American Studies Commons^™

Instagram And Eating Disorders: An Empirical Study Of The Effects Of Instagram On Disordered Eating Habits Among Young Girls, Katherine Wayles

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Scholars have studied the relationship between body dissatisfaction and social media use, particularly focusing on young women as vulnerable consumers. Many studies concentrate on the amount of media consumed, rather than the specific activities and behaviors associated with feelings of low self-esteem or poor body image. It is important to determine exactly what behaviors and social media engagements contribute to disordered relationships with food, assessing a user’s pre-existing weight/body concerns in relation to the amount and type of media they consume. Instagram in particular is included in this study, as it is an image-based social networking site where users can …

Always Already Imprisoned: The Panoptic Power Of Capitalism In American Literature, 1900-1940, Andrew Spencer

Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

ALWAYS ALREADY IMPRISONED: THE PANOPTIC POWER OF CAPITALISM IN AMERICAN LITERATURE, 1900-1940

By Andrew Blair Spencer, Ph.D.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Virginia Commonwealth University, 2019

Director: Dr. Richard Fine, Professor, Department of English

By applying the theories of control that Michel Foucault outlines in Discipline and Punish to the capitalist system, I argue that capitalism functions in much the same was as Jeremy Bentham’s Panopticon in that it perpetually imprisons individuals who live under its purview. As I see it, capitalism works on …

Selling Togetherness: Family Vacation Advertising, Zandria Michaud

Access*: Interdisciplinary Journal of Student Research and Scholarship

Family vacation advertisers want parents to believe that their destination will create memorable moments families cannot experience anywhere else. They want parents to believe their life will be better for choosing those experiences. But underneath advertisers' overt messages are hidden meanings related to their product and society. By looking at three contemporary TV family vacation advertisements, I discover the obvious, and not-so-obvious, messages these companies are sending viewers. These three advertisements commodify family by using elements of governmentality and nostalgia while hiding deeper ideologies like patriarchy and globalization. Critically studying these ads reveals cultural ideologies and norms. This essay begins …

We’Ve Come A Long Way (Baby)! Or Have We? Evolving Intellectual Freedom Issues In The Us And Florida, L. Bryan Cooper, A.D. Beman-Cavallaro

Works of the FIU Libraries

This paper analyzes a shifting landscape of intellectual freedom (IF) in and outside Florida for children, adolescents, teens and adults. National ideals stand in tension with local and state developments, as new threats are visible in historical, legal, and technological context. Examples include doctrinal shifts, legislative bills, electronic surveillance and recent attempts to censor books, classroom texts, and reading lists.

Privacy rights for minors in Florida are increasingly unstable. New assertions of parental rights are part of a larger conservative animus. Proponents of IF can identify a lessening of ideals and standards that began after doctrinal fruition in the 1960s …

Giving The Global High Sign: Coca-Cola Advertising Of The “American Way” In Life Magazine, 1941-1947, Scott Greenfield

History Theses

Magazine advertising through these years marketed American products to a consumer base that was becoming more patriotic. This “patriotic consumerism” manifested itself both in its foundational support for the United States’ involvement in World War II and in its constant implementation of the “American Dream” ideology that mixed nostalgia and modernity in preparation of a post-war world. Expanding upon the resulting cultural behavior of classifying the support of American business as a quasi-civic duty, The Coca-Cola Company successfully situated the “American Way of Life” as a global aspiration through its product’s entanglement in the global settings of war, ensuring that …

Cultural Influence Of Storytelling: An Examination Of The Use Of Narratives In Political Campaigns, Charla Bansley

Masters Theses

Television has changed political discourse. The thirty second commercial has replaced typography and rhetoric. After losing the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections, the Republican National Committee concluded that the GOP has lost the ability to persuade. Walter Fisher's Narrative Paradigm states that meaningful communication is in the form of storytelling, which enables public discourse to observe not only differences, but commonalities. In a postmodern culture that does not believe in absolute truth, this study asked the following question: Are conservatives still using statistics and facts to communicate conservative principles? The rhetorical research conducted here examined …

Damsels And Heroines: The Conundrum Of The Post-Feminist Disney Princess, Cassandra Stover

LUX: A Journal of Transdisciplinary Writing and Research from Claremont Graduate University

This research explores cultural shifts in the popularity of the Disney princess in American culture, especially its postmodern resurgence, as well as the complex relationship between Disney’s recent representations of women in the 1990’s and post-feminist ideology. My project begins by analyzing the historic appearance of the Disney female in relation to the women’s movements. I also examine lingering anti-feminist backlash in representations of what I call “New Wave” Disney heroines. Finally, I examine the implications of post-feminist discourse and advertising for young female viewers.

