Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Faith, Works, And Praxis: Emergent Post-Colonialism And The Catholic Church In North America, Alexander Odicino

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The personal papers of American Jesuit priest, Wilfrid Parsons, evince an international information war concerned with the praxis of "facts" pertaining to Mexico’s Church and state conflicts of 1925 to 1939. While editor-in-chief of the Jesuit weekly magazine, "America", (1925-1936) Parsons transformed the publication into the pre-eminent Catholic source of information about the "Mexican situation", consequently enabling him to coordinate the publication of "facts" with several other New York based Catholic publications. However, rather than speaking to strictly Catholic interests in the Mexican conflict, research has shown that, when analyzed as a focal point of information processing, the sources in …

Lady Gaga: Performer, Persona, And Political Advocate, Cassidy Burns

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

"The Falling Man" As Viewed In The Lens Of The "Public Sphere", Laura Reinacher

Communication Studies

No abstract provided.

It's Not Unusual: Glee And The Mainstream Acceptance Of Spontaneous Public Performance, Elizabeth M. Downey

University Libraries Publications and Scholarship

When Glee debuted in 2009, the genre of the television musical series had a shaky history. Traditional episodic programs had previously aired musical episodes but these were seen as rare absurdities; the genre was an oddity to exploit on occasion, not something that could sustain an entire series (a belief proven when previous attempts had failed). The flash mob culture that emerged in the mid-2000s alongside the groundswell of social media changed this environment. The absurdity of people “bursting into song” in a public place was no longer a completely unrealistic scenario, and this reopened the door for the musical …

The Underground Press In Grand Rapids: The Root, Ian M. Post

Grand Valley Journal of History

In the midst of the socially turbulent 1960s, the underground press movement in America sought to restore journalism and report on issues that the rising youth and New Left believed were important. Many believed these newspapers were subversive because of the content and goals of their publications, which drove their creators "underground". Despite the political and social conservatism of West Michigan, the Grand Rapids area was not exempt from the underground press movement. Several underground newspapers, discovered in the Grand Rapids Public Library's archives, provide an account of the local contribution to this national context, specifically in The Root.

New Master's Degree In Media Literacy And Digital Culture Announced, Lori Bindig

Lori Bindig

Sacred Heart University is announcing a new master’s degree in media literacy and digital culture expected to launch in the fall of 2015.

Cowboys, Angels, And Demons: American Exceptionalism And The Frontier Myth In The Cw's 'Supernatural', Joesph M. Valenzano

Communication Faculty Publications

The CW network series Supernatural (2005–) draws its text from the horror and fantasy genres as well as religious mythology. Concurrently, it transmits a core “American” mythos. As its protagonists keep watch along a supernatural frontier and eradicate threats to the American way of life, this program both reinforces and alters aspects of the frontier myth and the myth of American exceptionalism by depicting its main characters as representations of America writ large whose mission has grown from an appointment by God to being equals to God.

In this manner, Supernatural forwards a new American exceptionalism through the notion that …

Bridging The Political Deficit: Loss, Morality And Agency In Films Addressing Climate Change, Philip Hammond

Philip Hammond

This article examines the emotional rhetorical strategies of three films – The Day After Tomorrow (2004), An Inconvenient Truth (2006) and The Age of Stupid (2009) – which attempt to create engagements with the “post-political” problem of climate change. In all three films the experience of personal loss, the potential for future loss, and the emotions associated with loss are fundamental to affective engagement. The emotional loading of representations of environmental problems derives partly from concerns about human political agency and subjectivity. It is not so much that emotional or moral appeals are simply added on in order to bolster …

Interpreting, Stephanie Jo Kent

Doctoral Dissertations

What do community interpreting for the Deaf in western societies, conference interpreting for the European Parliament, and language brokering in international management have in common? Academic research and professional training have historically emphasized the linguistic and cognitive challenges of interpreting, neglecting or ignoring the social aspects that structure communication. All forms of interpreting are inherently social; they involve relationships among at least three people and two languages. The contexts explored here, American Sign Language/English interpreting and spoken language interpreting within the European Parliament, show that simultaneous interpreting involves attitudes, norms and values about intercultural communication that overemphasize information and discount …

An Interpretive Plan Guide For Wilderness Park In Lincoln, Nebraska, Rachel J. Ward

Community and Regional Planning Program: Professional Projects

Wilderness Park, located in Lancaster County, Nebraska, is a public park of unique ecological and historical value to the city of Lincoln and to the surrounding region. The natural and historical features of the park present an opportunity to communicate environmental and historical topics that are relevant on local, national, and global levels, as well as inspire a lively sense of pride in the community. The problem is that many topics relevant to Wilderness Park are not currently being interpreted at the park, and that there are relatively few interpretive resources available to park visitors.

