THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 1

The Transactional Relationship: Using An Aesthetic Reader-Response to Respond to Social Oppression A Review of the Literature Rachel Stark Wayne State University

Author ote This paper was prepared for RLL !"#$% taught &y 'rofessor (e)lase

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 2

The Transactional Relationship: Using An Aesthetic Reader-Response to Respond to Social Oppression A Review of the Literature

A&stract:
This paper e2plores using the reader-response theory within the te2ts of the literary canon in order to serve to further the ideals of a de,ocratic society. The focus of the discussion incorporates the issue of using the,atic literary te2ts to create an aesthetic reader-response in the transactional relationship found &etween te2t and student in the +nglish classroo, to counter the conte,porary issues of socioecono,ic inti,idation as well as the &roader pro&le, of &ullying so co,,only found to &e an increasing educational o&stacle within our schools. The rationale of this e2ploration is thus: )y utili3ing literature to pro,ote a sense of social acceptance within the classroo,% our efforts will inevita&ly yield to future generations &eing ,ore prepared to critically e2a,ine the world around the, and reflect on the lessons societal issues offer to positively refor, and contri&ute to the progression of our de,ocratic society. While argu,ents have &een ,ade to 4ustify choosing &etween classical literature and young adult literature to fulfill this end% for the purposes of this paper% the concentration will rest pri,arily with the adoption of classical literature within curricula and the use of young adult literature to supple,ent these efforts.

*As teachers of +nglish language arts% we have the responsi&ility to help students clai, the power of words to heal% to protect% and% as -ippocrates would put it% to do no har,./0

*Still Separate% Still Une1ual/#

1 Johnson, Augustus, & Agiro, 2012, p. 62 2 Title of Jonathan Kozols work published 2005

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 3

5n his acclai,ed work% *Still Separate% Still Une1ual%/ 6onathan 7o3ol 8#$$9: presents oftenti,es stunning and shocking evidence to indicate the socioecono,ic disparity &etween students in certain school districts representing pro,inent locations and others found within ur&an poverty-stricken areas. 5n 7o3ol;s 8#$$9: work% he refers to this current educational cli,ate as *A,erica;s educational apartheid/ 8p. <0: and appeals to the reader;s aesthetic e2perience with his te2t in an effort to advocate refor,. At the ti,e of the pu&lication date of this article% 7o3ol cited that the difference in financial allocation for ur&an school districts versus their rural counterparts were astrono,ical and current research indicates that the disparity has re,ained very ,uch to a si,ilar degree. 5n #$$9% the *per-pupil spending level in ew =ork >ity schools ?was@ A00%!$$% which ,ay &e co,pared with a per-pupil spending level in e2cess of A##%$$$ in the well-to-do su&ur&an district of Banhasset% Long 5sland/ 87o3ol% #$$9% p. <9:. 'erhaps the ,ost captivating portion of the 7o3ol 8#$$9: te2t is his following interview with Barina Warner who, his cites as a pro,inent *essayist and novelist who has written ,any &ooks for children/ 87o3ol% #$$9% p.<9:: There are e2pensive children and there are cheap children% 4ust as there are e2pensive wo,en and cheap wo,en. The govern,entally ad,inistered di,inished in value of the children of the poor &egins even &efore the age of five or si2% when they &egin their years of for,al education in the pu&lic schools. 5t starts during their infant and toddler years% when hundreds of thousands of children of the very poor in ,uch of the United States are locked out of the opportunity for preschool education for no reason &ut the accident of &irth and &udgetary choices of the govern,ent% while children of the privileged are often given verita&le feasts of rich develop,ental early education.C The &road societal issue that needs to &e addressed with this discussion is the funda,ental disparity and oppression of those caught within the poverty of the ur&an socioecono,ic class while their wealthy and pro,inent counterparts can afford *the ,ost e2clusive of the private preschools in ew =ork% which are known ?D@ as E)a&y 5vies%; ?and@ cost as ,uch as A#<%$$$
3 Kozol, 2005, p. 46

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 4

for a full-day progra,/ 87o3ol% #$$9% p. <F:. 5t is very ,uch a natural assu,ption that hu,an &eings continue forward in the footsteps of their predecessors unless they are a&le to learn to adopt new philosophies and ways of organi3ing their societies. One of the safest environ,ents for new generations to e2peri,ent with new ideas and ways of living is in the classroo, and it is one of our ,ost pivotal responsi&ilities as educators to provide the, with such an opportunity. An avenue to ,ini,i3ing and ,oving toward eradicating the social pro&le,s we face as illustrated &y 7o3ol 8#$$9: is to introduce students to a ,yriad of new philosophies and other individuals who are different than the, in socioecono,ic status% ethnicity% religion% e2perience% etcG in this sense% literature provides us with an innu,era&le cast of characters to fulfill this end of contructing a generation who does not oppress another individual &ased on these differences.

