Dissertation Abstracts

From this page you may return to the main Romance Scholarship page or go directly to

• Bibliography A-G - the first half of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
• Bibliography H-O - the second part of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
• Bibliography P-Z - the end of our bibliography of academic articles and books about romance.
• Academic Online Essays (not published in academic journals or volumes)
• Scholarship in Languages Other than English.
• Romance Resources for Academics - lists romance-related resources which may be of interest to academics.
• Writers on Romance - lists items written about the genre by romance authors but not published in academic journals or books.
• Romance in the Media - lists news items/features items about romance.

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Avila, Debbie Maria, 2005. 

"The Romance Novel of the 1930s and 1940s in Spain and Portugal: The Cases of Carmen de Icaza and Alice Ogando." U of California Irvine (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 66.7:2572) Abstract and excerpt

Backman, Nelina Esther, 1999. 

"Evangelism Embarrassed: Christian Literature in a post-Christian Culture." Ph.D. dissertation, Brown University, United States -- Rhode Island. Publication No. AAT 9932368. Abstract and excerpt [Includes some discussion of "contemporary evangelical romance fiction."]

Benjamin, Sarah, 1999. 

"The Theory of 'Identity Dissonance': Mass Communication, Romance Fiction, and the Self-Concept." M.A. dissertation, York University (Canada), Canada. Publication No. AAT MQ43370. Abstract and excerpt

Burley, Stephanie Carol., 2003. 

"Hearts of Darkness: The Racial Politics of Popular Romance." U of Maryland, College Park (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 64.6: 2082) Abstract and excerpt

Chappel, Deborah Kaye, 1992. 

"American Romances: Narratives of Culture and Identity" Duke University, (Dissertation Abstracts International52 (8): 2923A-24A. Abstract and excerpt

Coddington, Lynn, 1997. 

"Romance and Power: Writing Romance Novels as a Practice of Critical Literacy." Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkeley, United States -- California. Publication No. AAT 9803158. Abstract and excerpt

Colemnero, Laura Elizabeth, 1999. 

"The social construction of gender as represented in popular fiction, 1990-1997." Ph.D. dissertation, South Dakota State University, Publication No. AAT 9924280. Abstract and excerpt [Includes analysis of Johanna Lindsey's Gentle Rogue.]

Downey, Kristin, 2005. 

"Irony, Ideology, and Resistance: The Amazing Double Life of Harlequin Presents", McMaster University, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 66.10:3640. Abstract and excerpt.

Elliott, Margaret A., 1996. 

'The Librarian's Stereotyped Image in Romance Novels, 1980-1995: Has the Image Changed?', Master's Research Paper, Kent State University. ERIC Document ED401924. Abstract and PDF

Fera-VanGent, Tania, 2007.

'Popular Romance novels: Seeking out the 'sisterhood'." M.A. diss., Brock University (Canada).

Goade, Sally Ann, 1999. 

"'And With the Land, Our Spirits So Blended': Interrelated Frontier Quests of Self in Contemporary Historical Romance. A Study of Rosanne Bittner's 'Savage Destiny' series", Idaho State U, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 60.4:1132) Abstract and excerpt

Griffin, Linda Coleman, 1999. 

"An Analysis of Meaning Creation through the Integration of Sociology and Literature: A Critical Ethnography of a Romance Reading Group." U of Houston, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences, 60.4: 1117.) Abstract and excerpt

Harzewski, Stephanie, 2006. 

"The new novel of manners: Chick lit and postfeminist sexual politics ." U of Pennsylvania, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences, 67.7:2573.) Abstract and excerpt

Henderson, Courtney R.,2007. 

"Ladies and Loners: A Comparative Gender Study of the Romance and Popular Western.' M.A. diss., The University of Texas at Arlington.

Hubbard, Rita Cooper, 1982. 

"Relationship Styles In Popular Romance Fiction: A Fantasy Theme Analysis Of Harlequin Romances, 1950-1979." (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 42.12:4973) Abstract

Hughes, Helen Muriel,1988. 

"Changes In Historical Romance, 1890s To The 1980s: The Development Of The Genre From Stanley Weyman To Georgette Heyer And Her Successors." U Of Bradford (United Kingdom), (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 50.11: 3603) Abstract

Hurley, Frances Kay., 1999. 

"In the Words of Girls: The Reading of Adolescent Romance Fiction." Harvard U, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 60.6: 1946) Abstract and excerpt

Jocks, Yvonne Annette, 1988. 

“Adventure and Virtue: Alternating Emphasis in the Popular Romance Tradition.” Master’s thesis, University of Texas at Arlington. [Jocks writes romances under the pseudonym Evelyn Vaughn ]

Johnson, Naomi Ruth, 2007. 

"Consuming Desires: A Feminist Analysis of Bestselling Teen Romance Novels". The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 68.11)

Kebadze, Nino, 2007. 

"Fictions of Surrender: Romance and Exemplarity in Post-War Spanish Women's Narratives. Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kentucky, United States -- Kentucky. Publication No. AAT 3263682. Abstract and excerpt ["The second part of this dissertation focuses on three novels by the best-selling authors of novelas rosa --Luisa-María Linares, Concha Linares-Becerra, and Carmen de Icaza."]

