Prominent within various scientific journals, news media outlets, and online publications are conversations surrounding what is dubbed “climate anxiety.” This wide-stemmed social unrest is caused, in large part, by the unrelenting, consistent data from the scientific community reporting rising sea levels, species extinction, and “record-breaking” heatwaves as well as an increasing average of global temperatures, that seem to top the next every year for the past decade. However, an underlying thread to these reports remains largely consistent. Unless serious regard is given to our natural surroundings and how we have come to interact within it, regions of the Earth considered desirable for human life will likely become uninhabitable, and other parts horrifically inhospitable to humans and other species. When addressed so simply and plainly, it seems that the response to such life-altering implications ought to be simple: do whatever it takes to ensure that a diversity of life, including that of humankind, can continue on the planet Earth. Voices of the scientific community have decreed that a driving force behind the lackadaisical approach to deterring such dire climatological circumstances, is the inability to grasp the immense scope of climate change issues. This thesis, then, aims at proposing a directive to correct this problematic mentality, and a specific generation to combat this nature. Using the lens of ecocriticism, the study of literature and the environment, combined with cutting-edge theoretical findings in the field, I will focus on the literary portrayal of climate change within young-adult dystopian fiction. While regarding the scholarship on the recent increase of YA fiction that takes a critical approach to human ethics and the portrayal of the demise of the natural environment in those texts, I will examine how this trend responds to my ideas of young-adult fiction functioning within Ecocriticism. Moreover, you will see a pattern charting how literature can revolutionize and evolve the mind frame of human ethics on a planetary scale, starting with the young adult readers. Further, I will highlight how these ideologies could and ought to be incorporated into a composition classroom. Composition already has a strong history of grounding itself in the notion of identity, and how contingent factors (social, political, economic, ecological, etc.) are integrated into the construction of that identity. This thesis poses that if we can introduce a sense of how those factors affect our ability to act in the natural world and potential consequences of these actions by way of pop culture outlets like YA Climate Fiction, readers can begin to re-shape our identities and actions, individually and collectively, towards Ecocritical ethics and awareness.

The novel manuscript Blue Horses (published as Dust, by Random House Australia under its Woolshed Press Imprint, July 2009) focuses on a dusty corner of 1970’s Queensland in this evocative tale of family, shadows that hang over from childhood and beauty found in unexpected places. Its protagonist, Cecilia Maria, was named after saints and martyrs to give her something to live up to. “Over my dead body,” she vows. Her battles with a six-pack of brothers and the despised Kapernicke girls from the farm next door teach her an unforgettable lesson that echoes down through the years. Now she’s heading back to where it all began, with teenagers Jed and Jenna reluctantly in tow. She plans to dance on a grave and track down some ghosts. Instead she learns a new lesson at the gravesite of an old enemy. The exegesis examines Jung’s concept of the Shadow Archetype as a catalyst for individuation in writing for young adults. It discusses the need to re-vision Jung’s work within a feminist framework and contrasts it to Julia Kristeva’s work on the abject. Alyssa Brugman’s Walking Naked and Sonya Hartnett’s Sleeping Dogs are analysed in relation to these concepts and lead into my own creative reflections on, and justification for, use of the Shadow conceptual framework. In following my shadow and establishing a creative dialogue between my conscious intent and unconscious inspirations, I have discovered a writing self that is “other” to the professional writer persona of my past.

