English, Department of
First Advisor
Gabrielle Owen
Second Advisor
Jillian Harpster
Third Advisor
Shari Stenberg
Date of this Version
4-2024
Citation
A thesis presented to the faculty of the Graduate College at the University of Nebraska in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
Major: English
Under the supervision of Professor Gabrielle Owen
Lincoln, Nebraska, April 2024
Abstract
Across the United States, school boards are being inundated with requests to ban books. While these conversations are often localized, what the rise in censorship across the country suggests is that there is a fierce movement behind censoring young adult literature. What is frequently erased in these campaigns are stories of people of color and queer communities, alongside topics such as sexuality, drugs, or violence. The presiding conclusion within childhood studies on how we have reached a point where censorship is abundantly common in American schools is that public discourse views children as less than or not fully formed, thus decidedly incapable about making choices in their education. Through the work of childhood studies, education, and developmental psychology, this is unmistakably false. In order to better approach children and adolescents more ethically and understand them as whole individuals, we must practice unknowing. It is crucial to meet children and adolescents where they are without preconceived notions about what an adolescent is. Teachers on a daily basis practice this unknowing with their students, and it is crucial for others to join the effort and give students the credit they are due when it comes to selecting books in order to treat them most ethically.
Advisor: Gabrielle Owen
Included in
Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons, Community-Based Research Commons, Educational Sociology Commons, Education Policy Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Justice Commons, Social Policy Commons, Social Welfare Commons
Comments
Copyright 2024, Hannah Morrison. Used by permission