Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
- Institution
-
- University of Texas at El Paso (9)
- James Madison University (7)
- University of Wisconsin Milwaukee (7)
- Wayne State University (6)
- Duquesne University (5)
-
- Illinois State University (5)
- Michigan Technological University (5)
- University of South Florida (5)
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (5)
- California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (4)
- Louisiana State University (4)
- University of Louisville (4)
- Abilene Christian University (3)
- Northern Illinois University (3)
- The University of Southern Mississippi (3)
- University of Central Florida (3)
- University of Nevada, Las Vegas (3)
- Old Dominion University (2)
- Syracuse University (2)
- University at Albany, State University of New York (2)
- University of Montana (2)
- University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (2)
- Cal Poly Humboldt (1)
- California State University, San Bernardino (1)
- Eastern Kentucky University (1)
- Marquette University (1)
- Murray State University (1)
- Nova Southeastern University (1)
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville (1)
- University of Nebraska at Omaha (1)
- Publication Year
- Publication
-
- Electronic Theses and Dissertations (15)
- Theses and Dissertations (13)
- Open Access Theses & Dissertations (9)
- Wayne State University Dissertations (6)
- Masters Theses, 2010-2019 (5)
-
- USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations (5)
- Communication Studies (4)
- Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports (4)
- LSU Doctoral Dissertations (4)
- Dissertations (3)
- Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations (3)
- Masters Theses (3)
- UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones (3)
- Doctoral Dissertations (2)
- English Theses & Dissertations (2)
- Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers (2)
- Honors Theses (2)
- Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024) (2)
- CCE Theses and Dissertations (1)
- Communication 300 Papers (1)
- Dissertations (1934 -) (1)
- Dissertations - ALL (1)
- Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports - Open (1)
- Graduate Theses and Dissertations (1)
- Honors College Theses (1)
- Masters Theses, 2020-current (1)
- Online Theses and Dissertations (1)
- Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019 (1)
- Theses Digitization Project (1)
- Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects (1)
Articles 1 - 30 of 102
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
It’S Britney, Bitch, Mary Hyepock
It’S Britney, Bitch, Mary Hyepock
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
This dissertation engages public rhetorics surrounding pop princess Britney Spears as a case study for examining the rhetoricity of bodily autonomy. Bodily autonomy is commonly understood as the legal right to control what happens to one’s body without external influence or coercion. However, one’s legal access to bodily autonomy is produced, negotiated, and maintained through discourse. In other words, one’s access to so-called “ownership” over their body and agency to make decisions about it is deeply tied to the gendered and racialized symbolic production of citizenship in the United States. Utilizing a reproductive justice framework, I investigate how Britney Spears’ …
Decoding Democracy: Ideographic Analyses Of 2024 Republican Presidential Nominees' Rhetoric, Allyson Havenridge
Decoding Democracy: Ideographic Analyses Of 2024 Republican Presidential Nominees' Rhetoric, Allyson Havenridge
Theses/Capstones/Creative Projects
The following rhetorical analysis identifies the rhetoric that was used by 2024 Republican presidential candidates Nikki Haley and Donald Trump. Rhetoric can be thought of as the means and ways that we, as social beings, use language to create meaning and exchange symbols to better understand the world around us. This rhetorical analysis aims to identify the ways in which certain words are being used and the reasoning behind why they were used by the rhetor, or the speaker in a rhetorical situation. The ultimate focus of the following rhetorical criticism is to examine how ideographs, or words that encase …
A Rhetorical Criticism Of "Fleabag": Tragicomedy And What It Means To Be A Feminist, Morgan Ashley White
A Rhetorical Criticism Of "Fleabag": Tragicomedy And What It Means To Be A Feminist, Morgan Ashley White
Communication Studies
This essay conducts a rhetorical criticism of the television series Fleabag, analyzing how creator and star Phoebe Waller-Bridge uses tragicomedy to dismantle the notion that there is one right way to be a feminist. After providing background on Waller-Bridge, the history of feminism, and the creation of Fleabag, the essay closely examines several key scenes from the show. It demonstrates how Waller-Bridge employs humor intertwined with serious subject matter to highlight the complexities and contradictions women face in navigating conflicting societal expectations around gender. Through the flawed yet honest portrayal of Fleabag herself and her interactions with other nuanced female …
Confronting The Conflation: The Use Of Christian Nationalist Rhetoric At The Insurrection On January 6th, 2021, Sophia Barnes
Confronting The Conflation: The Use Of Christian Nationalist Rhetoric At The Insurrection On January 6th, 2021, Sophia Barnes