The novel manuscript Girl in the Shadows tells the story of two teenage girls whose friendship, safety and sanity are pushed to the limits when an unexplained phenomenon invades their lives. Sixteen-year-old Tash has everything a teenage girl could want: good looks, brains and freedom from her busy parents. But when she looks into her mirror, a stranger’s face stares back at her. Her best friend Mal believes it’s an evil spirit and enters the world of the supernatural to find answers. But spell books and ouija boards cannot fix a problem that comes from deep within the soul. It will take a journey to the edge of madness for Tash to face the truth inside her heart and see the evil that lurks in her home. And Mal’s love and courage to pull her back into life. The exegesis examines resilience and coping strategies in adolescence, in particular, the relationship of trauma to brain development in children and teenagers. It draws on recent discoveries in neuroscience and psychology to provide a framework to examine the role of coping strategies in building resilience. Within this broader context, it analyses two works of contemporary young adult fiction, Freaky Green Eyes by Joyce Carol Oates and Sonya Hartnett’s Surrender, their use of the split persona as a coping mechanism within young adult fiction and the potential of young adult literature as a tool to help build resilience in teen readers.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Alberta, 2010. / Title from pdf file main screen (viewed on April 28, 2010). A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Department of English and Film Studies, University of Alberta. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2003. / Title from title page screen, viewed October 12, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Roberta Seelinger Trites (chair), Karen Coats, Janice Neuleib. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 217-236) and abstract. Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Illinois State University, 2003. / Title from title page screen, viewed October 17, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Jan C. Susina (chair), C. Anita Tarr, Cynthia A. Huff. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 171-184) and abstract. Also available in print.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:26:52Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2009-12-21Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T19:34:47Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 ferreira_eagr_dr_assis.pdf: 2031874 bytes, checksum: 15332841c37e6b6646de44d6ac7ece9d (MD5) / O trabalho é resultado de uma pesquisa, desenvolvida durante três anos, direcionada para o ensino de literatura e para a formação do leitor no âmbito escolar. Como objetivo geral, buscouse refletir sobre como se forma o leitor e como vão se articulando escolhas e preferências por determinados autores e determinadas obras. A partir do desenvolvimento dessa pesquisa, pôde-se realizar um levantamento do repertório de obras lidas, no período de 1998 a 2000, por alunos de 5ª, 6ª e 7ª séries, em três modalidades de leitura – opcional, proposta pela professora, e opcional entre uma série de obra(s) de autor(es) indicado(s) pela professora –, bem como diagnosticar quais são as consideradas por eles como atraentes. Entre as consideradas mais atraentes, analisou-se nesta tese a obra Harry Potter e a pedra filosofal, de J. K. Rowling, que obteve o maior índice de aceitação entre as obras pertencentes à modalidade de leitura proposta pela professora. A análise, pautada pela estética da recepção, objetivou detectar o horizonte de expectativa dos alunos, por meio da recepção da obra. Concomitante às obras eleitas pelos alunos, desenvolveu-se um trabalho embasado nos princípios construtivistas, voltado para a leitura de textos diversos de diferentes autores, com o objetivo de lhes possibilitar a ampliação de seu horizonte de expectativa. Para tanto, trabalhou-se com o conceito de leitor estético, privilegiando, como metodologia de leitura, o ato de ler como exercício de comparações artísticas e culturais que o texto carrega. / This work is the result of an investigation, developed for three years, targeted to the literature teaching and to train the reader in the school environment. As a general objective, with this work was searched to reflect on how the reader is trained and the choices and preferences are articulated by certain authors and certain works. From the development of this research, it was able to realize a survey of the repertoire of works read from 1998 to 2000 by students in the 5th, 6th and 7th grades, as well as diagnosing which works are attractively regarded by them. Among those considered the most attractive, it was examined in this thesis the work Harry Potter and the philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling, elected in the modality: reading proposed by the teacher. The analysis, based on the aesthetic reception, aimed to detect the horizon of the students’ expectation, by means of the work reception. Concomitant to the works selected by the students, it was developed a work based on the constructivist principles towards reading of several texts by different authors in order to make them to broaden their horizon of expectation. For that, it was used the aesthetic reader concept, privileging, as the reading methodology, the reading act as an exercise of artistic and cultural comparisons which the text brings in itself.

The primary aim of this master’s thesis has been to examine how the dystopian, young adult novel, The Hunger Games (2008) by Suzanne Collins could entail depictions of violations against the articles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948). The analysis has been conducted based on a theme-based close reading of the novel using the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as a contextualization device. In addition, the literary analysis has been divided into three sections, namely global, group and the individual perspectives of how incidents in the novel hypothetically violate the Universal Declaration of Human rights. The division was made in order to delineate the social perspective of how literature can amplify the understanding of human rights and societal issues. Furthermore, the secondary aim of this master’s thesis has been to discuss how upper secondary students, when using a critical literacy lens in the English as a Foreign Language classroom, may establish an awareness about other people’s living conditions and fundamental rights that are present in their immediate social vicinity and in this novel.

The increased usage of media and technology has not only opened new areas for bullies, but also made the visible form of bullying invisible. In addition, movements like ‘me too’ have blossomed showing that sexual harassment is and has been a prevalent issue in the Western world for a long time. Simultaneously, adolescents’ suicide rates have increased. Therefore, selecting a Young Adult (YA) novel like 13 Reasons Why for the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom may work to address these topical issues and possibly help students understand the consequences of bullying and sexual harassment.

M.Com. (Information Science) / Although the influence of literature cannot be determined exactly, it is generally accepted that it can influence attitudes and values and therefore play an important role in the socializing process of the adolescent. One of the most important processes the adolescent undergoes is the development of his/her sex role through socialization, within the context of the family and society at large. In addition the traditional role of women through the ages has undergone such substantial changes that women play an increasingly important part in society. The modern woman can attain self-realization and self-expression through marriage, motherhood and a career. The problem addressed in this research, is whether the portrayal of women in available youth literature is a realistic reflection of society at a particular point. The ideal is that the attitudes that are projected are not biased toward either of the sexes and that boys as well as girls may develop to their full potential within the prescribed boundaries of their sex roles. Because of the feminist interest, much research has been done since the sixties and seventies regarding sexism in children's and youth literature. Virtually throughout, the findings of these investigations showed that the female characters are portrayed as passive stereotypes. The portrayal of women in literature awarded with the Scheepers Prize for Afrikaans youth literature is investigated in this research.