The purpose of this project …

Framing Urban Change: Gentrification Discourses In The Media Coverage Of The Gülbol Eviction In Berlin, Eric Daniel Gedenk

Masters Theses

This thesis examines gentrification discourses in Berlin by highlighting an extraordinarily large protest sparked by the eviction of the Gülbol family—long-time residents of Berlin who immigrated to Germany from Turkey. Media outlets chose to frame the event in very different ways. I analyze articles from various media sources in an attempt to discover how these sources chose to frame this event, then analyze how these frames are applied to the general gentrification discourse in Berlin. Non-traditional, or “advocacy” media outlets used technology to break away from mass media frames on the subject and frame the event as governmental oppression and …

An Examination Of University Speech Codes’ Constitutionality And Their Impact On High-Level Discourse, Benjamin Welch

College of Journalism and Mass Communications: Theses

The First Amendment – which guarantees the right to freedom of religion, of the press, to assemble, and petition to the government for redress of grievances – is under attack at institutions of higher learning in the United States of America. Beginning in the late 1980s, universities have crafted “speech codes” or “codes of conduct” that prohibit on campus certain forms of expression that would otherwise be constitutionally guaranteed. Examples of such polices could include prohibiting “telling a joke that conveys sexism,” or “content that may negatively affect an individual’s self-esteem.” Despite the alarming number of institutions that employ such …

A Melting Pot Of Voices: Public Discourse And The Latino Immigrant Experience In The United States, Elizabeth Katherine Vammen

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This study examines the discourses surrounding the immigrant experience in the United States to reconcile first-hand accounts of Latino immigrant experiences with the discourse prevailing in broader domains such as immigration law, public forums, non-fiction essays, and the news media. In order to break down barriers that prevent productive discussions, this analysis identifies stifling language guised under what Antonio Gramsci defines common sense rather than good sense. At the same time this study aims to deconstruct stifling language, it uses first-hand accounts from Latino immigrants to provide insight as to where the American public is not listening. By analyzing common …

Stuart Hall: An Exemplary Socialist Public Intellectual?, Herbert Pimlott

Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This article offers an assessment of the Stuart Hall’s role as a socialist public intellectual during the 1980s and the circulation of his Thatcherism thesis via public interventions writing for the periodical, Marxism Today.

Contrary to most assessments of the influence of scholars and public intellectuals, which are based upon an implicit assumption that their widespread circulation are a result of the veracity and strength of the ideas themselves, this article focuses on the processes of production and distribution, including the intellectual’s own contribution to the ideas’ popularity by attending conferences and public rallies, writing for periodicals, and so …

Blogging In The Fashion Industry: A Descriptive Study Of The Use Of The Two-Step Flow Communications Theory By Professional And Citizen Bloggers To Become Opinion Leaders, Mia Alexandra Mendola

Journalism

This study analyzes the differences between professional and citizen bloggers in the fashion industry, and their use of the two-step flow communications theory and certain tactics to become opinion leaders in the industry. With the rise of blogging as a popular medium for consumption of fashion news, thousands of bloggers have begun blogs hoping to become part of the fashion industry. With this rise comes bloggers with different levels of expertise and experience. With this comes a blurring of lines between a professional blogger with credible knowledge of the fashion industry, and a citizen blogger with no formal training or …

Idealism And Pragmatism In The Rhetoric Of John Boehner: A Weaverian Analysis Of Congressional Discourse, Cody Hawley

