Deborah Van Duinen

Literacy practices are not neutral activities. As children are taught to read, they learn to read the worlds they are introduced to as readers as they encounter gendered archetypes and identities (Giroux, 1997). We connected two literary frameworks to engage in a critical content analysis…

Children’s literature, like all art, is a reflection of or resistance to the cultures from which it emerges. Picture books, particularly those chosen by children themselves, can be viewed as reflections of larger cultural trends and views. As such, they can be seen as objects…

Whether teaching first-year composition or an upper-level workshop, Danticat’s text introduced all of our students to new tools and techniques in the writing process. As they read Danticat and began telling their own stories, students experienced a greater level of freedom to experiment and trusted…

To understand Brother, I’m Dying, we needed to understand the historical context from which it arises. Haiti’s complicated history helps inform Mira and Uncle Joseph’s actions. Across various political leaders, including the troubled legacy of Francois Duvalier “Papa Doc, his son Jean-Claude Duvalier “Baby Doc,”…

Edwidge Danticat’s powerful and haunting memoir, Brother I’m Dying, invites the reader to enter a poignant lyric braid where ideas overlap in complex patterns. Set against the backdrop of political unrest in Haiti, Danticat’s narrative weaves her family’s history across borders and beliefs, exploring the…

We first identified the frequency of participants' use for each of the five targets in the Targeted Field Observation Guide. We then analyzed the ways participants used the targets in their weekly Google Doc posts. The management target, which encouraged preservice teachers to consider many…