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Title: An exploratory study of how lesbian women and gay men are portrayed in Jamaica's primary newspaper - The Gleaner, dancehall music, and the works of authors Kwame Dawes, Kei Miller, and Staceyann Chin.
Creator: Cann, Victoria E., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the treatment of gay men and lesbian women through the multilayered lenses of the local Jamaican newspaper - The Gleaner, Dancehall music, and select works of Kei Miller, Kwame Dawes, and Staceyann Chin. The study is an exploratory one and as such its methodology is not confined to a prescribed model, but instead draws on a diverse range of theorists, some from postcolonialism, feminism, cultural studies, philosophy, Caribbean studies and more. This project's intent is to...
Show moreThis thesis examines the treatment of gay men and lesbian women through the multilayered lenses of the local Jamaican newspaper - The Gleaner, Dancehall music, and select works of Kei Miller, Kwame Dawes, and Staceyann Chin. The study is an exploratory one and as such its methodology is not confined to a prescribed model, but instead draws on a diverse range of theorists, some from postcolonialism, feminism, cultural studies, philosophy, Caribbean studies and more. This project's intent is to add to the newly emerging canon on queer Caribbean identities by further exploring societal representations of gay sexuality. The first chapter looks at the portrayal of Jamaican gay men and lesbian women through the public discourse of the Jamaica Gleaner. The second discusses the treatment of male and female homosexuality in the popular discourse of Dancehall music. The third chapter analyses the depiction of Caribbean gay and lesbian sexuality through the recent works of authors Kei Miller, Kwame Dawes and Staceyann Chin.
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Date Issued: 2011
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3169916
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Homosexuality
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: " Is it my fault my fangs come out when I'm turned on?": a feminist analysis of Pam and Jessica's vampire sexuality in the HBO television series True Blood.
Creator: Anderson, Ashley., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This thesis analyzes Pamela Swynford De Beaufort and Jessica Hamby from the provocative HBO series, True Blood, in order to determine what hegemonic ideologies are reinforced through their sexual representation in the series. Through analysis based on concepts of the "vagina dentata" and "monstrous feminine," and in determining whether they fall victim to the Madonna/wore dichotomy, the question of Pam and Jessica's autonomous existence falls under scrutiny - particularly in regards to their...
Show moreThis thesis analyzes Pamela Swynford De Beaufort and Jessica Hamby from the provocative HBO series, True Blood, in order to determine what hegemonic ideologies are reinforced through their sexual representation in the series. Through analysis based on concepts of the "vagina dentata" and "monstrous feminine," and in determining whether they fall victim to the Madonna/wore dichotomy, the question of Pam and Jessica's autonomous existence falls under scrutiny - particularly in regards to their sexuality. Feminist scholarship is vital to this research in order to examine the often fetishized and marginalized sexuality of women who dare to exhibit transgressive behaviors. This thesis concentrates on Seasons One through Four of the series, and also utilizes meta-text from the official website related to each character in order to help answer the posed research questions.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3356897
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Women in popular culture, Vampires on television, Lesbianism on television, Feminist theory, Philosophy in literature
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Social movement momentum, intellectual work and the East Timor independence movement.
Creator: Gunderson, Shane, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: The purpose of this dissertation is to develop the theoretical concept of social movement momentum by examining the origins, framing strategies, and organizational dynamics of the East Timor transnational social movement. To accomplish this, in-depth interviews of twenty activists and intellectuals involved in the East Timor movement from 1975-1999 were conducted and examined using qualitative data analysis methods. Specifically, comparative historical methods utilizing grounded theory and...
Show moreThe purpose of this dissertation is to develop the theoretical concept of social movement momentum by examining the origins, framing strategies, and organizational dynamics of the East Timor transnational social movement. To accomplish this, in-depth interviews of twenty activists and intellectuals involved in the East Timor movement from 1975-1999 were conducted and examined using qualitative data analysis methods. Specifically, comparative historical methods utilizing grounded theory and the phenomenological approach were employed. This study fills a gap in the social movement literature by engaging and expanding the main theoretical debates in sociology over movement mobilization, political outcomes, movement emotions, solidarity, and movement framing. These debates, along with the theoretical concept of social movement momentum as developed in this dissertation, are used to explain and analyze interviewees' first-hand accounts of the East Timor campaigns. . This resulted in a series of successes that represent the peak of the momentum in the East Timor movement. In sum, this study aids researchers in understanding how the successes and failures of social movement activity can be better explained using the theoretical concept of social movement momentum. By analyzing the significance of momentum in a movement post hoc, this study contributes a more nuanced understanding of how social movements create social change.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3362044
Subject Headings: Social movements, Social integration, Social history, History, Autonomy and independence movements, History, Autonomy and independence movements, Politics and government, Politics and government, History, Autonomy and independence movements
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Race and representation in Friday Night Lights.
