Posthumanism In Literature: Redefining Selfhood, Temporality, And Reality/Ies Through Fiction,
2024
Chapman University
Posthumanism In Literature: Redefining Selfhood, Temporality, And Reality/Ies Through Fiction, Eileen Kelley Pierce
English (MA) Theses
While fictional novels are often seen as a way to escape reality, their relation to reality and the ways in which they distort or reinforce our understandings of reality can provide significant insights into our cultural values and beliefs. Using posthumanist theory, I examine how understandings of selfhood and its relations to time and reality are complicated within three works of fiction and how those complications represent and articulate a societal shift in meaning and knowledge that is supported by posthumanist ideologies. The three works, No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood, Wolf in White Van by John …
Gender Performance In “Cult” Conversion Narratives: The Twelve Tribes,
2024
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Gender Performance In “Cult” Conversion Narratives: The Twelve Tribes, Navah Chestnut
Honors Theses
While many scholars have attempted to understand the unique contours of the definition of “cult,” there are still rampant disagreements across different disciplines and scholarly persuasions about the way that a “cult” functions differently than other organizations. In this essay, I aim to clarify how the function of a “cult” is contingent upon a set of rhetorical strategies used by the group to systematically remove agency from group members. One of those rhetorical strategies is compelling individuals to perform according to strict heteronormative gender enactments. To understand how this strategy works, I will turn to four spiritually metanoic narratives published …
A Rhetorical-Sociological Understanding Of Emotion,
2024
Clemson University
A Rhetorical-Sociological Understanding Of Emotion, Amy Boone
All Dissertations
This project presents a rhetorical-sociological understanding of emotion while foregrounding the place and role of language. Born from Sara Ahmed’s work in The Cultural Politics of Emotion, it presents a simplified equation (contact + orientation = emotion) as both a prescriptive and descriptive formula for making sense of human emotional experience. Starting with an exploration of the difficult-to-understand affect system, this dissertation identifies both rhetoric and affect as energies which cannot be understood apart from their traces, the things they move, produce, and become. As a way to get at these often-invisible forces, two trace studies are conducted which explore …
Slot Machine Addiction: The Untold Story Of Contradictions Between Self And America's Neoliberal Risk Society,
2024
University of South Florida
Slot Machine Addiction: The Untold Story Of Contradictions Between Self And America's Neoliberal Risk Society, Melanie C. Falconer
USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations
The ability to take risks is nothing short of heroism in the modern United States which thrives on a diet of hyper mobility, technological progress, and globalized, deregulated “free” markets. Such relentless instability affirms scholarly contentions that the U.S. is now a “risk society.” Indeed, in Gambling with the Myth of the American Dream: The Pokerization of America, rhetoric scholar Aaron Duncan suggests that media stories of modern poker tournaments signify a collective desire to grapple with this heightened modern “chanciness” within our established gambling lore and make it cohere with our deeply cherished notions of American individualism. While Duncan …
The Myths Of Plato: Socratic Kenosis And The Call Of Beauty,
2024
Southeastern University - Lakeland
The Myths Of Plato: Socratic Kenosis And The Call Of Beauty, Daniel Edward Shirley
Master of Arts in Classical Studies
The myths of Plato have been inordinately subordinated to the “intellect” of Plato since the eighteen-thirties. The ancient Christian tradition of interpreting stories and scriptures with symbolic understanding serves as a potentially primary hermeneutical pattern that could correct the modern tendency of subconscious materialism. To restore the Platonic myths, there are two foundational arguments to be made about the myths. The first is that these myths are kenotic in function. Observing the Socratic call to self-emptying, especially in the cosmological image of the World Axis, challenges modern assumptions concerning the second goodness of Platonic myth. The second argument is the …
A Rhetorical Criticism Of "Fleabag": Tragicomedy And What It Means To Be A Feminist,
2024
California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
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 …
Towards A Posthumanist Sociomaterial Conceptualization Of Intercultural Rhetoric,
2024
McGill University
Towards A Posthumanist Sociomaterial Conceptualization Of Intercultural Rhetoric, Amir Kalan
Journal of Rhetoric, Professional Communication, and Globalization
Intercultural rhetoric has a human-centered view of culture and considers humans’ ethnicities, beliefs, and social practices as crucial components of rhetorical traditions. Conceptualizing a posthumanist sociomaterial approach to intercultural rhetoric, this article suggests that writing across cultures can be viewed as rhetorical transition between two sociomaterial networks with non-human, as well as human, factors. It explains that posthuman intercultural rhetoric can turn into a field where researchers study political, economic, and administrative networks in which texts are funded, constructed, regulated, disseminated, sold, bought, and cited. This area of writing studies would be interested in how rhetoric is constructed and used …
#Hotgirlsemestersyllabus,
2024
Rochester Institute of Technology
#Hotgirlsemestersyllabus, Katrina Marie Overby, Gheni Platenburg, Niya Pickett Miller
Feminist Pedagogy
No abstract provided.
