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Dissertation Information for E. Wendy Saul

NAME:
- E. Wendy Saul

DEGREE:
- Ph.D.

DISCIPLINE:
- [No Discipline Recorded]

SCHOOL:
- University of Wisconsin, Madison (USA) (1981)

ADVISORS:
- None

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
- None

MPACT Status: Incomplete - Not_Inspected

Title: THE SCHOOL STORY IN AMERICA, 1900-1940: A SOCIO-HISTORICAL ANALYSIS OF THE GENRE

Abstract: This study describes a corpus of juvenile novels, school stories, within a social and historical context. Since the heyday of the genre was between 1900-1940, the interpretation focuses on this period, although selected earlier and later narratives are considered. The study includes a definition of school stories; a chronology of the form; a classification based on formal literary elements; information on publishers, authors and intended audiences; and a discussion of the values and predispositions embedded in the tales.

In Chapter I "image" studies and "utilitarian" studies are contrasted to studies which discuss the relations evident between and among thematic domain, formal structures and social usage.

Chapter II traces the theory and procedures used in collecting and analyzing data. Resultant questions are enumerated: (i) What values and assumptions are being dramatized and displayed through school narratives? (ii) How are these stories implicated in the creation, interpretation and maintenance of these values and assumptions? and (iii) What biographical and historical factors have influenced the creation, distribution and reception of school stories?

In Chapter III Tom Brown's Schooldays is presented as a prototypic school story and contrasted to a non-example, Rollo at School. Several other pre-1900 American juveniles which focus on the school are characterized as regional and semi-autobiographical. Examples of early sex-identified tales about school life are also discussed--Elijah Kellogg's Whispering Pine Series, Susan Coolidge's Katy Series and Frances H. Burnett's Sara Crewe. The American preparatory school, though in existence, did not become the subject of fictional accounts until after 1900.

Chapter IV elaborates on three variations of the school sports story for boys; the "Brahmin" narrative, the "Mass-market" tale and the "Religious" story. These designations--Brahmin, Mass-market, and Religious--refer to the school affiliations of the story's author, the values and activities he portrays as attractive, the vocabulary and rhetorical features he employs, and the marketing strategy of the publishers involved. "School story" as a generic term generally has been reserved for Brahmin tales. In these stories we find the roles traditionally assigned to the family in 19th century children's literature taken on by professionals in a school setting. For the Brahmins the world appears to be a safe place where fairness is valued and conformity to community standards is required for success. Brahmin heroes are athletic and earnest.

Mass-market tales, on the other hand, portray a world where fate and coincidence reign. The physically adept, clever, often flashy hero is prepared for these extraordinary circumstances in a way the diffident Brahmin protagonist would not be. The school merely serves as a backdrop for his antics. Religious school stories also include many improbable and unpredictable circumstances, but these are overtly attributed to God's will. The seriousness of the First Holy Communion is entwined with boyhood feats of daring.

Chapter V discusses the work of R. H. Barbour, the most popular and prolific school story author. His work is seen as an amaglam of Brahmin and Mass-market traditions.

A final section, the Coda, suggests how literature on the "hidden curriculum" is useful in the interpretation of school stories. The Brahmin tale, in particular, is seen as an example of "liberal ideology". Suggestions for further research are also offered.

MPACT Scores for E. Wendy Saul

A = 0
C = 2
A+C = 2
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-01-31 06:18:02

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