“To Author Herself as Someone Empowered”: Historical Print Cultures as a Model of Public Education for Queer Women and Girls

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Date

2018-06

Authors

Pearson, Natalie Grace

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

University of Oregon

Abstract

This thesis proposes a set of guidelines for best practices regarding the language arts education of queer girls, built from a theoretical, historical, and analytical basis. This work draws from the theories surrounding gender and sexual orientation discrimination, such as intersectionality, heteronormativity, and social justice education. I argue for the use of historical lesbian-feminist print cultures as a model for positive queer girl literacy, including a case study of Ann Arbor’s Leaping Lesbian journal (1977-1980). An analysis of popular middle grades novels reveals and disrupts the heteronormative and patriarchal narratives within them. Based on this background, Chapter 5 contains guidelines for classroom teachers wishing to improve their practices and to have a positive impact on queer girls in middle grades language arts classes.

Description

125 pages. Presented to the Department of Education Foundations and the Robert D. Clark Honors College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Science June 2018

Keywords

Educational foundation, Best teaching practices, Feminist education, Best practices, Queer girls, LGBTQ, LGBTQ education, Print cultures

Citation