The Unraveling: A Horror-Based Research Novel on the Transformations of Teacher Burnout and Related Monster Metaphors
Abstract
This dissertation approaches teacher burnout through a hybrid form of scholarship that combines research, fiction, and personal reflection. Rather than presenting burnout only through traditional academic analysis, this work examines the phenomenon through both scholarly discussion and a research-driven horror novel. The novel is structured alongside an active layer of footnotes that provide theoretical analysis, scholarly context, and reflective commentary, creating a dual narrative in which story and research continuously inform one another. Through this approach, burnout is understood not only as a professional condition described in research, but also as a lived experience that reshapes identity, perception, and a teacher’s relationship to the profession. Several bodies of scholarship guide this work. Research on teacher burnout provides the foundation for understanding the emotional, psychological, and institutional pressures that shape teachers’ experiences. Monster theory offers a cultural framework for interpreting figures of transformation, fear, and instability that appear throughout the story. Resilience scholarship informs the exploration of recovery and reconstruction that emerge alongside burnout. In addition, elements of autoethnography allow moments from personal experience to exist alongside these scholarly conversations.
