Batteries, Big Red, and Busses: Using Critical Theory to Read for Social Class in Eleanor & Park
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.2376-5275.2015.1.1.95-124Abstract
In this article, the authors posit the avenue of young adult literature as an untapped resource for cultivating students’ knowledge of social theories and their recognition of societal inequities. Combining specific perspectives of social justice education and young adult literature can be a rich and engaging experience for students, as these contemporary texts afford for multiple layers of analysis.References
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Allen, N. (2011). Exploring and challenging the Lapsarian world of young adults literature: Femininity, shame, the Gyptians, and social class. In S. Barfield and K. Cox (Eds.) Critical perspectives on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: Essays on the novels, the film and the stage productions, (pp. 111-125). Jefferson: McFarland.
Alsup, J. & Miller, s.j. (2014). Reclaiming English education: Rooting social justice in dispositions. English Education, 46(3), 195-215.
Anderson, L. H. (2010). Listen [Web log poem]. Retrieved from <a href='http://madwomanintheforest.com/listen/'>http://madwomanintheforest.com/listen/</a>
Appleman, D. (2009). Critical encounters in high school English: Teaching literary theory to adolescents (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986.) "The Forms of Capital." In J. G. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, 241-258. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1974). The school as a conservative force: Scholastic and cultural inequalities. In J. Eggleston (Ed.). Contemporary Research in the Sociology of Education. London: Methuen.
Boyd, F. B., & Bailey, N. M. (2009). Commentary: Censorship in three metaphors. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8), 653-661. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.1'>https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.1</a>
Cart, M. (2011). Young adult literature: From romance to realism. Chicago: American Library Association.
Cochran-Smith, M. (2008, April). Toward a theory of teacher education for social justice. Paper prepared for the American Educational Research Association.
Coffey, H. (2010). 'They taught me': The benefits of early community-based field experiences in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 335-342. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.014'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.014</a>
Connors, S. P. (2013). Challenging perspectives on young adult literature. The English Journal, 102(5), 69-73.
Destin, M., Richman, S., Varner, F., & Mandara, J. (2012). "Feeling" hierarchy: The pathway from subjective social status to achievement. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1571-1579. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.06.006'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.06.006</a>
Gallo, D. (2001). How classics create an alliterate society. The English Journal, 90(3), 33-39. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/821305'>https://doi.org/10.2307/821305</a>
Giroux, H. A. & Penna, A. N. (1979). Social education in the classroom: The dynamics of the hidden curriculum. Theory & Research in Social Education, 7(1), 21-42. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.1979.10506048'>https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.1979.10506048</a>
Glasgow, J. N. (2001). Teaching social justice through young adult literature. English Journal, 90(6), 54-61. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/822056'>https://doi.org/10.2307/822056</a>
Goering, C. Z. & Connors, S. P. (2014). Exemplars and epitaphs: Defending young adult literature. Talking Points, 25(2), 15-21.
Gurdon, M. C. (June 4, 2011). Darkness too visible. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from <a href='http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038'>http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038</a>
Graham, R. (June 5, 2014). Against YA. The Slate Book Review. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/06/against_ya_adults_should_be_embarrassed_to_read_children_s_books.html'>http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/06/against_ya_adults_should_be_embarrassed_to_read_children_s_books.html</a>.
Green, J. (March 8, 2013). Two against the world: 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell. The Sunday Book Review, The New York Times. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/books/review/eleanor-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html?_r=0'>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/books/review/eleanor-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html?_r=0</a>.
Ha, Y., Choi, E., Seo, Y., & Kim, T. (2013). Relationships among subjective social status, weight perception, weight control behaviors, and weight status in adolescents: Findings from the 2009 Korea youth risk behaviors web-based survey. Journal of School Health, 83(4), 273-280. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12027'>https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12027</a>
Hamilton, H., Maas, M., Boak, A., & Mann, R. (2014). Subjective social status, immigrant generation, and cannabis and alcohol use among adolescents. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 43(7), 1163-1175. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0054-y'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0054-y</a>
Hayn, J. A. & Burns, S. M. (2012). Multicultural Adolescent Literature: Finding the Balance. In J. A. Hayn & J. S. Kaplan (Eds.) Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teacher (pp. 135-155). Lanham, MD: The Rowan and Littlefield Publishing Group.
Hicks, D. (1995-96). Discourse, learning, and teaching. Review of Research in Education 21, 49-95. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/1167279'>https://doi.org/10.2307/1167279</a> <a href='https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X021001049'>https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X021001049</a>
Hinchey, P. H. (2004). Becoming a critical educator: Defining a classroom identity, designing a critical pedagogy. New York: Peter Lang. <a href='https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4539-1612-4'>https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4539-1612-4</a>
Hinton, S. (1967). The outsiders. Viking Press.
Krenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. Chicago Legal Forum: Feminism in the Law: Theory, Practice and Criticism, 139–67.
Kurtz, G. (Producer), & Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star wars [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
Lareau, A. & Horvat, E. M. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education, 72(1), 37-53. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/2673185'>https://doi.org/10.2307/2673185</a>
Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods: Class, race and family life. Berkely, CA: University of California Press.
Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. New York: Harper Collins.
Lesko, N. (1996). Past, present, and future conceptions of adolescence. Educational Theory 46(4), 453-472. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1996.00453.x'>https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1996.00453.x</a>
Levinson, B. A. U. (2011). Symbolic domination and the reproduction of inequality: Pierre Bourdieu and practice theory. In B. A. U. Levinson, J. P.K. Cross, C. Hanks, J. H. Dadds, K. D. Kumasi, J. Link, & D. Metro-Roland (Eds.), Beyond critique: Exploring social theories and education (pp. 113-138). Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
Nilsen, A. P. & Donelson, K. L. (2009). Literature for today's young adults. Boston: Pearson.
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Pearlman, M. (1995). The role of socioeconomic status in adolescent literature. Adolescence, 30(117), 223-231.
Pullman, P. (2003). The golden compass. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf.
Rowell, E. (2013). Eleanor and park. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. Salinger, J. (1951). The catcher in the rye. Boston: Little, Brown.
Schieble, M. (2012). Critical conversations on whiteness with young adult literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 56(3), 212-221. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00130'>https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00130</a>
Sensoy, O. & DiAngelo, R. (2012). Is everyone really equal? An introduction to key concepts in social justice education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Soter, A. O., Faust, M., & Rogers, T. M (2008). (Eds). Interpretive play: Using critical perspectives to teach young adult literature. NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Sweeting, H., & Hunt, K. (2014). Adolescent socio-economic and school-based social status, health and well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 12, 139-47, <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.037'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.037</a>
Tribunella, E. L. (2007). Institutionalizing The Outsiders: YA Literature, Social Class, and the American Faith in Education. Children's Literature in Education, 38(2), 87-101. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-006-9016-2'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-006-9016-2</a>
Wolk, S. (2009). Reading for a better world: Teaching for social responsibility with young adult literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8), 664-673. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.2'>https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.2</a>
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006'>https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006</a>
Zindel, P. (1968). The pigman; A novel. ([1st ed.].). Harper & Row.
Allen, N. (2011). Exploring and challenging the Lapsarian world of young adults literature: Femininity, shame, the Gyptians, and social class. In S. Barfield and K. Cox (Eds.) Critical perspectives on Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials: Essays on the novels, the film and the stage productions, (pp. 111-125). Jefferson: McFarland.
Alsup, J. & Miller, s.j. (2014). Reclaiming English education: Rooting social justice in dispositions. English Education, 46(3), 195-215.
Anderson, L. H. (2010). Listen [Web log poem]. Retrieved from <a href='http://madwomanintheforest.com/listen/'>http://madwomanintheforest.com/listen/</a>
Appleman, D. (2009). Critical encounters in high school English: Teaching literary theory to adolescents (2nd ed.). New York: Teachers College Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1986.) "The Forms of Capital." In J. G. Richardson (Ed.) Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, 241-258. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press.
Bourdieu, P. (1974). The school as a conservative force: Scholastic and cultural inequalities. In J. Eggleston (Ed.). Contemporary Research in the Sociology of Education. London: Methuen.
Boyd, F. B., & Bailey, N. M. (2009). Commentary: Censorship in three metaphors. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8), 653-661. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.1'>https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.1</a>
Cart, M. (2011). Young adult literature: From romance to realism. Chicago: American Library Association.
Cochran-Smith, M. (2008, April). Toward a theory of teacher education for social justice. Paper prepared for the American Educational Research Association.
Coffey, H. (2010). 'They taught me': The benefits of early community-based field experiences in teacher education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 26(2), 335-342. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.014'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2009.09.014</a>
Connors, S. P. (2013). Challenging perspectives on young adult literature. The English Journal, 102(5), 69-73.
Destin, M., Richman, S., Varner, F., & Mandara, J. (2012). "Feeling" hierarchy: The pathway from subjective social status to achievement. Journal of Adolescence, 35(6), 1571-1579. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.06.006'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.06.006</a>
Gallo, D. (2001). How classics create an alliterate society. The English Journal, 90(3), 33-39. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/821305'>https://doi.org/10.2307/821305</a>
Giroux, H. A. & Penna, A. N. (1979). Social education in the classroom: The dynamics of the hidden curriculum. Theory & Research in Social Education, 7(1), 21-42. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.1979.10506048'>https://doi.org/10.1080/00933104.1979.10506048</a>
Glasgow, J. N. (2001). Teaching social justice through young adult literature. English Journal, 90(6), 54-61. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/822056'>https://doi.org/10.2307/822056</a>
Goering, C. Z. & Connors, S. P. (2014). Exemplars and epitaphs: Defending young adult literature. Talking Points, 25(2), 15-21.
Gurdon, M. C. (June 4, 2011). Darkness too visible. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from <a href='http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038'>http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303657404576357622592697038</a>
Graham, R. (June 5, 2014). Against YA. The Slate Book Review. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/06/against_ya_adults_should_be_embarrassed_to_read_children_s_books.html'>http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/books/2014/06/against_ya_adults_should_be_embarrassed_to_read_children_s_books.html</a>.
