Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric Sep 2011 Open Access

Daughters Making Sense of African American Literature in Out-of-School Zones

Melvette Melvin-Davis

Abstract

This article considers the value of young adult literature in the literacy development of adolescents. Her account of an out-of-school reading group for adolescent African American girls illustrates the capacity such spaces have to provide young African American women with opportunities for self-reflection, critical inquiry, and personal development, opportunities that may not exist within the traditional classroom setting. Melvin-Davis contends that reading groups, such as these, function as “homeplaces,” spaces where diverse, relevant, and realistic African American experiences are shared, validated, and explored for the insights they might reveal for negotiating the world.

Journal
Reflections: A Journal of Community-Engaged Writing and Rhetoric
Published
2011-09-01
DOI
10.59236/rjv11i1pp17-42
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Topics
literacy studies race and writing literary studies
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