Digital Rhetoric Of The Invisible: Bisexual Literacy Practices On Tiktok, 2020–2021,
2024
CUNY Graduate Center
Digital Rhetoric Of The Invisible: Bisexual Literacy Practices On Tiktok, 2020–2021, Olivia Wood
Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
This dissertation uses auto- and digital-ethnographic methods to analyze the literacy practices of bisexual TikTok users primarily during the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in the United States, during which time TikTok exploded in popularity among U.S. social media users, especially among young adults. It is also an exercise in neuroqueer composing, diverging at times from the norms of academic writing and the dissertation genre to perform and intentionally draw attention to neuroqueer styles of thinking and communication. I argue that bisexual invisibility and contemporary bi+ rhetorical activity must be understood within the context of LGBTQ+ political history, particularly …
Strategic Rhetorics: Apartheid South Africa/Apartheid Israel: Address To Chapman University’S Gaza Solidarity Encampment, May 2024,
2024
Chapman University
Strategic Rhetorics: Apartheid South Africa/Apartheid Israel: Address To Chapman University’S Gaza Solidarity Encampment, May 2024, Ian Barnard
English Faculty Articles and Research
"On 2 May 2024, Chapman University faculty were asked to participate in a 'faculty speak out' in support of the Chapman Students For Justice In Palestine’s Gaza solidarity encampment. We were invited to speak 'from our expertise and/or personal experiences in a call for a ceasefire in Gaza' (Leitz, 2024). This is a slightly expanded version of what I said[.]"
Remixing Community Cartographies: Mapping Community Engagement, New Media, And The Composition Classroom,
2024
Wayne State University
Remixing Community Cartographies: Mapping Community Engagement, New Media, And The Composition Classroom, Christopher W. Susak
Wayne State University Dissertations
Community Writing has emerged as a relatively new subdiscipline that spans elements of larger fields such as Rhetoric and Writing Studies, Technical and Professional Communication, and Composition Pedagogy. Despite this recent emergence, teacher-scholars are still grappling with three major problematics traditionally associated with Community Engaged Learning (CEL) writ large: (1) this work frequently fails to address the real needs and basic material realities of community partners in favor of (2) a repetitive cycle of short-lived educational “experiences” for students, often without tangible and/or sustainable results, which is further exacerbated by (3) a shortage of useful data-driven assessment conducted on curriculum, …
Dress To Impress: New Composition Instructors' Interpretations And Embodiment Of Professionalism As Displayed Through Dress,
2024
University of Central Florida
Dress To Impress: New Composition Instructors' Interpretations And Embodiment Of Professionalism As Displayed Through Dress, Jacqueline C. Cano Diaz
Graduate Thesis and Dissertation 2023-2024
While previous research in rhetoric and composition investigates how novice composition instructors negotiate the boundaries of professionalism and identity (Dall'Alba; Grouling; Restaino), the role of dress, or "performative strategic attire" (Mckoy), in crafting these teaching personas has not yet been explored. Viewing everyday dress choices through the lens of embodied rhetoric allows for a deeper understanding of the complex decision-making process of choosing what to wear (Woodward). Further, analyzing dress choice through embodied rhetoric showcases how clothing becomes a tool to craft a persona and inhabit an identity or role. Through positioning instructor's self-identity and naming their experiences and influences …
“Because I Said So”: How National Leaders Use Rhetoric To Frame The Issues Of National Security And The War On Drugs,
2024
Dominican University of California
“Because I Said So”: How National Leaders Use Rhetoric To Frame The Issues Of National Security And The War On Drugs, Saul Valle
History and Political Science | Senior Theses
In the preamble of the 2024 presidential election seasons in both the United States and Mexico, there has been an increase in aggressive outspoken expression by national leaders regarding how to best handle the issue of drugs and drug use across the Western hemisphere. These types of sweeping policies are often credited to President Richard Nixon, who on June 18th, 1971, initiated his “War on Drugs,” a global policy campaign intended to address the production, distribution, and consumption of the illicit drug trade. Existing scholarship on this topic has extensively analyzed the early years of the American war on drugs …
Confronting The Conflation: The Use Of Christian Nationalist Rhetoric At The Insurrection On January 6th, 2021,
2024
West Chester University
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 …
Sure Imagination: Distinguishing Mnemotechnics From Spatial Mnemonics,