Creator: Johnson, Keisha., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This thesis will highlight the significance and representation of race in the film and television show Friday Night Lights. The core claim of my thesis will show that representation of race was different in the film as compared to the television show due to their various settings, one historical (1980s) and the other contemporary (2000s). While both the film and the television show were produced in the 2000s, their use of two different historical periods allows for contrasting representations...
Show moreThis thesis will highlight the significance and representation of race in the film and television show Friday Night Lights. The core claim of my thesis will show that representation of race was different in the film as compared to the television show due to their various settings, one historical (1980s) and the other contemporary (2000s). While both the film and the television show were produced in the 2000s, their use of two different historical periods allows for contrasting representations of race even they both draw from the book Friday Night Lights. The film's representation of race is reflective of its late 1980s setting, therefore, viewers of the film will see a more explicit handling of racial issues. During that time period it was socially acceptable to talk about issues of race straightforwardly and directly. On the other hand, the television show's contemporary setting, by contrast, allows for the representation of race to be handled more suggestively, indirectly, and implicitly, reflecting new ways of thinking about race more prevalent to the early 21st century.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3355560
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, African American athletes, Social conditions, Racism in sports, Football, Social aspects, History
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Public speaking as the last battlefield: a Cluster-Agon Analysis of conceptual conflicts in the controversy between traditional and online college classes.
Creator: Newbolt, Shaundi C., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: Communication scholars are in disagreement over the presence of online public speaking courses in higher education. Despite limited research on the Online Public Speaking model, it is quickly replacing the traditional public speaking model in American colleges and universities. This study used Burkean Cluster-Agon Analysis to uncover core concepts from four contemporary public speaking textbooks used in various classroom models (traditional, online and hybrid). Concepts were then compared...
Show moreCommunication scholars are in disagreement over the presence of online public speaking courses in higher education. Despite limited research on the Online Public Speaking model, it is quickly replacing the traditional public speaking model in American colleges and universities. This study used Burkean Cluster-Agon Analysis to uncover core concepts from four contemporary public speaking textbooks used in various classroom models (traditional, online and hybrid). Concepts were then compared with traditional core concepts of early speech communication to determine if technology has influenced contemporary core concepts. Results determined that contemporary core concepts from three of the four public speaking textbooks reflected traditional core concepts of early speech communication. The fourth textbook revealed similar contemporary core concepts with expanded definitions to technologically mediated speech situations.
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Date Issued: 2012
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3355867
Subject Headings: Internet in education, Communication, Philosophy, Communication, Study and teaching (Higher), Persuasion (Rhetoric)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: She just snapped: reality television, murder and the myth of feminine evil.
Creator: Tomei, Megan., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: Snapped, a documentary style show profiling female killers, is one of Oxygens longest running hit franchises. This thesis analyzes, through both the frames of feminist theory and rhetoric, the way the show perpetuates and plays upon the myth of feminine evil as well as the stereotype of women as weak, hysterical agents in need of control. Snapped showcases women who start out as seemingly normal but then enact horrendous crimes. The use of women that the audience can identify with but then...
Show moreSnapped, a documentary style show profiling female killers, is one of Oxygens longest running hit franchises. This thesis analyzes, through both the frames of feminist theory and rhetoric, the way the show perpetuates and plays upon the myth of feminine evil as well as the stereotype of women as weak, hysterical agents in need of control. Snapped showcases women who start out as seemingly normal but then enact horrendous crimes. The use of women that the audience can identify with but then later fear creates a cathartic experience in which female audience members can be vicariously cleansed of any dangerous animosity they may possess. The show portrays the many extreme examples as the norm for lethal female violence, but this disregards the fact that a majority of women killers act in self defense. The show distorts the reality of violence against women and supports a stereotype of inherent female criminality.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2684892
Subject Headings: Reality television programs, Feminist theory, Homicide, Psychological aspects, Violence in women, Violence in mass media
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Outreach communication by grassroots environmental organizations: a case study.
