This dissertation offered a close reading of African diaspora young adult novels, written by African American, Afro-Caribbean and black African women. The four novels selected for this analysis - Coe Booth's (2010) Kendra, Nana Ekua Brew-Hammond's (2010) Powder Necklace, Lynn Joseph's (2010) Flowers in the Sky and Adwoa Badoe's (2010) Between Sisters - represented the life circumstances, concerns and issues facing black adolescent girls of this generation. Set in Ghana, the United States, the Dominican Republic and England, the novels collectively provided a compelling site to examine thematic parallels as well as points of departure in each author's representation of black female adolescent identity development. Given this focus, the study employed a methodology of critical content analysis, relying on theoretical arguments from black feminism, postcolonial studies, and a youth lens. The three theories were brought into dialogue with one another in order to examine how multiple social constructions, including age, interacted and overlapped in the lives of each of the protagonists. Findings revealed that age, and concomitantly race, class and gender significantly influenced the protagonists' sense of subjectivity and selfhood. Across the text set, the significance of age was brought into light through a dramatic shift in the protagonists' relationships with their mothers or mother figures. Specifically, it was the onset of sexual maturity that fueled a multiplying of oppressive experiences for each of the protagonists within her home. By attending to the ways in which the protagonists grappled with such experiences, the researcher uncovered new models for solidifying black female adolescent identity.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/560808 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Cueto, Desireé W. |
| Contributors | Short, Kathy G., Cammarota, Julio, Brooks, Wanda, Brochin, Carol, Short, Kathy G. |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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