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Full-Text Articles in American Studies

Looking At People Watching People- A Comparative Approach Of American And British Advertising, Kyle Heger Apr 2019

Looking At People Watching People- A Comparative Approach Of American And British Advertising, Kyle Heger

Cultural Studies Capstone Papers

Advertising reaches millions of audiences every day, yet some of the most impactful ads only appear once, while other advertisements thrive in a world where audiences are most receptive to what the campaign is feeding to the masses. Spaces like the Super Bowl, ads created for the wonders of television are the bridge between artificial realism and situational experiences that most people can relate or aspire to, but what if one person’s experience is leaning towards misrepresentation? In this paper, I’ll be using media studies to dissect American advertising, through its construction of non-profit advertising and responding to the form …


Always Already Imprisoned: The Panoptic Power Of Capitalism In American Literature, 1900-1940, Andrew Spencer Jan 2019

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 …