Creator: Estep, Kimberly L., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: The negative impact of human activities on the Earth's ecosystems has gained more attention in the last few decades; in turn interest and scholarship in the area of environmental rhetoric has also grown. This case study provides an in-depth examination of outreach material generated by Tampa Bay Watch to determine if grassroots environmental organizations are using rhetorical appeals that recent scholarly literature argues are ineffective. Alternative rhetorical appeals are also examined for...
Show moreThe negative impact of human activities on the Earth's ecosystems has gained more attention in the last few decades; in turn interest and scholarship in the area of environmental rhetoric has also grown. This case study provides an in-depth examination of outreach material generated by Tampa Bay Watch to determine if grassroots environmental organizations are using rhetorical appeals that recent scholarly literature argues are ineffective. Alternative rhetorical appeals are also examined for their persuasiveness. Using an open coding approach, the analysis finds that the organization used persuasive appeals which varied from those predicted by the literature, and that a combination of appeals produced better results that any one appeal alone. The group also varied its appeals based on the type of outreach. The study reveals that qualitative study of one organization's persuasive appeals renders more nuanced findings than have quantitative studies of multiple organizations or analyses of single rhetorical documents.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2975243
Subject Headings: Communication in the enviornmental sciences, Ecocriticism, Enviornmental policy, Green movement, Discourse analysis
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir, an alternative perspective on the Middle East, a mirror for the West.
Creator: Dzmuranova, Kristyna., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This project presents a three-level analysis of Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir to elucidate the way these films deconstruct the image of the Middle East that the dominant Western media perpetuate. The thesis demonstrates that the combination of highly expressive and easily understandable animated form with an autobiographical storyline that endows the films with attractive authenticity, personification and intimacy, creates a palatable setting for the intellectual texts. Further, this...
Show moreThis project presents a three-level analysis of Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir to elucidate the way these films deconstruct the image of the Middle East that the dominant Western media perpetuate. The thesis demonstrates that the combination of highly expressive and easily understandable animated form with an autobiographical storyline that endows the films with attractive authenticity, personification and intimacy, creates a palatable setting for the intellectual texts. Further, this project discloses the ways representation gives rise to stereotypes and illustrates how the films articulate an alternative to the dichotomous perception of West versus Middle East. The movies impersonate a unique, subjective insight into the past, emphasizing that history is an ongoing, non-linear process that depends on where and who is narrating it, and to whom. Understanding that public memory is shaped by media content, the thesis asserts the necessity for more cultural texts that deconstruct the norm and eliminate bias.
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Date Issued: 2011
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3175014
Subject Headings: Documentary films, Criticism and interpretation, Arab-Israeli conflict, Motion pictures and the conflict, Moving pictures in propaganda, Motion pictures and history, Historical films, Criticism and interpretation, History and criticism
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Let's get into character: gender depictions in the films of Quentin Tarantino.
Creator: Fedderman, Marc R., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This study will focus on Quentin Tarantino's three most recent films: Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), and Death Proof (2007). These works are significant, in that they present a marked departure from the director's earlier films. Specifically, they offer portrayals of resourceful and powerful female protagonists, in stark contrast to the frequently neglected and marginalized women of Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994). Buttressed by a mixture of...
Show moreThis study will focus on Quentin Tarantino's three most recent films: Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Volume 2 (2004), and Death Proof (2007). These works are significant, in that they present a marked departure from the director's earlier films. Specifically, they offer portrayals of resourceful and powerful female protagonists, in stark contrast to the frequently neglected and marginalized women of Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994). Buttressed by a mixture of psychoanalytic feminist and postmodern theories, I will perform a careful textual analysis of these latest films. In particular, I intend to uncover the ways in which Tarantino's films support and/or subvert traditionally oppressive conceptions of gender.
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Date Issued: 2009
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/216414
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Sex role in motion pictures, Motion pictures, History
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Hegemonic "realness"?: an intersectional analysis of RuPaul's Drag Race.
Creator: Jenkins, Sarah Tucker, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: RuPaul's Drag Race is one of the few realilty television shows focusing on QLGBT (queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) identified individuals that has made it into mainstream consciousness. Drag Race provides a unique perspective on the ways that gender identity, sexuality, size, class, race, and ethnicity intersect and interact in people's lives.The television show augments many of these intersedtions and the challenges related to these identities while still reflecting the daily...
