University of Massachusetts Amherst ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst Doctoral Dissertations Dissertations and Theses 5-8-2020 READING POWER IN THAI YOUNG ADULT REALISTIC FICTION: UNDERSTANDING ETHNICITY, CLASS, AND GENDER Mukkarin Wirojchoochut University of Massachusetts Amherst Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2 Part of the Language and Literacy Education Commons Recommended Citation Wirojchoochut, Mukkarin, "READING POWER IN THAI YOUNG ADULT REALISTIC FICTION: UNDERSTANDING ETHNICITY, CLASS, AND GENDER" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations. 1880. https://doi.org/10.7275/16368365 https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations_2/1880 This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Dissertations and Theses at ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. It has been accepted for inclusion in Doctoral Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@UMass Amherst. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Reading Power in Thai Young Adult Realistic Fiction: Understanding Ethnicity, Class, and Gender A Dissertation Presented by MUKKARIN WIROJCHOOCHUT Submitted to the Graduate School of the University of Massachusetts Amherst in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY May 2020 College of Education © Copyright by Mukkarin Wirojchoochut 2020 All Rights Reserved Reading Power in Thai Young Adult Realistic Fiction: Understanding Ethnicity, Class, and Gender A Dissertation Presented by MUKKARIN WIROJCHOOCHUT Approved as to style and content by: ___________________________________ Maria José Botelho, Chair ___________________________________ Denise K. Ives, Member ___________________________________ Susan Darlington, Member ___________________________________ Jennifer Randall Associate Dean of Academic Affairs College of Education DEDICATION แด่ชาวเหนือ ชาวอีสาน ชาวใต้ และกลุ่มชาติพันธุ์ต่างๆ ในประเทศไทยที่ประสบการณ์ชืวิตของพวก ท่านได้สร้างแรงบันดาลใจให้ข้าพเจ้าปรารถนาที่จะรู้จักพวกท่านให้มากยิ่งขื้น ทั้งในโลกแห่งความเป็นจริงและ โลกแห่งวรรณกรรม This dissertation is dedicated to all ethnoregional and ethnic groups whose lived experience inspire me to learn more about them in the real world and fictional world. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I started my PhD journey in Fall 2014. My mother passed away just four days after I traveled to Amherst and was still busy looking for a place to move in. I felt a deep sadness for the loss of my beloved mother, and really wanted to go home to be close to her for the last time. However, my siblings comforted me and told me not to worry about anything since they would do the best for our mother. They would wait for me to come back to Thailand to scatter the ashes of our beloved mother over the river together. Then, I decided to stay in Amherst throughout the academic year and was looking forward to flying home after Spring 2015 ended. The first year of my PhD journey was hard and gloomy, but the power of my family’s love finally encouraged me to endure this difficult time. I would like to thank Kedsarin, Sawarin, and Pattarin, my three beloved sisters who have been continuously supporting me in many ways up to the completion of my degree. I am certain that our parents and our eldest sister are proudly watching over us from heaven. Also, I would like to express my gratitude to Uncle Yot and Aunty Pitsawong who are taking care of me and my sisters like Father and Mother. My PhD journey could not have happened without the support of my two professors from the Faculty of Arts at Chulalongkorn University, who kindly wrote letters of recommendation for me when applying for doctoral studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Trisilpa Bookachorn and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Anongnart Thakengvit. I grieved the loss of Dr. Anongnart in the second year of my doctoral studies. May she rest in peace. This long and arduous journey would have been unreachable without the support of my advisor and dissertation chair, Dr. Maria José Botelho. Her book, Critical Multicultural Analysis of Children’s Literature: Mirrors, Windows, and Doors, which v was cowritten with Dr. Masha K. Rudman, introduced me to critical multicultural analysis while I was in Thailand. This book inspired me to work with her. I would like to express a great deal of gratitude for her expertise, attentiveness, guidance, and support that made this dissertation possible. I am very impressed with her patience, flexibility, and gentle manner which always made me feel comfortable whenever I discussed any issues with her. In addition, she provided me with opportunities to participate in many academic experiences which complemented my scholarship. I really appreciate all the hard work she