Theses and Dissertations - UTB/UTPA
Date of Award
8-2015
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
English
First Advisor
Dr. Danika Brown
Second Advisor
Dr. Matthew J. Christensen
Third Advisor
Dr. Alyssa Cavazos
Abstract
This thesis is an ethnographic analysis of street youths, runaways and foster children. It focuses on the rhetorical and literacy practices that serve as a foundation for an underground community. Very little research, within the English field or from a literacy perspective, has been done on this demographic. This study includes data from interviews conducted with eight individuals who were “homeless” between the ages of 12 and 18 years old. Homeless is being defined as any duration spent absent of a stable living situation, including, but not limited to, foster homes, sleeping on the streets or in temporary settings, with adults or predators that were not related to them or in places accrued through their personal work or independent finances. This piece serves to raise awareness to their plight and to offer a clearer understanding of how these children navigate and survive through the use of nontraditional language and customs.
Granting Institution
University of Texas-Pan American
Comments
Copyright 2015 Regina L. Welch. All Rights Reserved.
https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/adolescent-street-literacy-art-hustle/docview/1729507426/se-2?accountid=7119