Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2022, French and Italian

Literature from the French-speaking Caribbean is renowned for the heterogeneity in language writers use to question the relationship between the oral tradition and writing, the stories of the people in the face of official chronicles of the region, and the place of writing in relationship with other cultural discourses. In this dissertation, I radically question what type of heterogeneity in language the writer utilizes to problematize these varying questions. Authors from the region have been popularly praised for the linguistic heterogeneity or opposition between the 'higher' French and 'lower' Creole languages. But literary critics have also remarked other forms of heterogeneity in language in French Caribbean literature: the plurality and diversity of points of view certain writers employ; the multiple and irreducible voices some make heard; the heterogenous discourses different writers bring into 'dialogue'; as well as often overshadowed topics such as the relations between sexes or what the male-dominated, post-colonial ‘counter-narratives' leave unseen and unheard. In the individual chapters of this dissertation, I've selected four novels which exemplify or embody four different types of heterogeneity in language. Patrick Chamoiseau's award-winning novel has been touted as a 'polyphonic' novel of a collective voice. Utilizing linguistic polyphony, I examine Texaco in terms of the kinds of relations between heterogeneous 'voices' as well as how each is constructed. I demonstrate that the 'collective' voice is globally hierarchical and each so-called voice is reducible to a transparent point of view. Edouard Glissant's both severely criticized and vociferously celebrated novel has also been considered a novel of the collectivity. In the second chapter of the dissertation, I draw on research from the margins of the paradigmatic model of polyphony in linguistics to study both the relations and the constructions of particular voices in Mahagony. I find that hi (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Jennifer Willging (Committee Chair); Benjamin Hoffmann (Committee Member); Patrick Bray (Advisor) Subjects: Caribbean Literature; Caribbean Studies; Linguistics

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2018, Arts Administration, Education and Policy

The goal of this autoethnographic narrative inquiry is to develop a pragmatic theory of dialogism, liminality, and hybridity that applies to art educators reflecting the following questions: How can graduate school and a teaching practice interact dialogically? How can the liminal spaces between graduate school (theory) and art teaching (practice) be more productive? How can an art teacher thrive as a hybrid of teacher/learner? I identify instances of dialogic co-constructed knowledge but monologic or dialectic experiences have been more prevalent. By interpreting and analyzing my art educations a theory is developed to optimize educational interaction to enhance learning experiences of teachers, and consequently learning experiences of their students.

Committee: Shari Savage Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Deborah Smith-Shank Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Joni Acuff Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Art Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2017, Media and Communication

In 2014, the leadership performances of National Basketball Association (NBA) Commissioner Adam Silver and National Football League (NFL) Commissioner Roger Goodell (both men who occupy White positionality), in response to two critical moments in their respective leagues, offered insight into prevailing racial and gender ideologies between United States (U.S.) professional men's sport, and ultimately, U.S. society. In the NFL, a domestic abuse incident between NFL star Ray Rice and his then-fiance Janay Palmer, two individuals who do not occupy whiteness, and in the NBA, racist comments made by then-owner of the Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterling, a man who occupies whiteness, required responses and disciplinary action from the commissioners. Utilizing critical rhetorical analysis as a method of textual analysis (McKerrow, 1989), this dissertation examines and critiques Commissioners Silver and Goodell's rhetorical performances as leaders in response to these incidents as well as the surrounding global news and sports media reactions to their decisions. Informed by concepts within critical whiteness studies (e.g., Nakayama & Krizek, 1995), intersectionality (e.g., Crenshaw, 1989; 1991), Black Feminist Thought (BFT) (e.g., Collins 1991; 2004; Griffin, 2012b; hooks, 2004), hegemonic masculinity (e.g,., Trujillo, 1991), and dialogism (Bakhtin, 1981; Baxter, 2011), this dissertation examines the intersection of whiteness and hegemonic masculinity within the commissioners' performances to explore how whiteness functions dialectically and intersectionally to secure its persuasive power as a strategic rhetoric. The analyses within the two case studies revealed two distinct dialectics: (1) rhetorics of postracism vs. critical rhetorics, and (2) rhetorics of honor vs. rhetorics of shame. Overall, this project extends understanding of how the rhetorics of whiteness work dialectically and intersect with the rhetorics of masculinity within the NBA and NFL via the rhetorical p (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Alberto Gonzalez Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Lisa Hanasono Dr. (Committee Co-Chair); Christina Lunceford Dr. (Other); Ellen Gorsevski Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Communication; Rhetoric

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Ohio University, 2016, Interdisciplinary Arts (Fine Arts)

In this study, I explore the manner in which contemporary artistic reimaginings of the Sanskrit epic the Mahabharata with a characteristically Western bent intervene in the dominant discourse on the epic. Through an analysis of Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni's The Palace of Illusions (2008), Shashi Tharoor's The Great Indian Novel (1989), and Peter Brook's theatrical production The Mahabharata (1989 television mini-series), I argue that these reimaginings represent a tendency to challenge the cultural authority of the Sanskrit epic in certain important ways. The study is premised on the recognition that the three works of art in question respond, some more consciously than others, to three established assumptions regarding the Mahabharata respectively: (1) the Sanskrit epic as a product of divine authorship; (2) the Sanskrit epic as history; and (3) the Sanskrit epic as the story of a particular race. In their engagement with the epic, these works foreground the concepts of the author, history, and race respectively in such a manner that the apparent stability and unity of those concepts disappear and that those concepts become sites of theoretical reflection. In this sense, the three works could ultimately be seen as theoretical statements or discourses on those concepts. Given that the concepts in question are inextricably linked to the Sanskrit epic and the dominant discourse on the epic, the success and importance of each of the contemporary works as an approach that challenges the cultural authority of the Mahabharata depends upon the extent to which it complicates the concept that it engages with and foregrounds that concept as a site of theoretical reflection.