Show moreRuPaul's Drag Race is one of the few realilty television shows focusing on QLGBT (queer, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) identified individuals that has made it into mainstream consciousness. Drag Race provides a unique perspective on the ways that gender identity, sexuality, size, class, race, and ethnicity intersect and interact in people's lives.The television show augments many of these intersedtions and the challenges related to these identities while still reflecting the daily struggles that people experience.The show works to promote messages of self-love and acceptance ; however, it also promotes many problematic and damaging stereotypes. This thesis conducts a feminist analysis in order to answer the question: How does RuPaul's Drag Race relate to hegemonic and oppressive stereotypes and roles associated with gender identity, sexual orientation, size, class, race and ethnicity? Does it challenge or reinforce such hegemonies? In order to answer these questions, this thesis examines visual imagery, narrative, and dialogue in the show, utilizes theories from cultural and women's studies, English and communications. It concludes that although Drag Race does engage in some subversive behavior, it ultimately reinforces harmful hegemonic stereotypes.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3360799
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Criticism and interpretation, Reality television programs, Social aspects, Mass media and culture, Mass media and women, Feminist theory, Television program genres, Stereotypes (Social psychology)
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: More than "just a hunch": meaning, feminine intuition and television sleuths.
Creator: Dominguez, Sheela Celeste., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: The rise in popularity of the female sleuth television programs makes it important to explore representations of gender and knowledge. This investigation analyzes interpretations of intuition in the television sleuth genre and relevant paratexts, examines gendered public and private spheres and raises broader questions about gendered knowledge in the series Medium, Crossing Jordan, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Veronica Mars, Monk, The Profiler and True Calling. Rooted in feminist cultural...
Show moreThe rise in popularity of the female sleuth television programs makes it important to explore representations of gender and knowledge. This investigation analyzes interpretations of intuition in the television sleuth genre and relevant paratexts, examines gendered public and private spheres and raises broader questions about gendered knowledge in the series Medium, Crossing Jordan, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, Veronica Mars, Monk, The Profiler and True Calling. Rooted in feminist cultural studies, historical and sociological analysis, television and film theory and work on the detective genre, this investigation establishes common frames, or filters, through which the television sleuth genre represents intuition and the gendered experience of knowledge. Women with intuition are depicted as unstable, dangerous and mentally ill. Though framed similarly, intuitive men have more freedom. This study expands on academic research on television representations of gender and knowledge. Societal implications include further understanding of meaning-making in regard to gendered knowing.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/165938
Subject Headings: Women detectives in mass media, Popular culture, History, Self-actualization (Psychology), Sex differences (Psychology), Thought and thinking, Sex differences, Women in television
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Micropolitics of transition in Yugoslavia: a local and global demise.
Creator: Marinos, Martin Y., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: The thesis provides a cultural analysis on the micropolitics of Yugoslavia wars in 1992-1995, examining local and global media coverage along with grassroots and historical dimensions. The study offers an extensive overview of scholarly literature on the Balkans, arguing that often omitted local, cultural and historical narratives of the war events reveal complex perspectives on the rationales provided on civil war. Investigating the nationalist social movements in Yugoslavia (1992-1995), the...
Show moreThe thesis provides a cultural analysis on the micropolitics of Yugoslavia wars in 1992-1995, examining local and global media coverage along with grassroots and historical dimensions. The study offers an extensive overview of scholarly literature on the Balkans, arguing that often omitted local, cultural and historical narratives of the war events reveal complex perspectives on the rationales provided on civil war. Investigating the nationalist social movements in Yugoslavia (1992-1995), the thesis articulates the need to revisit Deleuze and Guattari's framework of micropolitics to understand the cultural and historical dimensions operational in such movements. The study presents local media coverage in Nasa Borba, Borba, and Hrvatsko Slovo, focusing mainly on two major atrocities committed during the Balkan conflict, in order to shed light on the complex role of discourse emerging in war environments.
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Date Issued: 2008
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/186298
Subject Headings: Political and social views, Political and social views, Yugoslav War, 1991-1995, Popular culture, Political aspects, Ethnic groups, Political aspects, History
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Multiple birth families, religion, and cultural hegemony: patriarchal constructions in reality television.
