UN/TANGLING GIRLHOOD: NEGOTIATIONS OF IDENTITY, LITERACY, AND PLACE AT AN ELITE, INDEPENDENT PRIVATE ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL IN NEW YORK CITY by Emily Bailin Wells Dissertation Committee: Professor Lalitha Vasudevan, Sponsor Professor Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz Approved by the Committee on the Degree of Doctor of Education Date 16 May 2018 Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education in Teachers College, Columbia University 2018 ABSTRACT UN/TANGLING GIRLHOOD: NEGOTIATIONS OF IDENTITY, LITERACY, AND PLACE AT AN ELITE, INDEPENDENT PRIVATE ALL-GIRLS SCHOOL IN NEW YORK CITY Emily Bailin Wells All-girls schools are commonly framed as institutions meant to empower girls to be their best selves in an enriching environment that fosters learning, compassion, and success. In elite, private schools, notions of language, privilege, and place are often tethered to the school’s history and traditions in ways that are seamlessly woven into the cultural fabric of the institution, subsequently informing particular constructions of students. Therefore, a closer examination of the dialogic power of belonging and expectations between an institution and its members is required. Failure to interrogate language and power dynamics in privileged spaces can perpetuate systems and structures of exclusivity and prohibit the construction of authentically inclusive practices and place-making within educational institutions. This study, which took place at an elite, independent, private all-girls school (the Clyde School) on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, interrogates how ideations of girls and girlhood are constructed and promoted as part of a school’s institutional identity and, in turn, how members of the institution understand, negotiate, and reimagine ideals, expectations, and forms of membership within the Clyde School. Drawing on literature from sociocultural, sociolinguistic, and communications perspectives, and concepts of literacy, identity, and place as constructed, situated and practiced, this study highlights the importance of context and discourse when examining how young people understand themselves, others, and their socially-situated realities. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, multimodal media-making, and participant observations. The primary method of data analysis was a critical analysis of discourse—an examination of the language, beliefs, values, and practices that collectively work to construct a school’s institutional identity; and foster insight into how students perceive and challenge notions of what it means to be a student at the Clyde School. The findings of this case study offer analyses of individual, collective, and institutional identity/ies. It considers the discursive practices, critical literacies, and place-making processes that young people use to navigate and negotiate their experiences in a particular sociocultural ecology. This study contributes to understandings of girlhood, youth studies, and elite, private independent school settings and provokes further questions about the possibilities of disrupting storylines and re-storying pedagogies. ã Copyright Emily Bailin Wells 2018 All Rights Reserved ii DEDICATION For the three most important women in my life For my mom, who raised me, my role model and hero For Sara, who has always marched to the beat of her own drum, pushed boundaries, and taught me more than she will ever know and For Hannah May you always speak your truth May you turn over every rock and go down every rabbit hole May you question, and create, and explore May you know and be known Whoever you are Whoever you want to be The world is a brighter, shinier, and more possible place with you in it I love you. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I may have been as excited to write my acknowledgments as I was to write the dissertation. Anyone who has gone through a doctoral program, or been married to someone going through it, or been the parent, sibling, friend, or colleague of someone going through it, knows—it takes a village. I have to start by thanking my outstanding dissertation committee. To my advisor and mentor, Dr. Lalitha Vasudevan, you have offered the most invaluable guidance, support, and insights throughout my time at Teachers College. You embody a pedagogy of caring that is genuine and real and makes me want to be a better scholar. You have fostered in me deeper commitments to inquiry, humanizing research practices, and centering the voices, perspectives, and presence of young people in academic spaces. Your courses, research, and friendship have influenced me in fundamental ways and I am so grateful for everything. Thank you. To Dr. Yolanda Sealey-Ruiz, there is so much I could say. More than anything, thank you. You walk