Theses and Dissertations

Date of Award

5-2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Curriculum & Instruction

First Advisor

Xiaodi Zhou

Second Advisor

Hitomi Kambara

Third Advisor

David Martinez-Prieto

Abstract

This dissertation conducts a critical content analysis of seven banned young adult novels—All Boys Aren’t Blue, All the Things We Do in the Dark, Almost Perfect, Ask the Passengers, The Bluest Eyes, The Hate U Give, and The Kite Runner—within one Texas school district. Using intersectionality theory as a lens, the study explores how intersecting identities such as race, gender, sexuality, and trauma are portrayed in these narratives and examines the role these portrayals play in the censorship process. The analysis investigates the socio-cultural, political, and institutional factors that influenced the removal of these texts, considering how their complex depictions of marginalized experiences challenge dominant ideologies. This research also examines the educational implications of banning intersectional narratives focusing on how the exclusion of these stories affects adolescent identity formation, literacy development, and access to diverse perspectives. By critically analyzing the themes of identity and self-discovery, trauma and healing, and structural injustice and marginalization within these novels, the study highlights how censorship limits intellectual freedom and reinforces social inequalities.

Comments

Copyright 2025 Tiffany LaDonna Jarebica. https://proquest.com/docview/3240624920

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