University of Kentucky UKnowledge Theses and Dissertations--English English 2019 Outsiders to Whom? Reimagining the Creation of Young Adult Literature in the United States Kyle W. Eveleth University of Kentucky, [email protected] Author ORCID Identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9692-3357 Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.040 Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Eveleth, Kyle W., "Outsiders to Whom? Reimagining the Creation of Young Adult Literature in the United States" (2019). Theses and Dissertations--English. 103. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/english_etds/103 This Doctoral Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the English at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations--English by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STUDENT AGREEMENT: I represent that my thesis or dissertation and abstract are my original work. Proper attribution has been given to all outside sources. I understand that I am solely responsible for obtaining any needed copyright permissions. I have obtained needed written permission statement(s) from the owner(s) of each third-party copyrighted matter to be included in my work, allowing electronic distribution (if such use is not permitted by the fair use doctrine) which will be submitted to UKnowledge as Additional File. I hereby grant to The University of Kentucky and its agents the irrevocable, non-exclusive, and royalty-free license to archive and make accessible my work in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I agree that the document mentioned above may be made available immediately for worldwide access unless an embargo applies. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of my work. I understand that I am free to register the copyright to my work. REVIEW, APPROVAL AND ACCEPTANCE The document mentioned above has been reviewed and accepted by the student’s advisor, on behalf of the advisory committee, and by the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS), on behalf of the program; we verify that this is the final, approved version of the student’s thesis including all changes required by the advisory committee. The undersigned agree to abide by the statements above. Kyle W. Eveleth, Student Dr. Pearl James, Major Professor Dr. Michael Trask, Director of Graduate Studies OUTSIDERS TO WHOM? REIMAGINING THE CREATION OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE IN THE UNITED STATES ________________________________________ DISSERTATION ________________________________________ A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Kyle Eveleth Lexington, Kentucky Director: Dr. Pearl James, Professor English Lexington, Kentucky 2019 Copyright © Kyle Eveleth 2019 https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9692-3357 ABSTRACT OF DISSERTATION OUTSIDERS TO WHOM? REIMAGINING THE CREATION OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE IN THE UNITED STATES The study of young adult literature has become widespread within Children’s and Young Adult Literature specifically and literary studies as a whole. However, the term “young adult” which defines and focalizes both the literature itself and the ostensible readers for whom it is produced remains a poorly-examined area. The present study examines the creation of one branch of what we now call “young adult literature” from its roots in the United States in the early twentieth century to its emergence as a dominant literary form in the mid-to-late 1960s. In doing so, it seeks to reconcile emerging professional, psychological, sociological, pedagogical, cultural, and ideological discourses concerning adolescence and young adulthood with works of fiction prepared specifically for their consumption. It also seeks to position the changing role of adolescent subjects into the larger framework of American Studies by examining how these texts reflected, tested, and reinforced dominant paradigms of thought surrounding how adolescents would become actualized American subjects. At the same time, it broaches concerns within these dominant paradigms that have been overlooked in constructing historical approaches to the development of young adult literature, and it suggests a few methodologies by which to recover these undiscussed threads. KEYWORDS: Children’s literature, Young Adult Literature, 20th Century American Literature, cultural criticism, historical criticism Kyle Eveleth (Name of Student) 11/20/2019 Date OUTSIDERS TO WHOM? REIMAGINING THE CREATION OF YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE IN THE UNITED STATES By Kyle Eveleth Pearl James, PhD Director of Dissertation Michael Trask, PhD Director of Graduate Studies 11/20/2019 Date DEDICATION To Alex, my partner through all of this, To my anonymous donor, And to the hematology-oncology team at UK Markey Cancer Care. This dissertation is completed in memory of Kyle Eveleth and Wes Frank, my namesakes. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS No work of this magnitude is created in a vacuum, and, as John Donne famously wrote, “no man is an island.” I am eternally grateful to all of the colleague, scholars, bewildered people in elevators, family members, strangers in the hallway, and librarians who tolerated me through this process. Specifically, I want to thank my family, who supported me absolutely through this process and were patient, kind, and polite in entertaining my frustrations even though they may not have known exactly what I was doing or why it was so annoying to me. The same goes to my friends, especially Jonathan and Trisha Barefield, who read early drafts and offered guidance from the nonspecialist, but interested and intellectual point of view I wanted to write for; to Justin and Samantha Wigard, who distracted me from the work when I needed time to allow ideas to percolate and who also contributed their specialized knowledge in working with children’s literature and children; to the many folks at the annual Children’s Literature Association meeting and at the Narrative conference, who listened attentively to concepts that would eventually arise in this dissertation. I am also grateful to Peter Kalliney, whose course in critical theory honed my writing and scholarship indelibly; to Alan Nadel, who partly sponsored my fellowship in the Futures of the American Studies Institute; to Guy Spriggs, who attended with me and offered invaluable insight into cinematic masculinity in the 1950s with his expertise in Paul Newman; to Owen Horton, who was a previous scholar and convinced me to apply while also reading drafts and providing an incredible model of scholarship with his own dissertation; to the faculty and staff at Dartmouth College, who listened thoughtfully and gave important feedback about my project; and to my group at Futures, who gave invaluable insight into the improvement of my fourth chapter. Finally, I am eternally grateful for the patience and understanding of my committee members; for Michelle Sizemore, whose work was a constant inspiration for me in scope, expertise, and grace; for Carol Mason, whose collegiality and friendship was as important as her ruthless reckoning of my prose and who spurred me on to some of my finest research; for Pearl James, who took on a project well out of her wheelhouse with aplomb and who was frank, thoughtful, and supportive throughout the entirety of the process. Beyond the purely scholarly, I am indebted forever to the entire hematology- oncology team at the University of Kentucky’s Markey Cancer Care clinic; to Dr. Reshma Ramlal, who oversaw my treatment and remains a close confidant; to the nurses and techs of the Markey Center’s 11th Floor and the Hematology-Oncology clinics, who treated me with infinite love and compassion. More than anyone, though, two people deserve more praise and adoration than I can effectively convey in words. First, Joe Sommers, who has mentored me as a professional, a colleague, and a friend for nigh on ten years now. Last, more than the rest and always first in my mind, Alex, who didn’t smother me when she surely could have. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .............................................................................................................. iii LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................ vi INTRODUCTION. WHO IS THE YOUNG ADULT BEHIND YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE? ............................................................................................................................... 1 I.1. WHAT IS A “YOUNG ADULT”? .................................................................................. 1 I.2. THE CURRENT CRITICAL PICTURE ......................................................................... 6 I.3. WHAT CONSTITUTES “YOUNG ADULT LITERATURE”? ................................... 10 I.4. HISTORICAL PRECEDENT AND PRIOR EXAMINATIONS .................................. 15 I.5. TOWARD A MORE INCLUSIVE DEFINITION ........................................................ 19 I.6. CHAPTER OVERVIEWS ............................................................................................. 23 CHAPTER 1. THE “CREATION” OF ADOLESCENT CULTURE ........................................... 27 1.1. A LINK TO THE PAST ...............................................................................................