West Chester University Master’s Theses
This project considers the rhetoric of Christian nationalism on display before, during, and after the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6th, 2021. I will show how Christian nationalism on Jan 6th can be framed using Jenny Edbauer’s ideas of rhetorical ecologies and Thomas Rickert’s ideas of rhetorical ambiance by considering the speakers at the insurrection and a pastor who has been publicly vocal about his motives. Next, I will consider the images used by major media outlets covering the insurrection and how they chose to frame the events visually by considering Kellie Sharp-Hoskins’s ideas …
Menopause In The Public Sphere: The Consciousness-Raising Practices Of Technical And Experiential Experts, Emma J. Murdock
Menopause In The Public Sphere: The Consciousness-Raising Practices Of Technical And Experiential Experts, Emma J. Murdock
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Menopause is frequently discussed through a biomedical lens, which stresses technical language and knowledge, yet emerging in popular culture is experiential experts sharing how they feel about menopause. This paper analyses Michelle Obama's podcast episode titled “What Your Mother Never Told You” (2022) featuring Dr. Sharon Malone, a medical doctor and menopause experiential expert. Using consciousness-raising and the spheres of argumentation, I analyze how the experiential and technical experts of the podcast address and speak about menopause. This paper aims to question how consciousness-raising can reconstruct the understanding of menopause through an experiential-centric lens by placing personal testimony and experiences …
The "Othering" Of America: How The Strategic Use Of Crisis And Ressentiment Succeeded In The Trump Era, Laura J. Franklin
The "Othering" Of America: How The Strategic Use Of Crisis And Ressentiment Succeeded In The Trump Era, Laura J. Franklin
Dissertations
The establishment of a crisis theme through public rhetoric often triggers widespread attention, resulting in public concern and media coverage of an issue that could potentially be overblown or deceptive. In right-wing political discourse, this crisis warning is typically delivered by a White male leader with ready access to the powerful news media. An “us versus them” theme often occurs. Within this mode of a hegemonic exclusion, a culture of immigrants or an American minority are often depicted, perhaps aggressively, as a threat: A threat used to motivate, enrage and create the frustrations inherent in ressentiment. This dissertation explores the …
Making The Political Personal: Consciousness Raising For The Contemporary Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist, Danica Fuerst
Making The Political Personal: Consciousness Raising For The Contemporary Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminist, Danica Fuerst
Honors College Theses
Consciousness raising (CR) typically refers to the specific small group practice pioneered by second-wave feminists, but as networked media gradually replaced the small group process, new forms that are descended from the original CR emerged. This thesis traces consciousness raising from it's origins in the late 1960s and early '70s, through third-wave feminism, to contemporary feminist uses. It analyzes the rhetorical effects and functions of CR from the perspective of Symbolic Convergence theory, considering the various media through which CR is practiced. Finally, using the understanding of CR and its functions that this provides, it analyzes how one specific contemporary …
Organizations Ensuring Resilience: A Case Study Of Cortez, Florida, Karla Ariel Maddox
Organizations Ensuring Resilience: A Case Study Of Cortez, Florida, Karla Ariel Maddox
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
“Resilience” has often been defined by examining case studies in resilience failures. In contrast, this case study utilizes the oldest, still functional fishing village in Cortez, Florida to rhetorically analyze how organizational communicative practices have worked to ensure its resilience. Situating this conversation within Rhetoric proves valuable since so many attempts to define and utilize “resilience” seek to capitalize on its positive connotation but distort resilience definitions and practice. This dissertation explores three research questions: 1. “What systems and/or structures made our continued existence possible and what ideologies or goals drove their creation?” 2. “What ideologies, perceptions, and/or goals inspired …
Rhetorical Conversations: Race, Class, And Gender In The Works Of Jacqueline Jones Royster And Shirley Wilson Logan, Tanya Robertson
Rhetorical Conversations: Race, Class, And Gender In The Works Of Jacqueline Jones Royster And Shirley Wilson Logan, Tanya Robertson
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
This project is an examination of Jacqueline Jones Royster and Shirley Wilson Logan as knowledge-makers in the field of rhetoric and composition. There is a large gap in research on the contemporary African American women scholars who act as knowledge makers of rhetorical theory and rhetorical pedagogy. There is circularity in the notion that as Royster and Logan examine the history of the fieldâ??African American rhetorical practices, feministic rhetorical practices, English language studies and literacy, and classroom practicesâ??they are, themselves, having an impact on the field.
