Discovering and examining Arabic young adult literature trade books: A content analysis of cultural authenticity.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to examine the current availability of Arabic young adult literature trade books and to systematically analyze Arabic young adult literature trade books in terms of their cultural authenticity. By analyzing the contents of the trade books through the lenses of literary merit and Arabic culture, I hoped to fill a gap in the current discourse knowledge which does not adequately include the Arab experience. The following research questions guided my study: (1) What is the current availability of Arabic young adult literature, both written in English and available in English translation?, (2) What is the most accurate criterion for determining the authenticity of the currently available Arabic YA texts?, (3) How are Arab young adults represented in Arabic young adult trade books and how culturally authentic are these representations?, and (4) How do insider and/or outsider perspectives and membership and/or nonmembership influence the books' authenticity? In order to address these questions, my methodology consisted of content analyses of 48 Arabic young adult literature trade books that were written in English or had been made available in English translation.;I analyzed books written by members and non-members. Using these researcher-developed evaluation tools, I determined the cultural authenticity of these trade books; First-Impression Form, Overall-Impression Form, and Three-Dimensional Protocol, in addition to the application of an adapted version of Sims Bishop's guiding questions in her book Shadow and Substance, 1982. One of the major findings of this study was that the available Arabic young adult literature is divided into two categories of trade books: (1) contemporary fiction Arabic young adult literature trade books, and (2) Adapted classical Arabic folk literature trade books. All but one of the available trade books that I could find were published/edited/republished between 1991 and 2008. The majority of the available trade books were informed by an Arab insider perspective to be intended for general audiences, specifically Americans and Arab/Muslim-Americans to address two main themes; the consequences of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on Arab young adults, and growing up as Muslim/Arab-American teenagers in post September 11, 2001 America.;Another important finding of this study was the creation of three assessment tools, especially the Three-Dimensional Protocol that includes an abundance of cultural items or factors that are expected to be addressed in an Arabic YA trade book to be of high quality and authenticity. Despite increases in Arabic young adult literature trade books, both in quality and quantity, the number is still not commensurate with Arab students' population in Arabic and American schools. And the trade books that were assessed as highly authentic in terms of the representation of the Arabic cultural nuances were mainly by Arab members, while non-members tended to portray Arabic observational cultural details with less sensitivity to the Arab experience.