2021 Theses Doctoral
Rambling and Wobbling in English: Ecocriticism in Outdoor Classrooms
This teacher research project investigates a high school English teacher’s classrooms that combine outdoor activities in nature with literacy activities, including environmental literature read through a lens of ecocriticism. It seeks to answer the overarching research question: What happens when students read environmental literature and experience outdoor activities in English classes that emphasize critical literacy focusing on environmental justice and ecocriticism? The data sets derive from students’ writing and testimony (from interviews) involving cohorts of between three and six students who participated in classroom research studies in 2011, 2012, and 2018. This teacher research project borrows from grounded theory methodologies in the processes of data collection and analysis. Findings from the data suggest that participants showed an ability to read the word and the world in ways that promoted a critical gaze toward social and environmental injustice. Also, students were able to see “what nobody ever sees” in literature and the natural world. A grounded theory of critical rambling is offered.
Subjects
Files
This item is currently under embargo. It will be available starting 2026-02-03.
More About This Work
- Academic Units
- English Education
- Thesis Advisors
- Blau, Sheridan
- Degree
- Ph.D., Columbia University
- Published Here
- February 23, 2021