Conceptualizing Public Intellectualism for Youth Audiences: Social Media and Young Adult Literature in the 21st Century

• In Event: Public Agency, Public Erasure, and Aspirations for Belonging

Abstract

This paper examines how prominent authors of young adult (YA) literature utilize Twitter to engage with the public on issues of politics and ethics, and, in doing so function as public intellectuals. As part of a multiyear study exploring the social media engagement of YA authors and readers, this work investigates how influential intellectual work is being enacted by individuals whose primary audience is youth, and on platforms where youth are positioned as valued participants, their contributions are sought, and their cultures recognized. Our findings consider the ways in which this public intellectual work may be leveraged to advocate for social justice and to promote equity and activism by and with youth.

Authors

• Nora Peterman, University of Missouri - Kansas City

• Connor Warner, University of Utah