Literature as a lens to a cos,opolitan and tolerant society

The work of Louise Rosen&latt serves as the foundational &asis for literary instruction within +nglish classroo,s. 5n her te2t% Literature as +2ploration% Rosen&latt 80HF9: presents her theory regarding the transactional relationship &etween reader and the te2t. She e,phasi3es that when a student partakes in reading% the ,eaning is derived &ased on the student;s approach to the te2t as well as his or her responseG in this sense% the ,eaning is not innate within the literary work--separate fro, the reader--&ut instead is one with the reader. The individual interacting with the te2t has an aesthetic andIor efferent approach to the te2t and the ,eaning derived fro, the work is influenced to the degree of which the student chooses to interact with the work and the approach utili3ed when reading. Jor purposes of this paper% the aesthetic approach-- ,eaning that the reader e,&arks on reading a te2t for the sake of an e,otional response--will &e discussed fro, this point forward as opposed to the efferent response where the reader cooperates with the te2t purely to derive infor,ation fro, it instead of e2periencing any e,otion.

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+ducators in literature classroo,s are placed at an advantage when ,ade privy to the insight of Rosen&latt;s 80HF9: theory. 5n her work% Rosen&latt 8#$$9: argues the following: Kenerations of young people now in school and college will have to ,eet conditions and pro&le,s very different fro, those their parents and grandparents faced. (uring periods of relative sta&ility or e2tre,ely slow social change% the ho,e and the co,,unity could &e relied on to furnish the e,otional conditioning and attitudes that would auto,atically fit the kind of society the child was eventually free fro, the responsi&ility of influencing character and ,ental ha&its. 5n a sta&le society% however% that influence would principally &e a reinforce,ent of attitudes ac1uired &y the child outside of school.< Kiven these facts% one of the initial paths to refor,ing the gross in4ustice discussed in 7o3ol;s work% &ased on socioecono,ic status 8as well as other factors including ethnicity: is to prevent and eradicate these attitudes found within our schools &etween peers. While there are a ,yriad of social pro&le,s found within schools that atte,pt to refor, students; philosophies and &ehaviors to &eco,e ,ore tolerant and e,pathetic toward their peer counterparts% a not-so-su&tle avenue of creating a literary environ,ent where young people can learn to e,pathi3e with others different fro, the, is also an approach offering &eneficial results to ,eet the sa,e goal. Jor instance% in ,y own e2perience as a teacher% 5 was faced with a very ho,ogeneous group of students who had little to no e2posure to those who offered differing opinions% &eliefs% creeds% or cultures. 5n ,y curriculu,% 5 worked with literary classics such as Austen to e2pose ,y own students; stereotypes and pre4udiced thinking. There is a rising ,ove,ent with +nglish +ducation to e2pel ,uch of the literary canon fro, the standard% accepted curriculaG however% total &anish,ent of these classic te2ts will result in the students; ina&ility to e,pathi3e with characters who are oppressed &ecause of their socioecono,ic class% race% or gender--crucial lessons within that transactional relationship which could serve as the foundation for progressing society.