Masters Theses

American political rhetoric is characterized by a synthesis of contradictory idealistic and pragmatic elements, both of which are necessary if there is to be convincing persuasion. The way in which politicians rhetorically approach this dichotomy is significant, however, current studies on the topic are limited to presidential discourse. There is little research on this topic in other settings such the United States House of Representatives. This criticism analyzes John Boehner's congressional rhetoric in the idealistic-pragmatic dichotomy. The critical method utilized is Richard Weaver's four forms of argument-genus, similitude, consequence, and circumstance. Eight speeches of John Boehner, four from his position …

Narrating Gender: A Feminist Approach To The Narratives Of The Transgender Experience, Jamie K. Lange

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Gender and identity are complex and often ubiquitous in nature. This is a study about gender and identity and the ways in which they manifest through the narratives of five transgender individuals, who all transitioned after the age of 45, who now live as women. This study about the transgender experience adds a significant and important perspective on gender, identity, identification, and the relationship between gender and identity. The most important conclusions are the lengths to which these people go to support gender social constructs, reinforcing the immense strength of the social construction of gender. The idea that social constructs …

Long May She Reign: A Rhetorical Analysis Of Gender Expectations In Disney’S Tangled And Disney/Pixar’S Brave, Caitlin J. Saladino

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

This project addresses messages about gender expectations in Disney princess narratives. The two films included in my project are Tangled (2010) and Brave (2012), which feature the most recently inducted princesses to the marketed Disney Princess line (Rapunzel and Merida, respectively). Using genre as an organizing principle, I argue that Rapunzel and Merida are different from the past Disney princesses (Snow White, Cinderella, Ariel, Jasmine, etc.) because their narratives reflect new ideas about gender expectations in modern society. The central tension appearing in both films is the opposition between the image of woman as traditional, domestic, and dependent and woman …

Walt Disney And The Propaganda Complex: Government Funded Animation And Hollywood Complicity During Wwii, Amanda Cunningham

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

Walt Disney’s work as an animator during World War II had a measurable impact on culture and in the development of government produced messages. It is important to examine this understudied area of Disney’s life and his studio’s efforts to produce wartime training and propaganda films during WWII. Government agencies, including the U.S. Treasury, contracted Disney to produce 32 animated shorts between 1941 and 1945 (Gabler, 2007).

Employing a semiotic approach of cinema, this study focuses on the cartoons The New Spirit (1942), Der Fuehrer’s Face (1943) and Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (1943). While American wartime …

Gilded Age Visual Media As The Impetus For Social Change: Jacob Riis’S Reform Photography And The Antecedents Of Documentary Film, Denitsa Yotova

Graduate Research Symposium (GCUA) (2010 - 2017)

This study examines the birth and evolution of the social documentary genre in visual media. It suggests that a mixture of ideology, technology, and social awareness are necessary for a successful social reform. It finds that despite the limitations of technology during the nineteenth century, social documentaries were produced long before they were part of the genres of photography and film. By focusing on the work of Danish photographer Jacob Riis and tracing the emergence of film, this study demonstrates a connection between documentary film and Riis’s social documentary photography and public slide exhibitions. The study concludes that in order …

How Communication Design Motivates Voter Participation: Comparing Instrumental Vs. Social Rhetoric, Lindsay Pryor

MAIS Projects and Theses

This written defense of my degree project describes how l used contemporary communication design theory to develop postcards for the Office of the Washington Secretary of State urging voter registration before the 2013 General Election deadline. In addition to measuring the overall effectiveness of the postcards, this project evaluated the registration and turnout differences between two treatments in a study funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts. The aim of the study was to add to the small but growing body of interdisciplinary research concerning communication design and voter participation. To determine which communication design techniques motivate more postcard recipients to …

Rave Culture- A Tale Of Two Scenes, Christopher Mohr

Faculty Curated Undergraduate Works

This article compares two iterations of rave culture through the perspective on scenes as outlined by Geoff Stahl in his essay "'It's Like Canada Reduced': Setting the Scene in Montreal." By applying both communication and sociopolitical theory to the comparison of the original rave scene to that of today's, a vivid understanding of how scenes and subcultures construct themselves- both within and around the cultural environments from which they are born- will become apparent.