Committee: Vladimir Marchenkov (Committee Chair); William Condee (Committee Member); Brian Collins (Committee Member); Ghirmai Negash (Committee Member) Subjects: Asian Literature; Asian Studies; Comparative Literature; Fine Arts; Literature; South Asian Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2012, EDU Teaching and Learning

The purpose of the research was to investigate how students, teacher and text intersected to develop interpretations and understandings of “edgy” literature. Aronson (2001) states that young adult literature includes texts which address, “the profoundest, deepest, and richest issues that we face as a nation” (p.8). The mediation of one such young adult novel, Night Fires (Stanley, 2009) is the focus of this teacher research, which took place with a class of urban sixth grade students during the 2011-2012 school year. The ways students interpreted and understood the text were analyzed through the theoretical frames of critical literacy, testimony and dialogism. These theories do not fully align with one another; however the data shows how they can work together in the analysis of a mediation. Data are drawn from a qualitative teacher research study conducted in an urban sixth grade English class located in a large Midwestern city. Teacher research positions the researcher as an insider whose first responsibility teacher and not researcher (Baumann & Duffy-Hester, 2002). Within this research project, having my students as my primary responsibility meant that I was not an unbiased observer, instead I worked to understand the mediation of the novel through my knowledge of the students and through theoretical lenses and related research. In order to better understand how my students were interpreting the novel, I also worked to understand the research context – an urban middle school in a diverse community – from the students' perspective. This allowed me to recognize and honor how the students defined themselves and their community, as opposed to imposing the label “urban”. This aspect of the research facilitated both my teaching and the research as the intersections of the students' urban location and the novel became a part of the mediation. Data analysis of six episodes from the novel mediation shows that the students, text and teacher intersected and interacted in a (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patricia Enciso (Advisor); Valerie Kinloch (Committee Member); Linda Parsons (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Literacy; Literature

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2010, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus)

The quality of education is a major concern worldwide. Professional development for teachers is considered crucial to improve educational effectiveness. Studies show that professional development programs are ineffective due to a lack of knowledge and research on how to plan and conduct a program that sustains change. Literature shows that the curriculum outline for most programs follows a positivist paradigm and is focused on teaching skills and subject matter content. This study seeks to contribute a new perspective on teacher professional development philosophy and pedagogy. It is framed within the socio-cultural-historical tradition involving socio-cultural theory and dialogism. The research is developed around a case study of the seminar or workshop “Teaching and Learning with Drama” offered by The Ohio State University in a week-long format every summer to practicing teachers as an option for professional development. Dr. Brian Edmiston, a leading scholar in the field of drama pedagogy, is the instructor. He uses dramatic inquiry to promote reflection and imagination in the processes of teaching and learning. His work is built on the dialogic concept of authorship. The purpose of this study is to learn about the pedagogical strategies and epistemological concepts this course offers to practicing teachers and how these can be understood as authorship. Three research questions were formulated that address the ways the curriculum development of the course leads participants to understand, interpret, and re-conceptualize teaching, learning, curriculum, and evaluation while re-examining their pedagogical plan and practices. They also seek to document and analyze the issues participants consider to be important for their professional development. Data were collected from documents and direct methods: portfolios, online postings, video, written material distributed or developed in classes, interviews, open and structured observations. Data were gathered at two (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patricia Enciso PhD (Advisor); Brian Edmiston PhD (Committee Member); Barbara Seidl PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2009, ED Teaching and Learning (Columbus campus)

With globalization, the number of international students is increasing in American higher education. Academic success is important to them. Grounded on critical academic socialization (Barton and Hamilton, 2005; Lea and Street, 2000), community-of-practice (Wenger, 1998), and dialogism (Bakhtin, 1981; Mercer, 1995), this ethnographic study reports findings regarding the critical academic socialization process of international English as a Second Language (ESL) for undergraduates in an American university. Data was collected with a focus on the parameters of symbolic modality (speaking and writing), unit of learning (individual and collaborative learning), and longitudinal time span. By synthesizing conceptual frameworks and empirical findings, this dissertation proposes an academic socialization model that brings together a diachronic dimension (euphoria critical academic becoming evolution phase of academic socialization) and three synchronic dimensions (contextual levels, sites, and modes of learning in academic socialization). While focusing on the critical academic becoming phase, this study highlights how the negotiation process of each focal student's learning to write occurs idiosyncratically across intercultural, interdisciplinary, and intertextual levels. Case analysis illustrates the development of critical literacy stance of each focal student (i.e.), analytical, questioning, and contesting literacies), which can counter the myth of silent transience of L2 international undergraduates in the U.S. Cross-case analysis also suggests that the culture of this study population is silent resistance, grounded on the textual, institutional, and discursive practices, prompts me to propose a theory of discourse hybridization to change the current status quo of commercialization and citizenship discourse in one American state university. Secondly, using cross-case analysis from the zoom-out perspective, this study reports that learning opportunities in the out-of-cla (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Cynthia L. Selfe PhD (Advisor); Evonne Halasek PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Rebecca Kantor-Martin PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Alan Hirvela PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Language; Literacy; Teaching