Behaviouralists consider adolescence a time for developing autonomy, which accords with Michel Foucault‘s power/knowledge dynamic that recognises individuals‘ assertion of independence as a crucial element within society. Surprisingly, however, twentieth-century New Zealand Young Adult (YA) fiction tends to disempower adolescents, by portraying an adultist version of them as immature and unprepared for adult responsibilities. By depicting events through characters‘ eyes, a focalising device that encourages reader identification with the narratorial point-of-view, authors such as Esther Glen, Isabel Maud Peacocke, Joyce West, Phillis Garrard, Tessa Duder, Lisa Vasil, Margaret Mahy, William Taylor, Kate de Goldi, Paula Boock, David Hill, Jane Westaway, and Bernard Beckett stress the importance of conforming to adult authority. Rites of passage are rarely attained; protagonists respect their elders, and juvenile delinquents either repent or are punished for their misguided behaviours. ―Normal‖ expectations are established by the portrayal of single parents who behave ―like teenagers‖: an unnatural role reversal that demands a return to traditional hegemonic roles. Adolescents must forgive adults‘ failings within a discourse that rarely forgives theirs. Depictions of child abuse, while deploring the deed, tend to emphasise victims‘ forbearance rather than admitting perpetrators‘ culpability. As Foucault points out, adolescent sexuality both fascinates and alarms adult society. Within the texts, sex is strictly an adult prerogative, reserved for reproduction within marriage, with adolescent intimacy sanctioned only between couples who conform to the middle-class ideal of monogamy. On the other hand, teenagers who indulge in casual sex are invariably given cause to regret. Such presentations operate vicariously to protect readers from harm, but also create an idealised, steadfast sense of adultness in the process.

Thèse (M.Ed.) -- Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, 2006. / La p. de t. porte en outre: Mémoire présenté à l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi comme exigence partielle de la maîtrise en éducation (M.A.). CaQCU Bibliogr.: f. [76]-81. Document électronique également accessible en format PDF. CaQCU

Thesis (M. Ed.)--University of Melbourne, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 104-114).

No description available.

Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give is a young adult novel that covers controversial topics such as racism and police violence. In this essay, the concept of immersion is used to examine how the novel and its 2018 film counterpart adaptation differ in examining these topics. I claim that the film and novel versions operate through different methods of immersion. The novel mainly operates by immersion through characterization, while the film often prioritizes immersion through setting. In both cases, references are used to create immersion by grounding the novel within real historical eventhappenings and relevant contemporary discourse. Furthermore, this essay shows that highlighting factors of immersion, history, and contemporary discourse, while working with adaptation in practice, can lead to a more productive way of working with racially aware literature in the EFL classroom.

Reading is considered to be one of the main factors for success throughout the compulsory education and into the years in upper secondary school, and is often connected with instrumental values, such as better grades and higher level of empathy. However, good readers are seldom drawn to books as means to improve their grades, but enjoy reading in its own right. The curriculum for for the upper secondary education in Swedish on the other hand stipulates that students should learn to analyse literature – i.e. learn how to do a reading rather than develop as readers.This study looks at two groups of upper secondary school students discussing two different young-adult novels, and analyses the recordings from a reader-response perspective. As readers they focus mainly on the plot, and their knowledge of story line and genre seems to draw heavily from film, but they also come to the text with different expectations and experiences, which influence their reading. An initial resistance for one reader could be the same factor making the book too trivial for another. Possible implications for teachers are that consideration for the aim of the reading should be made when choosing books for students, as it might be counterproductive to expect inexperienced readers to perform literary analysis if the goal is to develop reading.

No description available.

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of English, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-69).

English Studies / M.A. (English)

In this thesis, I examine three works of modern German fantasy fiction for young adults, their common grounding in the Romantic aesthetic framework and in particular the Romantic notion of creativity, and the implication of their unique fantasy fiction paradigm in our modern day. The novels are Michael Ende’s The Neverending Story (1979), Inkheart (2003) by Cornelia Funke and The City of Dreaming Books (2006) by Walter Moers. They represent a Germany-specific narrative paradigm which can be seen in the protagonist readers’ transformation from mere readers into storymakers/storytellers, and in the conflict between a book-loving hero and antagonists who are against literature. The protagonists embody the Romantic notion of creativity that involves the sublimation of a poet’s crisis into an exploration of the self. The mundane is infused with fantasy, thereby elevating reality to an idealised state. These Romantic storytelling readers act as tricksters, a fairy tale archetype that shares similarities with the figure of the Romantic poet. I employ the theoretical frameworks of German Romanticism, Frankfurt School critical theory, and postmodern models, including those by Deleuze and Guattari. I argue for a modern version of the trickster archetype which explains how a complacent, passive reader becomes an active storyteller. / Graduate