Creator: Cittadino, Emily M., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: Reality television programming chronicling the daily workings of multiple birth families within American culture has gained notoriety in recent years. Such programs, especially Discovery Health and TLC's 17, 18 Kids and Counting and TLC's Jon and Kate Plus Ei8ht, film, edit and broadcast the "everyday" life of these families. This research study focuses attention on hegemonic ideologies surrounding family values, motherhood, gender roles and religious faith, illuminated through textual and...
Show moreReality television programming chronicling the daily workings of multiple birth families within American culture has gained notoriety in recent years. Such programs, especially Discovery Health and TLC's 17, 18 Kids and Counting and TLC's Jon and Kate Plus Ei8ht, film, edit and broadcast the "everyday" life of these families. This research study focuses attention on hegemonic ideologies surrounding family values, motherhood, gender roles and religious faith, illuminated through textual and audience analysis. Working from an interdisciplinary approach combining feminist media and cultural studies, this study finds that hegemonic notions of family values, gender representations, religious faith and conceptions of motherhood are evident to varying degrees in the television texts and accepted by fans who negotiate their meanings online.
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2684311
Subject Headings: Mass media and culture, Feminist theory, Popular culture, Women in popular culture, Reality television programs, Social aspects, Television program genres, Sex role in popular culture
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: The Meryl Streep mystique: a study of gender, aging, Hollywood and a female star.
Creator: Allerton, Tracy., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This thesis employs a star study of Meryl Streep, incorporating pertinent feminist, reception and culture-studies theories, to investigate biases within the Hollywood film industry. The actress has enjoyed a resurgence as a leading lady at age 61. Streep's star persona, acting prowess and career arc are examined across three theoretical platforms - production of culture, textual analysis, and audience analysis - or clues as to why she has been singled out among her peers. This thesis posits...
Show moreThis thesis employs a star study of Meryl Streep, incorporating pertinent feminist, reception and culture-studies theories, to investigate biases within the Hollywood film industry. The actress has enjoyed a resurgence as a leading lady at age 61. Streep's star persona, acting prowess and career arc are examined across three theoretical platforms - production of culture, textual analysis, and audience analysis - or clues as to why she has been singled out among her peers. This thesis posits that Streep's unique star image and surge in popularity have helped her break out of hegemonic articulations of gender and aging that privilege youthful beauty, putting female stars at a disadvantage within the capitalistic film industry. Also considered is the cultural significance of Streep's late-life success: Does she represent new openings for older actresses (and concomitantly, an increase in film representations of aging women), or is she merely an anomaly within the entrenched patriarchal system?
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Date Issued: 2010
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/2867329
Subject Headings: Criticism and interpretation, Sex role in motion pictures, Women in motion pictures, Middle age in motion pictures, Women in popular culture
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: NATO and the West - the discursive myths of salvation and conspiracy: a post-communist analysis of the Romanian case.
Creator: Popescu, Daniela., Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This thesis provides a critical cultural analysis of the discursive myths of salvation and conspiracy, using as a case study the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the transition period in Romania, from 1989 to 2007. The study offers an answer to the questions: how do NATO myths change? Why and with what discursive implications for the Romanian audience? The thesis uses a combination of methodological tools from three different disciplines - history, mythology, and rhetoric -...
Show moreThis thesis provides a critical cultural analysis of the discursive myths of salvation and conspiracy, using as a case study the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) during the transition period in Romania, from 1989 to 2007. The study offers an answer to the questions: how do NATO myths change? Why and with what discursive implications for the Romanian audience? The thesis uses a combination of methodological tools from three different disciplines - history, mythology, and rhetoric - with the intent of showing how the Romanians' public attitudes toward NATO change in four different political contexts: during the integration period until Romania's admission into the alliance, during the Kosovo war, after 9/11 events and during the installation of NATO troops on Romanian territory. This study demonstrates that NATO myths are effective operational strategies that offer Romanians a sense of identity in the critical period of transition. The thesis also explains how NATO, as a carrier of Western values, helps the democratization of the Romanian public sphere and the reconstruction of a national identity based on democratic principles.
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Date Issued: 2011
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/FAU/3172694
Subject Headings: Post-communism, Peaceful change (International relations), Politics and government, Politics and government
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: American national identity and discourses of the frontier in early 20th century visual culture.
