Term of Award

Spring 2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

John Weaver

Committee Member 1

Marla Morris

Committee Member 2

Tricia Kress

Committee Member 3

Robert Lake

Abstract

ABSTRACT

This is the story of my life in the form of a memoir. You might ask, why is my life a relevant subject for a dissertation? As Celeste Snowber, the scholar, author and performer recently said to me, “I think it would be wonderful to write a memoir.... You clearly have an extraordinary life, with art, soul and the depths of wisdom marinating all you do” (2023, personal communication). I was flattered by her comments and her confidence in me gave me the inspiration I needed to tell my story. There is also the meaning of ‘lived experience’ in the realm of curriculum studies. As Pinar wrote, “Autobiography is an architecture of self, a self we create and embody as we read, write, speak and listen” (1994, p. 220). In my writing I will conflate autobiography and \memoir as much of the literature uses the word ‘autobiography’ as opposed to the word ‘memoir’ (see Pinar, 2015; Miller, 2010; Morris, 2015). Though the two words are not actually defined the same, they both still follow the pathway set out for writings of the self, a narrative of lived experience actually called life writing. This type of writing “includes a wide range of genres that involve writing about the self and theorizing about self‐writing” (Dowd & Eckerly, 2010, p. 32). So based on Pinar’s and other theorists’ writings, I consider that my memoir might be an enlightening read to a curriculum theorist. Moreover, I think it is an enlightening read to anyone of my generation. This memoir is unusual because it is written in the form of an illustrated/graphic novel with musical interludes. So, read on my friends, and enjoy.

OCLC Number

1432734046

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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