A Mother's Love: A Narrative Analysis Of Food Advertisements In An African American Targeted Women's Magazine, Janine Danielle Beahm

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines how food advertisers contributed to the cultural identity of the "good mother" in the 1990s and 2000s. It expands on previous research that investigated traditional gender ideologies in food advertisements by narrowing in on the specific stories presented to African American women. It highlights a time when advertisers were responding to the demands of African American activists to recognize the African American consumer, and depict African American characters in a positive light. A narrative method of inquiry is utilized to deconstruct the stories in 117 food advertisements running in Essence magazine (an African American targeted women's magazine) …

Internships In Public Relations And Advertising: The Nature Of The Experience From The Student's Perspective, Catherine Ann Gugerty

USF Tampa Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative content analysis examines the nature of experience of public relations and advertising interns. Three decades of scholarly inquiry into the internship experience has provided little insight into the actual experience of the interns themselves. Yet what is learned directly from their individual experience can provide both educators and professionals valuable insight for enhancing the learning process. The following study is a qualitative content analysis of journals and focus groups of undergraduates enrolled in public relations and advertising internships/practicums. The interns' experience follows four themes: (1) the perception of importance; (2) perceived learning benefits; (3) influence of supervisors; and …

Parel-Sewell, Amethel (Fa 280), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 280. Paper: "Genres of Children's Folklore Found in Advertisements of Three Popular Magazines..." written by Amethel Parel-Sewell for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Spears, Angela (Fa 344), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 344. Paper: "Folklore and Media Project on Folklore in Advertisements," written by Angela Spears for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Collins, Ellen (Fa 176), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 176. Paper: "Finding Folklore in Magazine Ads," written by Ellen Collins for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class. "Parents Magazine" photographs referenced.

Harbolt, Tami (Fa 394), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 394. Paper: "'I'm Not a Real Doctor, But I Play One on T.V...'": The Use of Folklore in Representations of Occupational Stereotypes in Television Advertising" written by Tami Harbolt for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Miles, Claude D. (Fa 338), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 338. Paper: "[Folklore in 'Rolling Stone']," written by Claude D. Miles for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Clayton, Chad (Fa 294), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 294. Paper: "The Use of Advertising and the Kentucky State Fair" written by Chad Clayton for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Lee, Andrew (Fa 321), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 321. Paper: "Supernatural Beings in the Daily News" written by Andrew Lee for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Cecil, Jill T. (Fa 296), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 296. Paper: "The Number 'Three' in the Media" written by Jill T. Cecil for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Baker, Elizabeth (Fa 284), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 284. Paper: "Folklore in American Women's Magazines" written by Elizabeth Baker for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Durham, Tracy L. (Fa 281), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 281. Paper: "[Ads in 'Cosmo' Magazines]" written by Tracy L. Durham for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Fritz, Craig (Fa 287), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 287. Paper: "Proverbial Statements in Mountain Bike Magazines" written by Craig Fritz for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Webb, Andra R. (Fa 263), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 263. Paper: "Folklore in Its Everyday Life" written by Andra R. Webb for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Schroeder, Rachel L. (Fa 257), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 257. Paper: "Ads, Ads, Ads: A Look at the Number Three in Magazine Advertisements" written by Rachel L. Schroeder for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Proctor, Becky (Fa 241), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 241. Paper: "The # [Number] 3 Motif in Advertising" written by Becky Proctor for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Norman, Dee (Fa 243), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 243. Paper: "The Presence of the Number Three on Paperback Book Covers" written by Dee Norman for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Sorrentino, Patricia M. (Fa 240), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 240. Paper: "The Use of the Number Three in Advertising" written by Patricia M. Sorrentino for a Western Kentucky University folk studies class.

Brown, Bethany D. (Fa 174), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Finding Aids

Finding aid and full-text scan of paper (Click on “Additional Files” below) for Folklife Archives Project 174. "The Folklore in Cosmetic Advertising", a paper written by Bethany D. Brown for a WKU folk studies class. "Redbook" magazine is referenced.

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 27, No. 2, James Moss, Holly Cutting Baker, Robert A. Barakat, Karl J. R. Arndt

Pennsylvania Folklife Magazine

• Gentlemen of the Road: Outlaw-Heroes of Early Pennsylvania in Life & Legend
• Patent Medicine in Pennsylvania Before 1906: A History Through Advertising
• Raising a Tobacco Shed
• Bicentennial Exhibitions and Publications in Germany
• Work and Work Attitudes: Folk-Cultural Questionnaire No. 50