Thein, Amanda Haertling, Megan Guise, and DeAnn Long Sloan. "Problematizing literature circles as forums for discussion of multicultural and political texts." Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy 55.1 (2011): 15-24.

This study evaluates a six-week literature circle unit in a tenth-grade classroom where students discussed Dorothy Allison's novel Bastard Out of Carolina. While the discussion was deemed successful by standard criteria, the study identifies limitations in how literature circles engage students with the full critical depth of multicultural and political texts. The paper suggests rethinking literature circle pedagogy to provide students with a more nuanced and robust experience when engaging with such texts.