Creator: Maldonado, Chandra Ann, Trapani, William, Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: This thesis examines the rise of image culture in the 1920’s and its impact on American national identity. I demonstrate that, perhaps surprisingly, the central figure in these debates was not a past or present prominent American but instead an indeterminate Other which is read in ambivalent ways and for varied purposes. It is the central claim of this project that in order to trace the modern American subject that emerges from the 1920s national rift, one must attend to the ways in which a...
Show moreThis thesis examines the rise of image culture in the 1920’s and its impact on American national identity. I demonstrate that, perhaps surprisingly, the central figure in these debates was not a past or present prominent American but instead an indeterminate Other which is read in ambivalent ways and for varied purposes. It is the central claim of this project that in order to trace the modern American subject that emerges from the 1920s national rift, one must attend to the ways in which a felt need to view and position oneself in relation to “the Other” was essential to defining the nature and future of the nation. More specifically, I argue that the film Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life (1925) offers a solution to this national divide by providing viewers a popular culture form of “evidence” of the Westerner’s capacity to exhibit both premodern and modern qualities.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004214, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004214
Subject Headings: Frontier and pioneer life -- United States -- Historiography, Frontier thesis, Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925) (Motion picture), Group identity -- Political aspects -- United States -- History -- 20th century, Nationalism -- United States -- History -- 20th century, Political culture -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Americans all! The role of advertising in re-imaging ethnicity in America: the case of the war advertising council, 1939-1945.
Creator: May, Jacqueline S., Fejes, Fred A., Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: Throughout America’s history the call for laborers has been filled by influxes of immigrants. Coinciding with the arrival of the first non-Anglo Saxon immigrants were negative attitudes about them, as they were deemed inferior and classified as lowerranking “others” by the dominant culture that needed them. Thus, the cycle of need and resentment was born to be repeated throughout the Nation’s history. In the first half of the twentieth century a shift occurred in American public perception of...
Show moreThroughout America’s history the call for laborers has been filled by influxes of immigrants. Coinciding with the arrival of the first non-Anglo Saxon immigrants were negative attitudes about them, as they were deemed inferior and classified as lowerranking “others” by the dominant culture that needed them. Thus, the cycle of need and resentment was born to be repeated throughout the Nation’s history. In the first half of the twentieth century a shift occurred in American public perception of, and attitudes towards, immigrant groups including eastern European Jews, Italians and the Irish among others. This shift was marked primarily in terms of race: Some immigrants went from being considered black to white -- from illegitimate to legitimate by the dominant culture. One reason for the increased acceptance of these ethnic groups was a concerted campaign sponsored by the United States Government to promote an extended identity to groups that had previously been excluded from the mainstream. In particular, the goal was to create a sense of nationalism, or “Americanism,” among diasporic immigrant groups, thus encouraging their participation in the war effort. The result of such campaigns was a re-imaging of ethnic groups previously classified as non-white and a path to perceived whiteness, and thus inclusion, for them. These campaigns, formulated by the Office of War Information and executed largely by the War Advertising Council, led to a marked increase in acceptance for immigrant groups by the dominant culture. By examining social messages through visual cultural artifacts this study explores notions about race, ethnicity, whiteness and the role of communication theory and practices in constructing (imaging) an identity of otherness.” This study delineates the historical formation and subsequent partial de-construction (re-imaging) of negative depictions and some stereotypes of ethnic Americans. This research explores the sources of these attitudes and behaviors and how misconceptions, misrepresentations and centuries-old stereotypes of non-Anglo ethnic Americans have been fluid through changing social perceptions fueled, in part, by government interventions.
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Date Issued: 2014
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004136, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004136
Subject Headings: Advertising Council -- History -- 20th century, Americanization -- History -- 20th century, Immigrants -- United States -- History -- 20th century, Immigrants -- United States -- History -- 20th century, Public opinion -- United States -- History -- 20th century, World War, 1939-1945 -- United States -- Propaganda
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: CRITICAL RACE THEORY, TWITTER, BLACK SOCIAL MOVEMENTS AND BLACK SOCIAL PROTEST FROM A CRITICAL-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE.
