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Abstract

This thesis explores heroics within the popular anime series My Hero Academia (MHA), giving attention to its depiction of heroism as a performative, pedagogical and institutional practice. Drawing on critical literacies and approaches to pedagogy, Performative Heroics interrogates how characters from this series are not only trained in combat and rescue but also in public image management and moral identity. This is similar to the expectations placed on contemporary youth who are navigating identity and civic responsibility in a media-saturated world. Young people are constantly facing a barrage of content that is influencing how they will be perceived by others, as well as telling them what values and expectations are placed on their interests. Alongside narrative analysis within the chapters of this thesis, the author provides their experience in the form of vignettes. These vignettes parallel their interest in pursuing this media as a potential resource for teaching. They argue that My Hero Academia provides a compelling site for secondary students to engage in critical dialogue around selfhood, institutional trust and the performative nature of social roles. MHA is used as a case study of youth moral and identity development and this thesis aims to examine the pedagogical affordances of its story, in addition to making a case for similar texts to be analyzed in secondary English classrooms. To support the use of anime and popular media in secondary English Language Arts classrooms, Performative Heroics also includes adaptable lesson plans and discussion prompts that demonstrate how My Hero Academia (MHA) can be used to meet learning objectives in secondary English Language Arts (ELA), Social Studies, and other media literacy curricula. These lessons are designed to be taken up and/or augmented by any educators interested in integrating such texts into their practice; however, please note that the author draws their knowledge from experience as an American secondary teacher. These resources are designed to equip educators with methods for fostering critical thinking and culturally responsive conversations through the integration of popular culture that represents modern students’ experience of moral conscription in a world heavily shaped through media perception.