An Overheated Debate: The Influence Of Premillennial Apocalyptic Rhetoric On Climate Reform Discourse In The United States, David Charles Gall-Maynard
An Overheated Debate: The Influence Of Premillennial Apocalyptic Rhetoric On Climate Reform Discourse In The United States, David Charles Gall-Maynard
Dissertations - ALL
Despite decades of scientific research and increased civil and governmental calls for reform, the United States continues to spiral toward climate catastrophe. Apocalyptic rhetoric helps us understand how even the most pressing environmental and societal threats are perceived differently according to audiences' rhetorical and ideological frameworks. Drawing on the work of Barry Brummett and Kenneth Burke, I argue that the premillennial sub-genre of apocalyptic rhetoric constitutes a rhetorical frame through which many secular climate reformers and evangelical Christians make sense of the environmental and societal impacts of climate change. In chapters that analyze secular and Christian climate reform discourse and …
Isocrates's Place In Postmodern Advertising, Christopher Barkley
Isocrates's Place In Postmodern Advertising, Christopher Barkley
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This study in communication and rhetoric seeks to ascertain constructive applications for distinct advertising practices by examining Isocrates’s work and place in postmodern advertising. The focus uses 5 principles known to Isocrates which are: 1) commonwealths of households, 2) integration of reputation, elegance, substance and style, 3) education and public discourse, 4) phronesis and praxis, and 5) truth and verisimilitude. These 5 principles can form a constructive and practical advertising approach. This study is important. It examines Isocrates through the lens of advertising and extends the research done about him by leading Isocrates scholars who have looked primarily at his …
Zapatista Maya Literacies And Decolonial Civic Pedagogies, Juan Moisés García-Rentería
Zapatista Maya Literacies And Decolonial Civic Pedagogies, Juan Moisés García-Rentería
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
Zapatista Maya Literacies and Decolonial Civic Pedagogies evaluates an educational outreach project led by an Indigenous grass roots mobilization in the high plateau of central México, the Zapatista movement. Using retrospective narrative inquiry and theoretically informed perspectives, this dissertation shows that the program of the Zapatista escuelita, Spanish for “little school,” is rooted in the Maya educational paradigm of nojptesel-p’ijubtasel, a cultural and political process of socialization at the heart of contemporary Maya peasant families. The research focus of this study offers rhetoric, composition, and literacy studies two interrelated points of insight tied to the overall Maya conception of the …
Social Change Through Rhetorical Action: Case Studies Of Two Tennessee Women In The Archives, Dalton Burks
Social Change Through Rhetorical Action: Case Studies Of Two Tennessee Women In The Archives, Dalton Burks
Honors Theses
In conversations about social change and activism, the American South is rarely represented as a place where such change occurs. However, this analysis will focus on two unlikely activists who used their writing and voices to advocate for change on a local scale in their individual communities. These activists are Emma Bell Miles, an artist, naturalist, and creative writer from Chattanooga, Tennessee who wrote a persuasive column in the Chattanooga News on feminism and naturalism, and Mary Cunningham, a local librarian and mother from McMinnville, Tennessee who created the Magness Library and Community House. This thesis argues that Miles and …
Writing In Film Studies: Poetics And Pedagogy, Bryan Mead
Writing In Film Studies: Poetics And Pedagogy, Bryan Mead
Graduate Research Theses & Dissertations
The focus of this dissertation is writing instruction inside undergraduate film courses. While the existence of textbooks devoted to teaching students how to write about film highlights the need for such instruction, evidence suggests many courses underuse or neglect such texts. Instead, most instructors focus their efforts on content instruction, expecting students to translate an increased content knowledge into written argumentation. Yet, as is the case across the disciplines, students struggle to write successfully in these disciplinary courses. One of the main reasons for this disparity between instructor expectation and student success is the notion of disciplinarity, and how influential …
Continuing The Conversation "The Opportunity Of Adversity": A Neo-Aristotelian Rhetorical Analysis, Megan R. Ancheta
Continuing The Conversation "The Opportunity Of Adversity": A Neo-Aristotelian Rhetorical Analysis, Megan R. Ancheta
Communication 300 Papers