Green, J. (March 8, 2013). Two against the world: 'Eleanor & Park' by Rainbow Rowell. The Sunday Book Review, The New York Times. Retrieved from <a href='http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/books/review/eleanor-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html?_r=0'>http://www.nytimes.com/2013/03/10/books/review/eleanor-park-by-rainbow-rowell.html?_r=0</a>.
Ha, Y., Choi, E., Seo, Y., & Kim, T. (2013). Relationships among subjective social status, weight perception, weight control behaviors, and weight status in adolescents: Findings from the 2009 Korea youth risk behaviors web-based survey. Journal of School Health, 83(4), 273-280. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12027'>https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.12027</a>
Hamilton, H., Maas, M., Boak, A., & Mann, R. (2014). Subjective social status, immigrant generation, and cannabis and alcohol use among adolescents. Journal of Youth & Adolescence, 43(7), 1163-1175. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0054-y'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-0054-y</a>
Hayn, J. A. & Burns, S. M. (2012). Multicultural Adolescent Literature: Finding the Balance. In J. A. Hayn & J. S. Kaplan (Eds.) Teaching Young Adult Literature Today: Insights, Considerations, and Perspectives for the Classroom Teacher (pp. 135-155). Lanham, MD: The Rowan and Littlefield Publishing Group.
Hicks, D. (1995-96). Discourse, learning, and teaching. Review of Research in Education 21, 49-95. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/1167279'>https://doi.org/10.2307/1167279</a> <a href='https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X021001049'>https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X021001049</a>
Hinchey, P. H. (2004). Becoming a critical educator: Defining a classroom identity, designing a critical pedagogy. New York: Peter Lang. <a href='https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4539-1612-4'>https://doi.org/10.3726/978-1-4539-1612-4</a>
Hinton, S. (1967). The outsiders. Viking Press.
Krenshaw, K. (1989). Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. Chicago Legal Forum: Feminism in the Law: Theory, Practice and Criticism, 139–67.
Kurtz, G. (Producer), & Lucas, G. (Director). (1977). Star wars [Motion picture]. United States: 20th Century Fox.
Lareau, A. & Horvat, E. M. (1999). Moments of social inclusion and exclusion: Race, class, and cultural capital in family-school relationships. Sociology of Education, 72(1), 37-53. <a href='https://doi.org/10.2307/2673185'>https://doi.org/10.2307/2673185</a>
Lareau, A. (2011). Unequal childhoods: Class, race and family life. Berkely, CA: University of California Press.
Lee, H. (1960). To kill a mockingbird. New York: Harper Collins.
Lesko, N. (1996). Past, present, and future conceptions of adolescence. Educational Theory 46(4), 453-472. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1996.00453.x'>https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-5446.1996.00453.x</a>
Levinson, B. A. U. (2011). Symbolic domination and the reproduction of inequality: Pierre Bourdieu and practice theory. In B. A. U. Levinson, J. P.K. Cross, C. Hanks, J. H. Dadds, K. D. Kumasi, J. Link, & D. Metro-Roland (Eds.), Beyond critique: Exploring social theories and education (pp. 113-138). Boulder: Paradigm Publishers.
Nilsen, A. P. & Donelson, K. L. (2009). Literature for today's young adults. Boston: Pearson.
Oakes, J. (1985). Keeping track: How schools structure inequality. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Pearlman, M. (1995). The role of socioeconomic status in adolescent literature. Adolescence, 30(117), 223-231.
Pullman, P. (2003). The golden compass. New York: Dell Laurel-Leaf.
Rowell, E. (2013). Eleanor and park. New York, NY: St. Martin's Press. Salinger, J. (1951). The catcher in the rye. Boston: Little, Brown.
Schieble, M. (2012). Critical conversations on whiteness with young adult literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 56(3), 212-221. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00130'>https://doi.org/10.1002/JAAL.00130</a>
Sensoy, O. & DiAngelo, R. (2012). Is everyone really equal? An introduction to key concepts in social justice education. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
Soter, A. O., Faust, M., & Rogers, T. M (2008). (Eds). Interpretive play: Using critical perspectives to teach young adult literature. NY: Rowman & Littlefield.
Sweeting, H., & Hunt, K. (2014). Adolescent socio-economic and school-based social status, health and well-being. Social Science & Medicine, 12, 139-47, <a href='https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.037'>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.09.037</a>
Tribunella, E. L. (2007). Institutionalizing The Outsiders: YA Literature, Social Class, and the American Faith in Education. Children's Literature in Education, 38(2), 87-101. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-006-9016-2'>https://doi.org/10.1007/s10583-006-9016-2</a>
Wolk, S. (2009). Reading for a better world: Teaching for social responsibility with young adult literature. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(8), 664-673. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.2'>https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.52.8.2</a>
Yosso, T. J. (2005). Whose culture has capital? A critical race theory discussion of community cultural wealth. Race Ethnicity and Education, 8(1), 69-91. <a href='https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006'>https://doi.org/10.1080/1361332052000341006</a>
Zindel, P. (1968). The pigman; A novel. ([1st ed.].). Harper & Row.
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2015-05-31
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Critical Studies