Creator: Conyers, Christopher Jacobie, Marin, Noemi, Florida Atlantic University, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
Abstract/Description: In 2016, Colin Kaepernick, the former starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, unknowingly bartered his athletic aspirations by exercising his First Amendment Right to freedom of expression. Frustrated with what he and many others perceived as pervasive extrajudicial tactics of law enforcement and a seemingly incessant lack of accountability from the American legal system, Kaepernick silently protested by sitting during the playing of the National Anthem. Although, Kaepernick's...
Show moreIn 2016, Colin Kaepernick, the former starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, unknowingly bartered his athletic aspirations by exercising his First Amendment Right to freedom of expression. Frustrated with what he and many others perceived as pervasive extrajudicial tactics of law enforcement and a seemingly incessant lack of accountability from the American legal system, Kaepernick silently protested by sitting during the playing of the National Anthem. Although, Kaepernick's actions begun as a singular, almost imperceptible act, he has ultimately redefined the significance of taking a knee, and etched his name in a long list of other malcontents in the struggle for racial equality in America. The purpose of this study is to explore in detail one of the most polarizing components of the Black Lives Matter Movement (BLM) and Black Social Protests in the United States. Analysis of social media content will argue the value of the Kaepernick "Anti Flag/Anthem" Protest, from a communication-cultural perspective.
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Date Issued: 2020
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013549
Subject Headings: Black lives matter movement, Kaepernick, Colin, 1987-, Black lives matter movement--United States, Critical race theory, Social media, Twitter
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Coming Soon From a Screen Near You: The Camera’s Gaze in the Age of Surveillance.
Creator: Kloub, Fayez, Charbonneau, Stephen, Florida Atlantic University, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: Within the past thirty years, privacy concerns among American citizens are rising with counter-terrorist surveillance going beyond targeting people of interest. These concerns are reflected in American cinema where many contemporary films have explored surveillance in society. The textual analyses presented in the thesis will focus on three such films, Strange Days (1995), Southland Tales (2005), and Nightcrawler (2014). Throughout this thesis, I examine how each of these films offers a...
Show moreWithin the past thirty years, privacy concerns among American citizens are rising with counter-terrorist surveillance going beyond targeting people of interest. These concerns are reflected in American cinema where many contemporary films have explored surveillance in society. The textual analyses presented in the thesis will focus on three such films, Strange Days (1995), Southland Tales (2005), and Nightcrawler (2014). Throughout this thesis, I examine how each of these films offers a unique, reflexive take on surveillance, adhering to generative mechanisms that evoke differing attitudes about surveillance through their form. My analysis draws on Laura Mulvey and Patricia Pisters’ theories on the gaze to understand the politics of looking in contemporary surveillance cinema and highlight how cinematic scopophilia evolved into a networked perspective. My analysis suggests that the politics of surveillance cinema is reflected in these films as their differences mirror the changing perception of surveillance and the gaze over time.
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Date Issued: 2016
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004708, http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004708
Subject Headings: Digital media -- Psychological aspects, Gaze -- Psychological aspects, Motion pictures -- Psychological aspects, Privacy, Right of -- Social aspects, Technology -- Moral and ethical aspects, Video surveillance -- Social aspects
Format: Document (PDF)

Title: Cyborg identities in the anti-narrative.
Creator: Oubina, Miguel, Bargsten, Joey, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, School of Communication and Multimedia Studies
Abstract/Description: Video games are one of the most powerful interactive media forms. As an independent game developer in the discipline of communication I wanted to create a video game by myself as opposed to working in a team environment. I wanted to explore the vocabularies of a new approach to game narrative informed by theories of the cyborg identity. My characters exhibit many facets of the cyborg identity, which enriches the narrative structure of my game. In addition this paper also explores the deep...
Show moreVideo games are one of the most powerful interactive media forms. As an independent game developer in the discipline of communication I wanted to create a video game by myself as opposed to working in a team environment. I wanted to explore the vocabularies of a new approach to game narrative informed by theories of the cyborg identity. My characters exhibit many facets of the cyborg identity, which enriches the narrative structure of my game. In addition this paper also explores the deep interplay between the game's player and the game's programming. notion of the anti-narrative applies to video games in similar fashion as webpages and databases. The ability to arrange collections in arbitrary order invokes the anti-narrative nature of video games. In addition to documenting the development of my project, both facets have enriched my approach to video game design. The future development of this project will provide fruitful insight into contemporary gameplay and design.
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Date Issued: 2013
PURL: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA0004042
Format: Document (PDF)

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