Gender and literacy in Britain, 1847--1987: The rhetoric of girls' education.
Item
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Title
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Gender and literacy in Britain, 1847--1987: The rhetoric of girls' education.
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Identifier
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AAI3288708
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identifier
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3288708
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Creator
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Julien, Heather.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Jacqueline DiSalvo
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Date
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2007
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Women's Studies | Literature, English | Education, History of
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Abstract
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Considers significant moments in the changing literacy practices in the context of girls' and women's education reform, circa 1860-1960. Looks at forms of writing that were shaped by, even produced as a result of, this social movement: girls' school stories, women's school novels, and the autobiographies of women educational administrators. Chapter one reads against anti-social constructions of Jane Eyre and places it in a rhetorical context of teacher activism. Considers the anti-vocational ethos of Bronte's novel in comparison with Clemence Dane's Regiment of Women, which endorsed anti-equal pay and maternal-vocation rhetorics with regard to women teachers. Compares these to Winifred Holtby's South Riding , which rebuts Dane's anti-teacher and lesbophobic rhetoric and self-consciously echoes Jane Eyre. Chapter two provides a rhetorical analysis of the memoirs of women educational administrators, who did not fully support the materialist claims of activist teachers. Examines the "dual closure strategy" at work in their rhetoric, by which they construct their own professional status, but at the expense of those working under them. The hierarchies at work in school are examined in chapter three, which considers how the school stories of Winifred Darch are imbued with rhetorics of girls' independence and rebellion, especially located in the form of public speeches. Shows how Darch navigates democratic ideals embodied in new high schools for girls. Questions why narratives of girl rebellion in school stories have not been more readily associated with women's narratives of rebellion in school novels. Chapter four considers the political implications of the lesbian camp approach found in Nancy Spain's writing, especially her school-mystery novel Poison for Teacher. Argues for the political significance of the humorous commentary on gendered literacy practices.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
