Matching Items (9)
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- All Subjects: literature
- Creators: Blasingame, James
- Member of: Theses and Dissertations
Description
ABSTRACT As referenced in Navajo ceremonial prayers and songs, "Saad bee hahoozhood jini," it began harmoniously with language. This dissertation examines and celebrates in new ways the meaning of language in Navajo literature. The first chapter is an introduction of this dissertation. I share my personal experiences with language, both English and Navajo, and how it has shaped me to be the person I am today as a Navajo speaker, student, educator, and professional. The second chapter contains an analysis and review of Western ideology of feminism and its place in Navajo society and a comparative study of several works written by Navajo authors, including Laura Tohe, Luci Tapahonso, and Nia Francisco, and how their creative works reflect the foundation of Navajo culture, Asdzaa Nadleehe, Changing Woman. The third chapter presents my own short fiction of Navajo characters living in today's society, a society that entails both positive and negative issues of Navajo life. These stories present realistic twenty-first century environments on the Navajo reservation. The fourth chapter consists of a short fiction written originally in the Navajo language. The story also represents the celebration of Navajo language as it thrives in today's time of tribal and cultural struggles. The sense of it being told in Navajo celebrates and preserves Navajo culture and language. The final chapter is the beginning of an oral narrative presented in written form, that of my grandmother's life story. This introduction of her story also is in itself a commemoration of language, oral Navajo language.
ContributorsWheeler, Jennifer L (Author) / Ortiz, Simon (Thesis advisor) / Tohe, Laura (Committee member) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The purpose of this study is to determine the types of classroom instructional activities commonly used in teaching literature. Data were collected at ASU Preparatory High School. The study determined that literature-based lessons and activities fall under three categories: reading, writing, and discussion. Classroom observations revealed that reading, writing, and discursive activities were designed to promote higher-ordering thinking. These activities included silent reading, annotating text, reading aloud, keeping reading response journals, practicing essay writing, and participating in Socratic discussion. The teachers at ASU Prep used the listed activities with the intent to challenge their English students to engage in active learning, to improve reading, writing, and discursive skills, and promote critical thinking skills.
ContributorsSarik, Vivian Roathany (Author) / Blasingame, James (Thesis director) / Ingram-Waters, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
The interaction between England and Scotland is complicated and continually changing. Scottish writer Sir Walter Scott examines this long-standing relationship through his various writings. Scott conveys a presence that is both acutely aware of the damages enacted upon Scotland by various English political efforts, and sensitive to the delicate relationship that the two regions had begun to form during his lifetime. Through a critical analysis of Scott's novel, Rob Roy, one can see the various strategies Scott used to balance the need to address prior controversies within the relationship, and the petition to move beyond the prior conflict and develop a mutual understanding of each culture. Through this, Scott is able to regenerate a sense of Scottish nationalism for his people, and encourage improved relations within the British Isles.
ContributorsChotena, Chelsea (Author) / Facinelli, Diane (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / White, Julianne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
At Arizona State University the retention rate is a problem. On one hand, students come to take advantage of the great opportunities a large school facilitates, such as internship opportunities and a variety of courses. On the other hand, being at such a large school can leave students overwhelmed and lost; students do not view ASU as "their school." This thesis explores a unique and very possible solution to this problem. Through a creative writing story merged with an online website and geo-cache treasure hunt, this thesis presents the history of ASU in an interactive and engaging way in order to foster the development of an inclusive community centered on school pride. Furthermore, through this piece of interactive literature, the first of its kind, researchers will be able to measure the direct impact of this story both qualitatively, based on community response, and quantitatively, based on the names recorded in the geo cache boxes.
ContributorsMurray, Shannon Elizabeth (Author) / Iwen, Michelle (Thesis director) / Facinelli, Diane (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Adaptation theorists suggest that effective film adaptations combine familiar material from the source with new material from the screenwriter. This study assessed the success of The Hunger Games film adaptations through analysis of the latent fairytale structure within each movie and parallel novel, and recommended film adaptation improvements. Russian scholar Vladimir Propp's structural analysis approach was used to identify 32 distinct functions and classify the series as a fairytale.
ContributorsMcGlynn, Rita Kathryn (Author) / Parker, John (Thesis director) / White, Julianne (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This project created a teaching curriculum resource guide for using the popular series, The Hunger Games, in 6th-8th grade classrooms to introduce cultural issues such as child soldiers and international development to students. Studies have shown that literature can cultivate empathy and encourage youth to act. This combined with the expanding phenomenon of participatory culture and fandom activism as outlined by Henry Jenkins demonstrate the potential for youth to learn and act when given the opportunity and resources to do so. The curriculum is composed of three units: The first is a three-week reading of the books with various activities for students to really understand the narrative and source text. The second and third units address the issues of child soldiers and international development using The Hunger Games as a framework and a keystone to build connections so that these complex issues are accessible to youth. This project is a first step in the development of a curriculum that spans the full trilogy and covers a variety of current event topics.
ContributorsSimpson, Rebecca (Author) / Sivak, Henry (Thesis director) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Nelson, Margaret (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Politics and Global Studies (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution and Social Change (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Roald Dahl's books for children have often been characterized as deviating from "normal" plots in books for children because they feature elements and themes (e.g., violence, crude/rude behavior and humor, inversions of authority) that make representatives of the dominant culture (parents, school officials, teachers, librarians, etcetera) uncomfortable. Rather than view the stories holistically, challengers are quick to latch on to the specific incidents within these texts that cause discomfort, and use the particular as grounds to object to the whole. A deeper, and more critical, look reveals that instead of straying from established elements and themes in children's stories, Dahl's works have much in common with fairy tales--narratives that have endured in multiple iterations and over millennia. As with fairy tales, Dahl's stories for children offer readers ways to interpret--to make sense of and derive meaning from--their lives, while reflecting and reinforcing the ideological structures (family, appropriate behavior, capitalism) within which we find ourselves.
ContributorsRoy, Sohinee (Author) / Blasingame, James (Thesis advisor) / Goggin, Maureen Daly (Committee member) / Moulton, Ian F. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
In the years since 2020, both the use of the social media platform TikTok, and according to Scholastic, book sales have increased exponentially. The two work in tandem to create a sub-category within TikTok, affectionately named “BookTok” for its reader recommendation, the creative space for live fanfiction, or simply discussions of theme. Users of BookTok are often found to return to the “pinnacles” of Young Adult Literature, frequently through Suzanne Collins’ famed Hunger Games trilogy. Through the resurgence of The Hunger Games, society has seen the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the explosion of the Black Lives Matter Movement, and the rise and fall of a global pandemic. The narrative surrounding the trilogy has thus been amplified, serving as a reminder/guidebook for readers to follow in the face of a revolution that seems inevitable. And while this may have always been the case, its social media popularity has made a great contribution to that.
ContributorsKenoun, Sabrina (Author) / Blasingame, James (Thesis advisor) / Free, Melissa (Committee member) / Acevedo, Gabriel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2023
Description
This project seeks to probe into an unexplored horizon of young adult literature studies: the empowering potential of Young Adult Fantasy (YAF) with queer Latinx representation for queer Latinx youth. The two theoretical frameworks of analysis used in this project are: Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop’s concept of “Mirrors, Windows, and Sliding Glass Doors” (1990) and Gloria E. Anzaldúa’s “Conocimiento” individuation journey.
ContributorsMartinez, Nora Grace (Author) / Justice, George (Thesis director) / Blasingame, James (Committee member) / Bebout, Lee (Committee member) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Department of English (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-12