4 Rosenblatt, 1965, p. 161

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 6

Application in the #0st-century classroo,

The types of social stratification afore,entioned in this discussion as well as illustrated &y 7o3ol ,irrors a si,ilar oppression and stereotype found within our schools--a &ehavior we dee, *&ullying./ While in the #0st-century% &ullying can take ,ultiple for,s including ver&al% physical% technological% etc.% the fact is that% 4ust as generations previous to our own% students are daily facing &ullies who critici3e the, for lacking the na,e-&rand clothing% the technologicallyadvanced devices% the e2pensive vacations% etc. Students oftenti,es reflect the socioecono,ic status of their households and are forced to endure the conse1uences whether positive% or perhaps ,ost co,,only regarding &ullying% negative in nature. 6ohnson% Augustus% and Aigro 8#$0#: define &ullying thusly: *)ullying re,ains a wretched% pervasive pro&le, in our society% especially for teenagers. )ullying is co,,only defined as negative acts that occur repeatedly and involve an i,&alance of power/ 8p.9F:. 5n their work% researchers study the effects of pairing the classical Shakespearean literature with social pro&le,s particularly &ullying. The results are intriguing in the sense that students were a&le to identify with the role of the &ully and the victi,--e,pathi3ing with &oth and further understanding the social conse1uences of such &ehavior. The authors state that: Othello in particular poses striking parallels to conte,porary conflict or &ullying. As with 5ago;s su&versive words% ver&al &ullying has &eco,e ,ore do,inant than physical &ullying. 5n addition% &ullying is so,eti,es cyclical: Licti,s often &eco,e &ullies% and clearly we see Othello;s violent actions as the result of his own harass,ent. The great ,anipulator 5ago serves as a warning for students. We want students to analy3e the su&te2ts linked to the tor,ent of &ullying that they see daily ?D@. Othello;s ina&ility to see through 5ago;s persuasion causes hi, to accept ugly insinuations--a heart&reaking e2a,ple of the conse1uences of not Etalking &ack; to har,ful te2ts. Students ,ust learn how language is used to ,aintain and contest relations of do,ination. Through the ,any voices presented in this unit% we trust that students will learn fro, this collective wisdo,. )y integrating the study of Othello ?D@ students can critically evaluate the ra,ifications of failing to talk &ack to te2ts and envision other actions and reactions.9
5 2012, p. 56

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5nterestingly as well% the results of this study were two-foldG not only did students reflect on their own conclusions that indeed% *old plays and storiesD can have an i,pact on our life today%/F &ut the teacher involved in the study *co,,ented that she was ,ost a,a3ed at the connections the students readily ,ade fro, classical literature to conte,porary issues. She also was stunned at how well they Egot; the whole Othello story &y viewing only clips and reading only key scenes of a play not in the curriculu,!/ 86ohnson% Augustus% Aigro% #$0#% p. F0:. 'erhaps though% the ,ost insight can &e derived fro, the authors recogni3ition of a teacher;s de,anding routine: *While ti,e is always an issue% connecting ?classical literature@ curriculu, with conte,porary issues can help us address ,ultiple topics% efficiently and effectively engaging students in real-world pro&le,s and solutions to &ullying/ 86ohnson% Augustus% Aigro% #$0#% p. F#:. -owever% this would not &e the case if teachers did not consciously adopt Rosen&latt;s 80HF9: theory of the transactional relationship of literature. The research study discussed in the work% *'revalence of &ullying and victi,i3ation a,ong children in early ele,entary school: (o fa,ily and school neigh&ourhood socioecono,ic status ,atterM/ written &y '. 6ansen% Lerlinden% (o,,isee-van )erkel% Bieloo% +nde% Leenstra% Lerhulst% W. 6ansen% and Tie,eier% further e2tends this argu,ent of the interplay &etween &ullying and socioecono,ic status. The authors contend the following: 5t is i,portant that children with an increased risk of &eco,ing a &ully or victi, are identified at a young age so as to facilitate ti,ely prevention of &ullying and victi,i3ation. 5dentification is enhanced &y knowledge on deter,inants and predictors of &ullying &ehaviour. 'reviously% studies on deter,inants of &ullying ,ainly focused on individual traits of children and on the influence of parenting styles. Jor instance% &ullies often have an i,pulsive and do,inant te,pera,ent and are fre1uently e2posed to harsh child-rearing practices at ho,e. Recently% considera&le attention has &een paid to socioecono,ic predictors of school &ullying. This has led to the postulation that involve,ent in &ullying &ehaviour ,ight e2plain part of the socioecono,ic disparities in ,ental health pro&le,s. Jor instance% it has &een shown that adolescents fro, fa,ilies
6 as stated by the student Ava in the work of Johnson, Augustus, and Aigro, 2012, p. 61 7 emphasis added

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 8

with a lower socioecono,ic status 8S+S: are ,ore often victi,i3ed and face ,ore severe long-ter, ,ental health conse1uences of this victi,i3ation as co,pared to victi,s fro, ,ore affluent social &ackgrounds. Other studies have confir,ed that victi,i3ation rates were higher a,ong children with a low socioecono,ic &ackground as indicated &y their parents; low-skill occupations or low educational attain,ent% lack of ,aterial resources% and single parenthood. Like victi,i3ation% &ullying see,s to &e socially patterned &y parental socioecono,ic status as well." This innate relationship &etween &ullying and socioecono,ic status ,ay &e circu,vented with the social progra,s instituted in schoolsG however with the advent of &udgetary reductions which are often seen to &e in increasing co,,onality and degree due to the current econo,ic conditions% lends itself to the i,portance of utili3ing the natural curriculu, resources of the classroo, to serve as a foundational &asis for allowing students interaction with te2t &y ,eans of Rosen&latt;s 80HF9: transactional relationship.