has done to support my doctoral studies. My sincere thanks also go to Dr. Denise Ives from the Children, Families, & Schools concentration at the College of Education and Dr. Susan Darlington, Dean of the School of Critical Social Inquiry at Hampshire College, for serving as my comprehensive examination and dissertation committee members. I greatly appreciate their feedback, comments, guidance, and encouragement which made this dissertation possible. My deepest appreciation for my co-workers at Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University is unforgettable. My special thanks go to Ohm Chantaracharoen for being my best friend forever. He is always ready to listen to the issues that I encountered during this long and arduous journey. Also, I would like to thank Daniel Guay and Sheldon Daniels for devoting their valuable time to proofread my dissertation with patience and effort. Moreover, I wish to express my appreciation to all of my co-workers in and outside the English Department who have covered for me throughout my study leave. Nuchjaree Pilapim, thanks for always being available to help me troubleshoot problems that occur with Microsoft Word. This journey has been long and arduous, but not too lonely because of the friendship I received from my peers in and outside the Language, Literacy, and Culture community. I would like to thank everyone who shared their time and experience with vi me both inside and outside the classrooms. Thanks all for the wonderful time we had together. I also want to thank all my Thai friends in the United States who helped me in times of need. Thank you guys for helping me move in and out from place to place. Thanks for joining several different trips to explore the US together. Our social gatherings always helpd me release academic stress and anxiety. I will always miss our great time here. I am also grateful to my landlord and landlady of the last house I lived at, 37 Tamarack Drive in Amherst, Raymond and Margaret Frenkel. Both were very nice to me, and always supported me in many ways. I greatly appreciate their kindness and generosity, and will never forget it. In addition, I want to thank everyone who helped me directly and indirectly. I know that I am unable to mention all of their names here, but I just want them to know that they are part of my PhD journey. Lastly, I wish to express my gratitude to the Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University and the Thai government for creating and funding this opportunity for me to carry out my doctoral studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. After the degree completion, I look forward to resuming my work with students at the Valaya Alongkorn Rajabhat University. Goodbye, UMass Amherst! I will always miss you. vii ABSTRACT READING POWER IN THAI YOUNG ADULT REALISTIC FICTION: UNDERSTANDING ETHNICITY, CLASS, AND GENDER MAY 2020 MUKKARIN WIROJCHOOCHUT, B.A., THAMMASAT UNIVERSITY M.A., CHULALONGKORN UNIVERSITY Ph.D., UNIVERSITY OF MASSACHUSETTS AMHERST Directed by: Professor Maria José Botelho Books that depict ethnoregional and ethnic groups in Thailand can be used as critical tools to help young Thai adults better understand their compatriots from different cultures. At the same time, these tools allow the youngsters from specific ethnoregional and ethnic groups to see themselves in the books they read. In this study, I examine how the diverse ethnoregional and ethnic groups are represented in 15 Thai realistic fiction books for young adults. I also apply a critical multicultural analysis of children’s literature to understand how the power relations of ethnicity, class, and gender work together within the representations of these groups of people. Critical multicultural analysis (Botelho, 2004; Botelho & Rudman, 2009), as the analytical tool in my study, pays attention to the focalization of the story, social processes among the characters, closure of the story, language use, genre (s), and historical and sociopolitical context of each story. This epistemology makes contributions to the field of children’s and young adult literature in Thailand because it encourages young Thai readers not to simply read the books, but also attend to power through a multi-layered lens as they engage with power relations in young adult stories. The understanding of power relations in storylines and microinteractions viii among characters can empower young adults to critically engage with literature for social justice. This critical engagement with the texts also provides the young readers with a tool to think about how the dominant ideologies about ethnicity, class, and gender are institutionalized in Thai society. It also creates a space to consider ways to resist and restructure hegemonic relations in these stories as well as in Thai