In 2009, Aimee Mullins delivered a speech at a TEDMED Conference, “The Opportunity of Adversity.” Her speech speaks to the unlimited possibilities and potential that a person has when boundaries of stigmas and preconceptions are dismantled. Mullins’ personal and professional experiences, along with her charisma and interrelatedness, has earned her a high regard in a diverse community. This article is an analysis of her speech in accordance to the Neo-Aristotelian approach and the five canons. This article supports the argument that, because of her genuine approach, Mullins has made an influential contribution the conversation of equal rights and a humble …
Rhetoric Of Surrogacy: Re-Considering Agency Through Embodied Performance, Ann Kitalong-Will
Rhetoric Of Surrogacy: Re-Considering Agency Through Embodied Performance, Ann Kitalong-Will
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
Surrogacy as a medical practice goes back, in a practical sense, to 1988, when the court case, “In the Matter of Baby M, A Pseudonym for an Actual Person,” was tried in the Supreme Court of New Jersey. At the heart of the issue, was the question of who Baby M’s legally-recognized mother was in the relationship between the contracting parents and the woman who gestated and gave birth to Baby M. Using this case as a jumping off point, this dissertation traces a history of surrogacy as a global industry. This project explores rhetorical agency in the embodied performance …
The Rhetoric Of Parody And Persona: The Rhetorical Construction Of Donald Trump Through Parody In The 2016 Election, James Lyle
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
The intent of this dissertation is to explore the rhetorical nature of parody in the context of the American electoral process. This work draws on existing research in the field to show how humor is an important method for engaging the public sphere. This project develops the rhetorical nature of humor, works through existing research on conceptualizations of humor and its importance for societal dialogue, and then addresses the specific contributions to the study of parody offered by Mikhail Bakhtin and Kenneth Burke to demonstrate the potential for parody to act as a form of rhetorical illumination of existing rhetorical …
The Rhetorical Mediator: Understanding Agency In Indigenous Translation And Interpretation Through Indigenous Approaches To Ux, Nora Karina Rivera
The Rhetorical Mediator: Understanding Agency In Indigenous Translation And Interpretation Through Indigenous Approaches To Ux, Nora Karina Rivera
Open Access Theses & Dissertations
In 2018, I became involved in a collaborative community-based project to co-organize an event with the purpose of collecting resources to help in the professionalization efforts of Indigenous translators and interpreters. Drawing on Indigenous and decolonial theories, this interdisciplinary study examines the work done during this event through a user experience (UX) research lens that analyzes the various ways in which Technical and Professional Communication (TPC) and Translation and Interpreting Studies (TIS) can better support Indigenous language practices. The colonization of the Americas brought a layer of issues that continue to affect the way in which Indigenous communities conduct their …
Building A (Great) Wall: A Semiotic Analysis Of The Rhetoric Of President Donald J. Trump, Lauren Gilmore
Building A (Great) Wall: A Semiotic Analysis Of The Rhetoric Of President Donald J. Trump, Lauren Gilmore
Honors Theses
When Donald J. Trump announced he was running for president of the United States, the country was thrown into division. He was an abnormality as a presidential candidate and a rhetorical oddity since so many of his messages were ones of ignorance and bigotry rather than understanding and inclusion, the expected rhetoric of a president. Through a semiotic analysis, this study aims to understand who the people were that supported Trump, why his rhetoric appealed to them, the ways in which Trump talked about America and its people, and how his supporters interpreted his language. Semiotics is the study of …
Mental Illness Diagnosis And The Construction Of Stigma, Katie Lynn Walkup
Mental Illness Diagnosis And The Construction Of Stigma, Katie Lynn Walkup
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation explores how mental health legislation and related policy documents contribute to identification, diagnosis, and stigmatization. Using a mixed methods approach including content and stylometric text analysis with R as a heuristic for close and critical reading, I demonstrate how these documents normalize mental health concerns as a public threat. To do this work, I analyze how the Florida Mental Health Act (Chapter 394) and the Florida Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act (SB 7026) circulate and sustain dominant narratives about mental illness. I trace where these narratives are distributed into Florida school districts’ mandatory mental health …
Intimate Rhetorics Of Networked Motherhood, Katie Nelson
Intimate Rhetorics Of Networked Motherhood, Katie Nelson
