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Graduation Term

2018

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Department of English

Committee Chair

Sarah Hochstetler

Abstract

Throughout this dissertation, I not only demonstrate why the study of dystopian texts is urgent for secondary students, but provide theoretical frameworks, classroom examples, and practical research for secondary English teachers. I make the case that dystopian texts can be instrumental in the transfer of spatial practices to pedagogical practices. The function of dystopian texts as social and political critique is central to its power; pedagogical application creates links between the text and the student, connecting the student to practices of resistance in the space of the classroom. I examine a particular blurring of the boundaries between material space and fictional space, resulting in an intersection of rhetoric, literature/composition and English Education as it relates to space and pedagogy. For example, George Orwell demonstrated throughout his writing life uptake of spatial practices of resistance; versions of his activities, which range from squatting overnight with the homeless to instances of outright civil disobedience, became integral to his written work. Embedded in texts like 1984, Orwell’s practices exhibited the transference of exigency from physical space to fictional space, creating what I call "Orwellian Spaces.” The dissertation concludes with “Roadmap to the Present” strategies for the implementation of dystopian texts in a dystopian educational climate.

Access Type

Dissertation-ISU Access Only

DOI

http://doi.org/10.30707/ETD2019.Soares.M

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