s popularity waned, new niche festivals such as the neo-hippie H.O.R.D.E. Tour, the all-female Lilith Fair, and the heavy metal Ozzfest emerged, splitting the iii alternative rock audience and fostering environments where fans and bands could construct subgenre-specific identities.
    [Show full text]