The Rise Of The Post-New Left Political Vocabulary, Stephen D'Arcy

Stephen D'Arcy

Does the emergence of a new political vocabulary for articulating the politics of broadly leftist activists, roughly in the 1990s, reflect a learning process, so that we can think of it as more sophisticated and illuminating than the jargon of the 60s and 70s New Left — the product of a new sensitivity to key issues that were previously overlooked or badly understood? Or does its emergence, with its symptomatic timing in the wake of the Reagan/Thatcher era and the wave of defeats inflicted on the Left in those years, indicate that the new vocabulary is not so much innovation …

The Public Sphere As Site Of Emancipation And Enlightenment: A Discourse Theoretic Critique Of Digital Communication, David Ingram, Asaf Bar-Tura

Philosophy: Faculty Publications and Other Works

Habermas claims that an inclusive public sphere is the only deliberative forum for generating public opinion that satisfies the epistemic and normative conditions underlying legitimate decision-making. He adds that digital technologies and other mass media need not undermine – but can extend – rational deliberation when properly instituted. This paper draws from social epistemology and technology studies to demonstrate the epistemic and normative limitations of this extension. We argue that current online communication structures fall short of satisfying the required epistemic and normative conditions. Furthermore, the extent to which Internet-based communications contribute to legitimate democratic opinion and will formation depends …

Ua12/2/2 2014 Talisman: Reckoning, Part I, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

2014 Talisman yearbook.

• Wegert, Sally. Stoop Kids
• Cole, Tanner. Green Thumbs – Horticulture, Facilities Management
• Kriz, Lindsay. A Driving Force – Steve White, Automobiles
• Cole, Tanner. Pitch Forward – Soccer
• Smith, Mary-Kate. Love of the Game – Soccer Club
• Kriz, Lindsay. Runners Without Borders – Track & Field
• Cole, Tanner. Lines & Angles – Raymond Poff, Recreation, Fishing
• Reckoning
• Beasecker, Allyson. Five-Year Leaders – Football, Luis Polanco, Chuck Franks
• Pratt, Elliott. Throwing in the Towel – Bobby Petrino, Football
• Cole, Tanner. Surrounded by Sound – Revolution 91.7, Versie Parker
• Belknap, Abby. A Clean Sweep – Shaker Village, Barrett Rogers
• Pointer, …

Ua12/2/2 2014 Talisman: Reckoning, Part Ii, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

2014 Talisman yearbook.

• Hutchins, Seth. A Cut Above – Chris Page, Barbers
• Rogers, Shelby. Out with the Old – Thompson Science Complex
• Melcher, Jaclyn. East Meets Western – Shima Alessa, Saudi Arabia, International Students
• Swanson, Kayla. Deep End: Tim Slattery – Swimming
• Swanson, Kayla. Tackling Time: Jim Meyer – Football
• Swanson, Kayla. Beyond the Basket: Kami Howard – Basketball, Class of 1986
• Moster, Brittany. Right Kind of Writing – Walker Rutledge, English
• Smith, Mary-Kate. A Bug’s Life – Keith Philips, Biology
• Kirz, Lindsay. Honors with Par – April Butler, Golf
• Belknap, Abby. Setting the Tone – Greek Week, Spring Sing …

Arab Spring In Tunisia And Egypt: The Impact Of New Media On Contemporary Social Movements And Challenges For Social Movement Theory, Victoria Carty

Sociology Faculty Articles and Research

The events of Arab Spring were shocking for those who study societal movements as long-term dictators were swiftly removed from office and a democratic wave hit the region. Although the outcomes of the Arab Spring revolutions are yet to be determined, what we can gleam from these outbursts of collective behavior is that new media platforms played a significant role in the planning and mobilization efforts that brought people onto the streets and posed serious challenges to the existing political systems. This paper examines the importance of the communication field in influencing the political environment and motivating ordinary citizens to …

Atatürk's Balancing Act: The Role Of Secularism In Turkey, Patrick G. Rear

Global Tides

The intersection of religion and politics in the form of a civil religion has been present since time immemorial. This paper looks specifically to the relationship between Turkey’s development of a secular civil religion after gaining independence and the advancing of women’s rights and democratic values. In examining the intersections of state and religion in a secular Islamic society, it draws parallels to the French civil religion as it came to be following the French Revolution. Though Atatürk and other secularists were strong forces in developing the civil religion, the paper also examines liberal democratic and conservative Islamic groups in …