Kinard, Amanda Marette, 1999. 

"Forbidden Pleasures: The Romance and Its Readers." Vanderbilt U.,(Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 59.12: 4424) Abstract and excerpt

Kirkland, Catherine, 1984. 

"For The Love Of It: Women Writers And The Popular Romance." U of Pennsylvania, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 46.1:10. Abstract

Lin, Fang-Mei, 1992. 

"Social Change and Romantic Ideology: The Impact of the Publishing Industry, Family Organization, and Gender Roles on the Reception and Interpretation of Romance Fiction in Taiwan, 1960-1990." U of Pennysylvania (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences, 53.5:1675) Abstract and excerpt

Lohmann, Jennifer, 2006. 

" 'Beauty and the Beast' Themes in Romance Novels." A Master’s Paper for the M.S. in L.S degree. April, 2006. 41 pages. Advisor: Brian Sturm. A Master’s paper submitted to the faculty of the School of Information and Library Science of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Library Science. [1]

Lutz, Deborah, 2004. "The Dangerous Lover and the Erotics of Failure

Nineteenth-century Byronism and the Contemporary Romance. Ph.D. dissertation, City University of New York, United States -- New York. Publication No. AAT 3127895. Abstract and excerpt [Has since been published by Ohio State University Press - see the main bibliography for details.]

McKinley, Tracey Lynn, 2007. 

'The Female Quest: An Analysis of Archetypal Layering in Harlequin Presents.' M.Ed. diss., Queen's University (Canada).

Moffitt, Mary Anne Smeltzer, 1990. 

"Understanding Middle-Class Adolescent Leisure: A Cultural Studies Approach to Romance Novel Reading" U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, (Dissertation Abstracts International 51.4: 1035A) Abstract

Naber, Christine Marie, 1995. 

"Rape myths are the theory--romance novels are the practice: The impact of exposure to images of women in popular culture, " U. of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences,57.4:2950) Abstract

Neal, Lynn S., 2003. 

"Romancing God: Reading Evangelical Romance Novels." Ph.D. dissertation, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, United States -- North Carolina. Publication No. AAT 3086588. Abstract and excerpt [Has since been published by the University of North Carolina Press - see the main bibliography for details.]

Owen, Mairead, 1992. 

"Women's Reading of Popular Romantic Fiction: A Case Study in the Mass Media: A Key to the Ideology of Women." U. of Liverpool, (Dissertation Abstracts International 52.8: 2745A) Abstract

Parameswaran, Radhika E., 1998. 

"Public Images, Private Pleasures: Romance Reading at the Intersection of Gender, Class, and National Identities in Urban India." U of Iowa, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 58.12:4485) Abstract and excerpt

Pearce, Elizabeth Florence, 2004. 

"Reading the Lesbian Romance: Re-imagining Love, Sex, Relationships, and Community." Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Iowa, United States -- Iowa. Publication No. AAT 3139383. Abstract and excerpt ["The core of the research emerged from the face-to-face, phone and e-mail conversations with readers of lesbian romance texts" and one section is "based on an examination of twenty-five lesbian romance novels."]

Rampure, Archana, 2005. 

"Doctors in the Darkness: Reading Race, Gender, and History in the Popular Medical Romance ", U of Toronto, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 66.10:3642) Abstract and excerpt

Smith, William Clay Kinchen, 2002. 

"Revising Captivity Narratives", U of Florida. [2] [This thesis deals with many types of captivity narrative, but there are sections specifically about romances. In the chapter on works from the 1980s, there is a section on romance (341-354), and the chapter concerning the 1990s has a similar section (373-378). Romance authors whose works are discussed include Madeline Baker, Karen A. Bale, Cassie Edwards, Fern Michaels, Nan Ryan and Janelle Taylor.]

Tennenhouse, Tracy Shana, 1996. 

"Female Fantasies in Women's Popular Fiction", U California Santa Barbara, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 57.9:3943) Abstract and excerpt

Therrien, Kathleen Mary, 1998. 

"Trembling at Her Own Response: Resistance and Reconciliation in Mass-Market Romance Novels." (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 58.7: 2659) Abstract and excerpt [Special focus on Julie Garwood, Amanda Quick/Jayne Ann Krentz and Susan Wiggs.]

Uddin-Khan, Evelyn Angelina, 1995. 

"Gender, Ethnicity and the Romance Novel," Columbia U, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 56.11:4341) Abstract and Excerpt

Wirtén, Eva Hemmungs, 1998. 

Global Infatuation: Explorations in Transnational Publishing and Texts: The case of Harlequin Enterprises and Sweden, Section for Sociology of Literature at the Department of Literature, Uppsala University. PDF

Young, Beth Rapp, 1995. 

"But are they any good? Women readers, formula fiction, and the sacralization of the literary canon", U of Southern California, (Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: The Humanities and Social Sciences 57.2:893) Abstract and excerpt