the walk and talk the talk with poise, purpose, and power. The organic nature of your pedagogy and scholarship is inspiring; you feel, love, and work so deeply and passionately, it’s an amazing thing to observe and be a part of. You truly are a revolutionary mentor and I am blessed to be a recipient of your guidance and love. To Dr. Christopher Emdin, I am so grateful for your friendship, your mentorship, and your work. Despite your frequent jet-setting from city to city, you have always been there when I needed you—whether it’s a quick text, a FaceTime chat with you and Sydney, or tacos 3,000 miles away in San Francisco, your love and energy have always meant the world to me. Your insights, questions, and interest in my dissertation have been profound and humbling. I consider myself lucky to be a part of the #HipHopEd family and movement; whether I’m in the weeds with y’all or am watching from a iv distance, I know I always have a place in your crew. Thank you for being such a big part of this journey and for being on my committee. Love you, fam. To Dr. Bob Fecho, I could not have asked for a better fourth reader. Thank you for your insights and support in the final stretch of the dissertation process. To Dr. Olga Hubard, thank you for the opportunity to both learn from and then teach alongside you. Co-instructing Cultural Diversity in Art Education with you for two years was one of the best, most rewarding, and meaningful experiences that I’ve had at TC. Thank you for your mentorship, your friendship, and so beautifully modeling what good teaching looks like. To Dr. Renee Hobbs, my first academic mentor and role model. Thank you for welcoming me to the field of media literacy so many years ago, for the opportunities to teach and learn, and for your encouragement and support. I am happy to know you and call you a colleague and friend. To my Teachers College family: Tara, Ahram, Sandra, Michelle, Anna, Cristina, Sophie, Joe, Brennan, Steve, Ian, Kenny, and Brian. I am so grateful your friendships, your work, and your mutual support over the last seven years. Alex, you’re one of my favorite people. You have always been there to laugh, vent, and collaborate with (but mostly laugh). I am eternally grateful for your feedback in the 11th hour. It gave me the push and confidence to finish this thing, thank you and I love you! Danielle, over the last several years, you (and Naomi) have become family. I treasure our friendship and continue to be humbled by you and your work. I am not exaggerating when I say that this dissertation would not be what it is without your thoughtfulness and invaluable feedback over the last few years. I hope to continue our Wellipiak Writing Retreats for years to come! I love you. To Jen, President of My Marriage, soul sister, and co-conspirator, it feels like we’ve known each other for much longer than five years and I now can’t imagine life v without you. I’m so lucky to call you a best friend. You’re one of the most badass women I know and I can’t wait to see what the future holds for us! To my girls: Cone, Kate, Becky, Charlie, Lizzie, Katie, Laura, and Emily, you are the best women I know. Thank you for your love, support, encouragement, and understanding throughout this process. I’m so lucky to have you all in my life. There are no words to adequately express the deep love and gratitude I have for my family. These pages were written with the strength, ambition, support, and affection that you all have provided me throughout my lifetime, but especially in these last few years. Mom, and Dad, thank you for everything, I wouldn’t be who and where I am without your guidance, encouragement, and unconditional love. I love you both so much. To Sara, my best friend and sister, we’ve got something so unique and special that it’s sometimes hard for me to wrap my mind around it. You’re a shining star with the greatest laugh, best energy, and most endearing quirkiness. I’m the luckiest girl in the world to have you as my sister. I love you to the moon and back. And Alex, I’m so happy and lucky to call you family, too. To my husband and soulmate, Tim, I am also having trouble finding the words to adequately acknowledge and thank you. You reminded me that we’ve been together for just a few months longer than I’ve been in my doctorate program. We have been on this journey together—living in different cities, you moving to New York, us getting married, and starting our family—for seven years! Your support, encouragement, patience, and excitement have been unwavering and I could not ask for a better partner to experience and navigate this life with. I love you with my whole heart. Until the wheels come off… To my daughter, Hannah, I was pregnant with you for the majority of data collection and analysis, and wrote the majority of this manuscript in your first few months of life.