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Fundamentally pregnant bodies are understood, similarly to women’s bodies, as necessitating discipline. However, new networked forums have emerged where pregnancy is understood as affirming and having the capacity to challenge a silenced subject position. Using three case studies, the #IHadAMiscarriage Instagram page, the #TakeBackPostpartum Instagram page, and mediatized discourses surrounding Kylie Jenner’s pregnancy, this dissertation writes intimate publicity into these mediatized transgressions of pregnancy and postpartum. I argue discourses about pregnancy and postpartum in these networked spaces constitute intimate publics through the cultivation of shared affected investments and divestments in embodied experiences. These investments in the embodied experiences are crafted …
"Will God Forgive Us?": Christianity And The Climate Crisis In Auteur Cinema, Margaret Alice Parson
"Will God Forgive Us?": Christianity And The Climate Crisis In Auteur Cinema, Margaret Alice Parson
LSU Doctoral Dissertations
Climate change is an unavoidable and real catastrophic threat to the future of Planet Earth. This dissertation is interested in how contemporary auteur cinema draws on Christian forms to give expression to the ineffability of environmental collapse. In this rhetorical generic criticism, I discuss three recent auteur films: First Reformed (2017, directed by Paul Schrader), Interstellar (2014, directed by Christopher Nolan), and mother! (2017, directed by Darren Aronofsky). In order to best rhetorically analyze these films, I perform a generic criticism which utilizes aspects of psychoanalysis and affect theory as per the work of Gunn. Each film is …
Chinese Women’S Reproductive Justice And Digital Technologies, Hua Wang
Chinese Women’S Reproductive Justice And Digital Technologies, Hua Wang
Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports
It is well known that China has implemented a Family Planning policy. Chinese women have limited options in reproduction, and their agency is constrained by the government, the medical institutions, and the traditional Chinese patriarchal and biased culture. By utilizing rhetorical analysis as a primary methodology with a focus on rhetorical agency, this dissertation analyzes two cases where digital technologies such as social media and apps facilitate users’ rhetorical agency to counter instances of reproductive injustice. First, I focus on China’s most popular pregnancy and mothering app, Babytree, to examine how the app rhetorically positions its users to enable empowerment …
'Would You Say You Had Sex If...' Rhetorical Meaning-Making Within Intimate Encounters And Their Discourses At The Macro, Meso, And Micro Levels, Megan Orcholski
'Would You Say You Had Sex If...' Rhetorical Meaning-Making Within Intimate Encounters And Their Discourses At The Macro, Meso, And Micro Levels, Megan Orcholski
Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation advances a deeper understanding of the rhetoric of intimate encounters by analyzing meaning-making practices at the intersections of sex, sexuality, and sexualized violence at the macro, meso, and micro levels. The object of my analysis is discourse about sex, sexuality, and sexualized violence, but this analysis also has implications on understandings of how corporeal rhetorics, or communicative meaning within bodies, are operating in moments of intimate encounters. Throughout my chapters, I interrogate how normative scripts around sex are constructed, disseminated, and perpetuated, how these normative assumptions impact intimate encounters and their connected public discourses, and how these normative …
Friendship In The Digital Age: Implications From A Philosophy Of Communication Approach, Tiffany Petricini
Friendship In The Digital Age: Implications From A Philosophy Of Communication Approach, Tiffany Petricini
Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Friendship is a central relationship-style that grounds us. Much of the literature on the effects of technology on our relationships, especially friendship, has taken a skeptical approach. The notion of friendship is historically-situated, thus, it requires attention in each era and has prompted questions throughout human history. Our time is no exception. Changing cultures and redefinitions of basic human institutions have led us to our current moment, in which we are experiencing a loud and continuing debate on the effect of technology on our lives. Advancements in science have allowed us to understand our past and present in new ways. …
Reconciling With Slavery In The United States: An Evolving Narrative, Jamie Phlegar
Reconciling With Slavery In The United States: An Evolving Narrative, Jamie Phlegar
Masters Theses, 2020-current
This project addresses two strands of inquiry that spring from this issue of evolving race relations in the U.S. First, I examine how Americans talk about the history of slavery in the U.S. What rhetorical strategies are employed when slavery is discussed and/or debated in public history contexts and beyond? Second, I examine talk about the future of race relations in the context of the legacy of slavery. Specifically, I am interested in exploring what rhetorical strategies are employed when discussing the potential for reparations in mainstream arenas.