2024
West Chester University
Sure Imagination: Distinguishing Mnemotechnics From Spatial Mnemonics, Ian Goodrich
West Chester University Master’s Theses
The term “mnemotechnics” has been misinterpreted by scholars due to a lack of a clear and concise definition available for reference. Though there are contemporary scholarship references to mnemotechnics, these references avoid a definition and are often in a context that does not consider how ancient rhetoricians utilized the practice. Without a concise and unified definition, the term mnemotechnics takes on a variety of divergent meanings through different scholarship, preventing a similarity in terms to ideas and obscuring the practice of the rhetoricians who utilized mnemotechnics. In this thesis, the writings of Quintilian, Augustine of Hippo, and the anonymous author …
Rhetoric On Climate Change And The Effects On Public Perceptions,
2024
Humboldt State University
Rhetoric On Climate Change And The Effects On Public Perceptions, Hailey Mina Rose Dossey
Undergraduate Scholarship
One of the extraordinary challenges humans are facing today is climate change and over the past two decades, the majority of the world has moved from questioning its legitimacy to accepting it as fact. With most people having accepted climate change as a reality, the goal of climate communication has shifted from spreading awareness to motivating audiences to take action. Through this analytical discussion, we will look into effective and ineffective methods of rhetoric as it can help guide us to a better understanding of why certain rhetoric that has previously been successful in other fields may not be the …
Menopause In The Public Sphere: The Consciousness-Raising Practices Of Technical And Experiential Experts,
2024
University of Montana
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 …
Rhetorical (Re)Inscription Practices Among Black Intercollegiate Football Participants In The Era Of Name, Image And Likeness,
2024
University of North Florida
Rhetorical (Re)Inscription Practices Among Black Intercollegiate Football Participants In The Era Of Name, Image And Likeness, Mikayla Beaudrie
UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations
When intercollegiate athletic participants were permitted the right to profit off of their name, image and likeness (NIL), the landscape of college sports was fundamentally changed. This qualitative explanatory case study investigated one consequence of that change: the discourse of amateurism. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has historically identified participants in the athletic programs it oversees with the word “student-athlete.” In the years since the word was first introduced, its meaning has generally been static. In short, the linguistic sign “student-athlete” has been signified in and by the discourse to reflect the amateur status of collegiate sport participants, emphasizing …
Andrew Tate, Matt Walsh, And The Discursive Production And Policing Of Gender,
2024
University of Montana, Missoula
Andrew Tate, Matt Walsh, And The Discursive Production And Policing Of Gender, Alan J. Bandyk, Alan J. Bandyk
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
This thesis utilizes the works of Judith Butler, Simone de Beauvoir, Frederic Jameson, and Edward Said in a discourse analysis of influencers and writers in the right wing "manosphere." The figures analyzed herein are Andrew Tate and Matt Walsh. Their rhetoric aims to create a discursive woman who embodies traditional notions of gender and sex that de Beauvoir critiqued in 1949. The constant adherence and reference to a mythical past exhibits ways of thinking that coincide perfectly with Jameson's own theoretical work with the term and its inherent false nostalgia. Tate's and Walsh's efforts also fall into discursive attempts at …
Inoculant To Influence: Cultivating Critical Citizenship By Foregrounding Ontology Through Kenneth Burke And Walter Fisher’S Rhetorical Frameworks,
2023
University of Texas at Tyler
Inoculant To Influence: Cultivating Critical Citizenship By Foregrounding Ontology Through Kenneth Burke And Walter Fisher’S Rhetorical Frameworks, Mark Griffin
English Department Theses
Scholars interested in exploring the potency of the writing modality of critical pedagogy for molding students into proactive citizens will find the integration of Kenneth Burke’s Dramatism and Walter Fisher’s Narrative Paradigm instrumental, offering tools essential for cultivating a rhetorical awareness adept at navigating narratives in the 21st century. Synthesizing Burke’s rhetorical dialectic between the nature of reality and our understanding of it with Fisher’s concept that the human condition is a narrative condition yields insights into the critical writing process. This integration fosters a rhetorical awareness, serving as an inoculant to influence, countering the prevailing persuasive elements within today’s …
