Black Adolescent Girls' Use of Literacy Practices to Negotiate Boundaries of Ascribed Identity

Abstract

This research explores the identity representation and construction of six African American girls as they discussed literature read in their high school English class. Although identity may be conceptualized in a variety of ways, from a sociocultural perspective it is often characterized as multilayered, relational, and in flux. Many literacy theorists understand identity

Reading the World: Reconceptualizing Reading Multicultural Literature in the English Language Arts Classroom in a Global World

“…Most studies focus on race and ethnicity, with some studies on gender (Henry 1998;Sutherland 2005) or social class (Beach, Thein and Parks 2008;Thein, Beach and Parks 2007). While some studies on multicultural literature included international literature from beyond the United States (Boyd 2002;Dressel 2005), no qualitative distinctions are made between diverse literature from within and beyond the United States in the studies.…”

“…From culturally responsive perspectives, it is argued that multicultural education should be about minority or oppressed groups (Cai 1998). Literary texts that feature protagonists from the same culture, often in terms of race or ethnicity, can affirm students' views of themselves by providing representations in literary narratives (Brooks 2006;Ferdman 1990) and may be a springboard for discussion of culturally relevant issues (Sutherland 2005). In Brooks' (2006) study of African-American students reading 'culturally conscious' (Sims 1982) adolescent literature, she points to how these texts with African-American main protagonists can affirm or validate the identities of the African-American students reading the texts.…”

Asian English language learners’ identity construction in an after school literacy site

“…(p. 20-21) Many studies in literacy research have utilized this format to explore students' identities and identity construction, such as Latina middle school girls (Broughton, 2002), Asian high school girls (Vyas, 2004), African American and white girls (Smith, 2005), and African American high school girls (Sutherland, 2005). Although literacy scholars have included minority adolescents in their research, the studies continue to display a limited range in terms of featuring minority students beyond certain already established research populations, which constitutes a significant gap in the literature (Dressman & Webster, 2001).…”

“…Similar to SLA researchers, many literacy scholars have paid increasing attention to learners' identity construction during literacy activities (Arnett Jensen, 2003;Athanases, 1998;Broughton, 2002;Fecho, 2002;Heath, 1983;Ortmeier-Hooper, 2008;Sutherland, 2005;Vyas, 2004).The growing number of linguistically and culturally diverse students in North American schools has prompted scholars to encourage incorporation of students' cultures, which are important aspects of their identities, into school curricula. Validating their cultures and languages in school is believed to lead to academic success (Au, 2001;Banks, 2001;Cummins, 1996;Delpit, 2006;Gay, 2000;Ladson-Billings, 1994;Lopez, 2003;Moll & Gonzalez, 2004;Nieto, 2002;Olsen, 1997;Valenzuela, 1999).…”

An Author as a Counter-Storyteller: Applying Critical Race Theory to a Coretta Scott King Award Book

“…Throughout this article, I have demonstrated how applying CRT as a tool for literary analysis enables a foregrounding of racial issues applicable to a wide range of young adult historical fiction. Since studies of reader response to literature reveal how youth (K-12) can construct sophisticated understandings of narratives that situate characters as participants in a highly racialized society, (Brooks 2006;Moller and Allen 2000;Sutherland 2005) coupling historical fiction like The Land (Taylor 2001) to a theoretical frame such as CRT appears significant for at least three essential reasons.…”