This study aims to develop the content and methods of reading education for Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy. Gender literacy is defined as a practical ability to critically reflect on the relationship between embodied gender norms and the corre...
This study aims to develop the content and methods of reading education for Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy. Gender literacy is defined as a practical ability to critically reflect on the relationship between embodied gender norms and the corresponding performance of gender, and consciously recognize a positive self-identity to aim for the practical ability to pursue an ethical community. This study critiques the dichotomous interpretation of female narrators in classical Korean poetry education as either ‘passive women’ or ‘active women’. The gender performance of the characters in the Joseon Dynasty's Gyenyeogaryu Gyubanggasa Bokseonhwaumga, which embodies gender norms of that era, is intertwined with various gender-related elements that cannot be confined to polarized interpretative frameworks. Therefore, this study aims to design reading education for adolescent learners to read Bokseonhwaumga in a multi-layered and complex manner through gender literacy.
Chapter II establishes the specific theoretical framework for the study. First, Section 1 examines the relationship between gender literacy and critical literacy, as well as the concepts of gender and the body, in order to define the concept of gender literacy emphasized in this research. Both gender literacy and critical literacy share reading stages that involve recognition, critique, and practice, and critical awareness of the relationship between language and power. However, the reasons for establishing gender literacy as a distinct concept in this study are as follows: 1) the necessity of considering the existential characteristics of gender, 2) the goal of fostering learners' critical thinking through a critical awareness of gender, and 3) addressing the lack of emotional engagement, which is often identified as a limitation of critical literacy. Subsequently, this study examined the gender discussions of Butler's epistemological feminism, which emphasizes social construction, and material feminism, which underscores the body that traverses the boundaries of cognition and existence, highlighting the multi-layered and complex nature of gender. This is because the gender perceived by adolescent learners is experienced through language and the body, making it both cognitive and existential. Accordingly, the study examines the concept of the 'body' as articulated by Merleau-Ponty, Grosz, and Braidotti. The body embodies an individual’s specific daily life, context, position, and experiences, generating multiple and complex differences. In Section 2, the study discusses the components of gender literacy—gender norms, gender performance, and gender consciousness—based on the points where gender issues become prominent in reading Bokseonhwaumga. Gender norms are defined as ‘socially constructed and enforced gender rules or roles,’ gender performance as ‘acts and speech that conform to or subvert embodied gender norms,’ and gender consciousness as ‘a meta-awareness and critical consciousness of gender norms and gender performance.’In Section 3, the study delineates three stages of reading Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy: 1) recognizing gender elements in the text through embodied gender literacy, 2) critiquing the socio-constructivist and binary gender structures within the text, and 3) fostering learners' identity reflection and personal and social praxis. Literary works and gender literacy share a mutually constitutive relationship and are processes that are constantly evolving.
In Chapter III, based on the theoretical foundation established earlier, an experiment was designed to analyze how learners read Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy. First, learners identified the patriarchal gender norms present in Gyeonyega (didactic songs for women), critically examined the relationship between macro- and micro-level power structures and gender norms, and reflected on their own gender norms. Second, learners recognized gender performance through the language and flesh of the characters in Bokseonhwaumga, critiqued whether these performances conformed to or subverted established norms, and demonstrated praxis by adapting their own gender performances based on their critique of the characters’ performances. Third, learners identified the relationship between the characters' gender consciousness and the progression of the text, critically examined the formation of both the characters’ and their own gender consciousness, and sought ways to expand their gender consciousness into personal and social praxis. These findings illustrate how learners engaged with Bokseonhwaumga through a multilayered reading facilitated by gender literacy. However, some learners faced difficulties in reading Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy. They showed a passive attitude toward identifying the components of gender literacy, uncritically accepted power-imbalanced gender norms and performances, or failed to expand ethical gender consciousness into their lived contexts. This study identified these limitations and aimed to propose educational content and methods to address them effectively.
Therefore, in Chapter IV, based on the above discussions, a specific design for reading Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy was developed. First, in Section 1, the goals of reading Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy were set as follows: 1) recognizing the value of Bokesonhwaumga as a text that embodies multilayered gender, 2) fostering critical readers through the enhancement of literacy skills, and 3) laying the foundation for ethical practice by cultivating gender sensitivity. To achieve these goals, Section 2 outlines the content of reading Bokseonhwaumga through gender literacy, which includes: 1) recognizing the historical context of gender norms in the Joseon Dynasty and the Gyeonyega tradition, 2) forming critical thinking and alternative perspectives based on gender, and 3) fostering ethical consciousness through the exploration of the diversity of body and gender identity. Finally, in Section 3, the study presents methods for teaching "Bokseonhwaumga" through gender literacy as a practical approach to implementing the educational content were presented, which include: 1) critical discussions on gender norms through intertextual comparisons, 2) writing continuation of Bokseonhwaumga by linking the learner’s identity with the characters, and 3) exploring the modern reinterpretation of Bokseonhwaumga and ethical community through visual expression.
This study demonstrates that learners can move beyond the fragmented and binary interpretations to read Bokseonhwaumga in a multilayered manner through gender literacy. Through gender literacy, learners can read Bokseonhwaumga and become active participants in interpreting and reimagining classical literature, engaging deeply with its dynamic language and body. The educational approach proposed by this study is significant in that it allows learners to reflect on their own identities and social contexts, rediscover the modern value of classical literature, and develop into autonomous and ethical readers.