Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School 2015 Articulating Situated Knowledge and Standpoints in our Responses to Contemporary Street Fiction: A Book Club Case Study with African American Women Yvette Rachele Hyde Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Hyde, Yvette Rachele, "Articulating Situated Knowledge and Standpoints in our Responses to Contemporary Street Fiction: A Book Club Case Study with African American Women" (2015). LSU Doctoral Dissertations. 2831. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_dissertations/2831 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized graduate school editor of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please [email protected]. ARTICULATING SITUATED KNOWLEDGE AND STANDPOINTS IN OUR RESPONSES TO CONTEMPORARY STREET FICTION: A BOOK CLUB CASE STUDY WITH AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The School of Education by Yvette Rachele Hyde B.A., Southeastern Louisiana University, 1997 M.A., Louisiana State University, 2000 August 2015 Acknowledgments I am most grateful to my committee members—Dr. Jacqueline Bach, Dr. Susan Weinsten, Dr. Petra Hendry, Dr. Michelle Massé, and Dr. Kathleen Bratton—for their guidance and support. I am particularly indebted to my advisor Dr. Jacqueline Bach for her patience and encouragement throughout this process and for faithfully meeting with me to read and comment on numerous drafts. I would also like to thank my participants—Belle, Carmen, Davie, Katrina, Kiersten, McKenzie, and Paula—for their enthusiasm, humor and candidness during each book club meeting. I sincerely appreciate their willingness to share their knowledge of contemporary street fiction and reading experiences with me. Without their expertise and participation, this study would not have been possible. Thirdly, I am also greatly indebted to my graduate school friends—Tammy Jenkins, Marcia Speed, Mary Hudson, Candice Hale, Martha Pitts, Sybil Durand, Heather Johnston- Durham, and Erin Scott-Stewart—who were always a phone call, email or text message away when I needed encouragement or feedback on my thoughts and ideas, no matter the day or hour. I am extremely appreciative for your advice and support. Finally, I am especially grateful to my family—my children, Ashanté, Mia, Donielle, and Camden; my grandparents, Rigley and Mamie Martin, Sr.; my parents, Milton and Gaynell Perry; my siblings, Denette, Brandon, Kimberly and Jason; and my many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins—for believing in me. Also, a special thanks to my Bethel Reform Methodist Church family and my uncle Earl Martin, Sr., for their continuous words of encouragement and to my children’s paternal grandmother, Donna Carter, for her support and help with childcare whenever needed. ii Table of Contents Acknowledgments........................................................................................................................... ii Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Chapter One: Introduction ...............................................................................................................1 Significance of the Issue ............................................................................................................2 Statement of the Problem ...........................................................................................................6 Purpose and Research Questions ...............................................................................................9 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................10 Methodology ............................................................................................................................13 Summary ..................................................................................................................................13 Chapter Two: Review of Literature ...............................................................................................16 Overview of Origins ................................................................................................................18 Key Aspects of Contemporary Street Fiction ..........................................................................20 Unconventional Publishing Techniques ............................................................................21 Deterministic Environments and Morally Ambiguous Characters ....................................23 Literary naturalism .......................................................................................................24 Slave narratives ............................................................................................................27 Newgate novels ............................................................................................................30 Black pulp fiction .........................................................................................................32 Ghetto realistic fiction............................................................................................34 Blaxploitation .........................................................................................................36 Systemic Inequalities and Values ......................................................................................38 Hip-hop culture ............................................................................................................38 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................42 Reader Response Theory ...................................................................................................43 Feminist Standpoint Theory ...............................................................................................46 Relevant Studies.................................................................................................................49 Chapter Three: Methodology .........................................................................................................56 Rationale for Case Study Approach .........................................................................................57 The Context ..............................................................................................................................59 Case Selection ..........................................................................................................................60 Data Collection Methods .........................................................................................................61 Participant Observation ......................................................................................................61 Field Notes .........................................................................................................................62 Group Discussions .............................................................................................................62 Interviews ...........................................................................................................................64 Final Evaluation .................................................................................................................65 Data Analysis ...........................................................................................................................65 My Role and Background as Researcher .................................................................................66 Limitations ...............................................................................................................................67 Ethical Considerations .............................................................................................................68 iii Timeline ...................................................................................................................................68 Participants ...............................................................................................................................70 Belle ...................................................................................................................................71 Carmen ...............................................................................................................................73 Davie ..................................................................................................................................73 Katrina................................................................................................................................75 Kiersten ..............................................................................................................................76 McKenzie ...........................................................................................................................77