The Skin We’re In: A Literary Analysis of Representations Of Mixed Race Identity in Children’s Literature

The Skin We’re In: A Literary Analysis of Representations Of Mixed Race Identity in Children’s Literature

University of Illinois, Chicago
2012
232 pages
Publication Number: AAT 3530952
ISBN: 9781267715739

Amina Chaudhri, Assistant Professor of Teacher Education
Northeastern Illinois University, Chicago

A Thesis Submitted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Curriculum and Instruction in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Chicago

This study systematically analyzed novels of contemporary and historical fiction with mixed race content intended for readers age 9-14. In the context of an increasingly multiracial and multicultural society, this study was primarily concerned with the question of identity representation: What is contemporary children’s literature saying about the experience of being racially mixed? This question was investigated along three strands: 1) How can literature about multiracial identity be usefully described and define? 2) What historical perspectives inform books about multiracial people? and 3) To what degree are contemporary authors maintaining or challenging racial paradigms?

A content analysis of ninety novels with mixed race content was undertaken to determine specific features such as gender, age, racial mix, family situation, socio-economic situation, racial makeup of environment, and setting. Three categories were created based historical paradigms about mixed race identity, and themes that emerged from the novels: 1) Mixed Race In/Visibility, 2) Mixed Race Blending, and 3) Mixed Race Awareness. All ninety novels were evaluated with respect to the criteria of the categories. Thirty-three novels were selected for deep literary analysis, demonstrating the ways historical perspectives about mixed race identity inform contemporary children’s literature.

Findings indicated three broad trends in representations of mixed race identity in children’s literature with novels falling almost equally between the three categories. Books in the Mixed Race In/Visibility category depicted stereotypically traumatic experiences for mixed race characters and provide little or no opportunity for critique of racism. Books in the Mixed Race Blending category featured characters whose mixed race identity was descriptive but not functional in their lives. Mixed Race Awareness books represented a range of possible life experiences for biracial characters who respond to social discomfort to their racial identity in complex and credible ways.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  • I. INTRODUCTION
    • Background
    • Rationale
    • Overview of the Study
    • Research Questions
  • II. REVIEW OF LITERATURE
    • Literary Criticism
      • Literary Criticism in Children’s Literature
    • Critical Race Theory
      • Critical Race Theory in Children’s Literature
    • Mixed Race Perspectives
      • Theorizing Mixed Race Identity
      • Mixed Race Research in Children’s Literature
      • Setting the Stage
  • III. METHODOLOGY
    • Text Identification
    • Search Parameters
      • Publication Date
      • Genre
      • Age of Intended Readership
    • Text Selection for Literary Analysis
    • Text Analysis – Content Analysis
    • Text Analysis – Literary Analysis
    • Terminology
  • IV. FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS OF REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS
    • The Big Picture
    • Mixed Race Identity in the Categories
      • Mixed Race In/Visibility (MRIV)
      • Mixed Race Blending (MRB)
      • Mixed Race Awareness (MRA)
    • Trends in Contemporary Realistic Fiction
    • Trends in Historical Fiction
    • Literary Analysis of Representative Books in Each Category
      • MRI/V in Contemporary Realistic Fiction
      • MRI/V in Historical Fiction
      • MRB in Contemporary Realistic Fiction
      • MRB in Historical Fiction
      • MRA in Contemporary Realistic Fiction
      • MRA in Historical Fiction
  • V. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS
    • Themes in the Categories
      • Mixed Race In/Visibility
        • Wounded by Words
        • Inferior Vitality
        • Incomplete Amalgamation
        • Conclusion: Mixed Race In/Visibility
      • Mixed Race Blending
        • One Drop Still Rules
        • Revelations
        • All-American Biracials
        • Conclusion: Mixed Race Blending
      • Mixed Race Awareness
        • Conclusion: Mixed Race Awareness
    • Talking About Mixed Race Identity
    • Contributions
    • Limitations
    • Future Research
    • Conclusion
  • VI. APPENDICES
    • APPENDIX A: Books Identified for this Study
    • APPENDIX B: Books Listed by Genre
    • APPENDIX C: Books Listed by Category
    • APPENDIX D: Books Listed by Racial Mix
    • APPENDIX E: Instrument for Collecting Individual Text Data
  • VII. REFERENCES
    • CHILDREN’S LITERATURE CITED
  • VIII. CURRICULUM VITAE

LIST OF TABLES

  • TABLE III–1. Categories for Content Analysis
  • TABLE IV–1. Author Race
  • TABLE IV–2. Features of Books With Mixed Race Characters
  • TABLE IV–3. Mixed Race Representation Across Genre and Category

Read the entire dissertation here.

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