Queering Secondary English: Practitioner Research Examining Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and YA Queer Book Clubs Jennifer McLaughlin Cahill Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy under the Executive Committee of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 2019 © 2019 Jennifer McLaughlin Cahill All rights reserved ABSTRACT Queering Secondary English: Practitioner Research Examining Culturally Responsive Pedagogy and YA Queer Book Clubs Jennifer McLaughlin Cahill This qualitative practitioner research study examined a ninth-grade young adult (YA) queer book club curriculum and culturally relevant pedagogy. Students read two out of nine queer-themed YA novels paired with a collection of nonfiction and media on topics that ranged from rethinking gender norms in society to historical issues that impact people with intersectional queer identities. The author collaboratively designed, planned, and taught the 6- week unit at the center of the study, Disrupting Dominant Narratives and Queer Book Clubs, using a critical queer pedagogy framework. The findings illuminated the ways in which pedagogy that nurtures and prizes student voice, critical reading, discussion, and humanizing classroom discourse work to situate students as empathic critical readers and writers of the world. The findings suggest that analyzing queer- themed literature moves students to build empathy, disrupts oppression, and humanizes people of all identities, thus empowering youth as producers and consumers of knowledge that facilitates their growth and supports queer and questioning youth. In addition, students found common experiences as teenagers with the queer characters across the novels, therby affirming the decision to use exclusively YA fiction for the book club and serving to aid in disrupting dominant discourses about queer youth. The study concludes with a suggestion for seven implications for practice and a call for further research that aims to advance culturally relevant queer pedagogy. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................................... ix ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................x Chapter I – INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 1 Context ............................................................................................................................. 1 Framing the Problem ........................................................................................................ 3 (Queer) Terminology ....................................................................................................... 5 Explanation of the Study .................................................................................................. 7 Rationale and Significance .............................................................................................. 9 Chapter II – LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 12 Review of Relevant Literature ......................................................................................... 12 Queer Pedagogy ................................................................................................... 13 Theoretical understandings of oppression in schools and curriculum ........ 13 Inclusion is not enough: Disrupting problematic readings of queer content ..................................................................................................... 15 Establishing criteria for the selection of LGBT literature .......................... 19 Pedagogical limitations for teaching LGBTQ literature ............................. 21 Culturally Relevant Teaching .............................................................................. 26 Multiculturalism .......................................................................................... 27 (Queer) windows and mirrors ..................................................................... 28 Critical (Queer) Literacies ................................................................................... 29 The distinctions between LGBT inclusive and queer inclusive .................. 30 i Chapter II (continued) Unpacking dichotomous notions of gender and sexuality .......................... 32 Adolescent literacies ................................................................................... 36 Young adult literature ................................................................................. 38 Reading and Empathy .......................................................................................... 40 Adolescent readers ...................................................................................... 42 Empathy is not enough ................................................................................ 42 Conceptual Framework .................................................................................................... 43 Chapter III – METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................. 46 Research Questions .......................................................................................................... 46 Why Practitioner Research? ............................................................................................. 47 Participants ....................................................................................................................... 49 Selection ............................................................................................................... 49 The Participants ................................................................................................... 49 Anna ............................................................................................................ 50 Cassandra .................................................................................................... 50 Mateo .......................................................................................................... 51 Roseline ....................................................................................................... 51 Research Site and Population ........................................................................................... 53 Research Design ............................................................................................................... 56 Context ................................................................................................................. 58 Methods................................................................................................................ 60 Interviews .................................................................................................... 60 ii Chapter III (continued) Artifacts ....................................................................................................... 63 Artifacts Part I: Students’ written responses to significant passages in each YA novel ................................................................................ 66 Artifacts Part II: Students’ book reviews (of two YA books) ................ 67 Practitioner memos and observations ......................................................... 67 Working the Data ................................................................................................. 68 Analytical frames for reading the students’ writing about reading ............. 70 My Role(s) as Researcher ................................................................................................ 72 As Practitioner ..................................................................................................... 72 As Practitioner Researcher ................................................................................... 74 As Ally ................................................................................................................. 74 Reciprocity ....................................................................................................................... 77 Contribution to the Field .................................................................................................. 78 Chapter IV – FINDINGS ............................................................................................................. 79 Part I ................................................................................................................................. 79 Queer Visibility: Cultural Relevance, Affirming Identity, Empowerment ...................... 79 Queer Visibility: Enter Queer Content ................................................................ 80 Beyond Queer Visibility: Queer Empowerment .................................................. 83 Cultural (Queer) Relevance ................................................................................. 84 Teen Identity (and Empowerment) as Cultural Relevance .................................. 85 Affirming Identities ............................................................................................. 86 Personal Connections: (Queer) Windows and Mirrors .......................................