Risking Apollo's kiss: stories of academically-talented women teachers naming themselves
Abstract
Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of the chronotope and of genre provide an interpretive
fame for this life history study of four academically-talented women who have chosen
teaching as their career. Through close readings of the women’s stories, especially their
language rhythms and metaphors, and through associated readings of folktales, film,
poetry, and novels, the author identifies the genres by which the women explain both the
official narratives and their own understandings of “woman,” “intelligent,” and
“teacher.” The author indicates that the women resist official narratives’ power to author
them in these positions by modifying the genres of those narratives to allow them spaces
within which they may live their own stories. In this manner, the women name
themselves and still retain a place within community. The author emphasizes the
importance of time and spirit in the women’s creation of their own alternative narratives.
Department
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