Supple,enting the classics with conte,porary young adult literature

Of course% as with e2pelling the literary canon co,pletely fro, the +nglish curriculu,% it is also not advantageous to rely solely on it and su&se1uently ignore the ,yriad of conte,porary novels that offer a rich vastness of social lessons perhaps ,ore co,,on to young people today. The te2ts are easily a&le to supple,ent the lessons derived fro, the classics and provide for the sa,e aesthetic% transactional relationship &etween reader and te2t that is so crucial to allowing students to create new ideas and ways of living in replace,ent of the for,er ways of oppression toward others. Lourdes Lope3-Ropero;s work lends credence to this: Though portrayals of &ullying in children;s &ooks stretch &ack to Lictorian pu&lic school stories% this article sees a new su&genre a&out &ullying in young adult novels e,erging in the post->olu,&ine years. Selected works &y 6erry Spinelli% Walter (ean Byers% 6ai,e Adoff% >arol 'lu,-Ucci and Rita Willia,s-Karcia are e2a,ined% although the article &egins &y looking at a precursor of this su&genre% Ro&ert >or,ier;s classic The >hocolate War. 5n this su&genre% it is argued that &ullying is not presented as dysfunctional adolescent &ehavior% &ut as a tool for addressing issues of difference and
8 2012, p.2

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 9

discri,ination on the grounds of race% class% se2ual orientation or personalityG issues that filter into adolescent culture. -igh schools are thus portrayed as totalitarian ,icrocos,s where &ullying functions as a ,eans of social control% cur&ing deviance fro, ,asculine% heterose2ual% ,iddle- class and white nor,s. The narrative techni1ues and the,es of these &ooksNaround ho,opho&ia% 4ock culture% ra,page shootings and girl-onOgirl violenceNwill &e e2a,ined.

Reflections and conclusions

Through e2ploration of the reader-response theory within the te2ts of the literary canon to create an aesthetic reader-response in the transactional relationship found &etween te2t and student in the +nglish classroo,% we as educators strive to counter the conte,porary issues of socioecono,ic inti,idation as well as the &roader pro&le, of &ullying so co,,only found to &e an increasing educational o&stacle within our schools. The rationale of this e2ploration is thus: )y utili3ing literature to pro,ote a sense of social acceptance within the classroo,% our efforts will inevita&ly yield to future generations &eing ,ore prepared to critically e2a,ine the world around the, and reflect on the lessons societal issues offer to positively refor, and contri&ute to the progression of our de,ocratic society. While argu,ents have &een ,ade to 4ustify choosing &etween classical literature and young adult literature to fulfill this end% studies have shown an argu,ent for the continued i,ple,entation of classical literature within curricula and the use of conte,porary young adult literature to supple,ent this cause. Although an innu,era&le a,ount of societal pro&le,s result fro, flawed hu,anity% we have the uni1ue opportunity to allow our curricula to transfor, the young ,inds of our students through the transactional relationship &etween reader and te2t in order to further advance our society to an i,proved% ,ore e1uita&le and tolerant% future.

THE TRANSACTIONAL RELATIONSHIP: USING AN AESTHETIC READER-RESPONSE TO RESPOND TO SOCIAL OPPRESSION 10

Works >ited: 6ansen% '. W.% Lerlinden% B.% (o,,isse-van )erkel% A.% Bieloo% >.% van der +nde% 6.% Leenstra% R.% Lerhulst% J. >.% P Tie,eier% -. 8#$0#:. 'revalence of &ullying and victi,i3ation a,ong children in early ele,entary school: (o fa,ily and school neigh&ourhood socioecono,ic status ,atterM. )B> 'u&lic -ealth% <H<80#:. 6ohnson% A. ).% Augustus% L.% P Agrio% >. '. 8#$0#:. )eyond &ullying: 'airing classics and ,edia literacy. +nglish 6ournal% 0$08F:% 9F-FC. 7o3ol% 6. 8#$$9:. Still separateG still une1ual. <0-9C. Lope3-Ropero% L. 8#$00:. E=ou are a flaw in the pattern;: (ifference% autono,y and &ullying in y.a. fiction. Springer Science )usiness Bedia% 0<9-09!. Rosen&latt% L. B. 80HF9:. Literature as e2ploration. ew =ork: The Bodern Language Association of A,erica.