Leveraging Maternal Rhetoric, Space, And Experience: La Leche League's Emergence As A Counterpublic, Jenny Lynn Moore
Leveraging Maternal Rhetoric, Space, And Experience: La Leche League's Emergence As A Counterpublic, Jenny Lynn Moore
English Theses & Dissertations
For over six decades, the international, mother-to-mother breastfeeding support organization La Leche League (LLL) has been helping women breastfeed successfully. LLL was formed at a time when the dominant ideology of scientific motherhood framed mothers as obedient adherents to physicians’ strict guidelines, which encouraged bottle-feeding and discouraged close mother-child bonds. LLL has been credited with challenging scientific motherhood, transforming medical discourse and practices surrounding infant feeding, and prompting the medical professional to accept mothers’ active involvement in decision-making; yet, paradoxically, it has also constrained mothers by reducing women to their maternal biology, discouraging mothers from participating in the public sphere, …
9/11 Then And Now: How The Performance Of Memorial Rhetoric By Presidents Changes To Construct Heroes, Kristen M. Grafton
9/11 Then And Now: How The Performance Of Memorial Rhetoric By Presidents Changes To Construct Heroes, Kristen M. Grafton
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This study is concerned with American presidential rhetoric at the cross-section of hero rhetoric and memorial address. It analyzes presidential memorialization of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 9/11 is arguably the most significant tragedy in recent American history. The purpose of this study is to identify the type of hero each president since 9/11 has attempted to construct of himself for the public and discuss the rationale behind that hero construction. To complete this objective, I analyze the second 9/11 memorial speech from the presidencies of Bush, Obama, and Trump for hero construction. A close reading examining the …
"The Fiery Furnaces Of Hell": Rhetorical Dynamism In Youngstown, Oh, Joshua M. Rea
"The Fiery Furnaces Of Hell": Rhetorical Dynamism In Youngstown, Oh, Joshua M. Rea
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
This dissertation seeks to define the theory of rhetorical dynamism and illustrate how this theory can be applied to studies of rhetoric and place. The study builds on current rhetorical scholarship and adds to it with the four characteristics of rhetorical dynamism: that places are rhetorically invented, that they hold rhetorical tensions, that they are fluid and constantly evolving, and that they are active participants in a reciprocal rhetorical process. Rhetorical dynamism is illustrated in two places, Westlake Terrace and Idora Park, each in Youngstown, OH. By building a rhetorical history of each site, the study shows how each place …
God Of War: Masculinity And Fatherhood Through Procedural Rhetoric, Andrew A. Morgan
God Of War: Masculinity And Fatherhood Through Procedural Rhetoric, Andrew A. Morgan
University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations
Video games and academia have a long history with one another. Academic researchers have continued to debate the extent to which video games can materialize real world effects. In this thesis, I employ procedural rhetoric and feminist scholarship to analyze the rhetorical power of God of War. I focus on the game’s immersive procedures and the performances of masculinity from Kratos, Atreus, and Baldur. These three characters all perform different masculinities, and their interactions with one another inform the game’s portrayal of masculinity and fatherhood. By engaging in violence and depicting nuanced performances of masculinity, God of War positions the …