Rhetoric and Composition Commons^™

Ghost Hunting: A Rhetorical Analysis Of The American Media On The Waterboard, William Saas

Graduate Research Symposium (2010 - 2017)

This project looks at popular media hands-on investigations of the waterboard (an interrogation method used in the war on terror, viewed historically as "torture") to discover what I argue are the haunting effects of the second Bush administration's rhetorical war.

The Facebook Story, Brittany Rowland

Dissertations, Theses and Capstone Projects (Full IR Collection)

This capstone is an exploration of the Facebook phenomenon in today's world. It delves into Facebook's creation and evolution; the construction of an identity on online social-networking sites and the nature of Facebook relationships and interactions; and the News Feed controversy of 2006 and other issues of Facebook privacy and security.

Momma’S Memories And The New Equality, Vershawn Ashanti Young

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.

Ua3/1/4 President's Office-Cherry Speeches & Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Addresses, chapel talks, notes and educational and political speeches written and delivered by Henry Hardin Cherry and others typed on loose leaf pages. There are also quotations, reports, wills, correspondence and a political cartoon. Many items have no attribution as to author or source. Other authors include A.C. Burton, A.W. Mell, Mattie McLean and J.S. Dickey. Some items are repeated throughout the series and others have been edited. Volume 5 has been digitized for use by researchers.

Ua94/6/3 Student/Alumni Personal Papers Wku Publications, Wku Archives

WKU Archives Collection Inventories

Underground publications created by students while attending WKU, includes 1960's/1970's political protest papers such as the Apocalypse and the Expatriate. How to Survive is a guide to courses and professors to avoid and a guide to life in Bowling Green for university students. The Big Red Tool a 21st century satirical take on WKU is also found here.

Communally Discerning A Covenant Of Hospitality For The Care Of Children At Westview Boys' Home, Ron Bruner

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This project addressed the lack of a covenant defining the practice of hospitality towards children for team members of Westview Boys’ Home. The purpose of the project was to facilitate the creation of such a covenant. The Westview ministry team already claimed hospitality as a strength; the hope was that reframing the ministry around this strength would improve the quality of care for children and the quality of life for the community. Invited into a communal discernment process (the methodology), the ministry team invested weeks in the examination of biblical texts, theological tradition, personal and communal narratives, cultural trends, psychological …

Critical Discourse Analysis Of Advertisements In Malaysian Women's Magazine., Atiqah Zawani Kamaruzzaman

Student Works (2010-2019)

This research analyzed the advertisements in Malaysian women’s magazines by using Fairclough’s framework in the area of Critical Discourse Analysis. The findings of this research will be valuable to those who are actively participates in researching CDA, that may include lecturers as well as the students who are learning Critical Discourse Analysis. Advertisements in CLEO are used as the data. The data is multimodal, however only the written texts are analyzed. As such, the researcher analyzed the linguistic features in advertisements published in Malaysian women’s magazine. The objective of the researcher was to identify how the magazines interpellate (Althusser 1971) …

An Africentric Reading Protocol: The Speculative Fiction Of Octavia Butler And Tananarive Due, Tonja Lawrence

Wayne State University Dissertations

This examination of Africentric speculative fiction (ASF) applies an Africentric reading protocol to selected works of Octavia E. Butler and Tananarive Due. Butler's Parable Series and Due's African Immortals Series are examined using seven elements of Africentric narrative specific to cultural speculative fiction. Finally, I discuss the implications of using an Africentric reading protocol as an example of cultural analysis that can be adapted to the textual analysis of culturally specific works of fiction.

Surviving Your First Library Job Search, Or, An Explanation Of What I Had To Learn The Hard Way, Re-Produced Here, For You, So That You Are Not Driven To Drink As Well, Steven Hoover

Library Faculty Research

Searching for a library job can be a life-changing ordeal, but try not to let that bother you. The scars that it will leave on your psyche are likely to heal in time. When I was starting the job search process, I found that the professional literature had a lot to say about writing good cover letters and developing solid interview skills but not a lot of information about what searching for a job was really like on a daily basis. Hopefully, after reading this article, you have a little better sense of what to expect during your search, pick …

Grades 2-4 Publishing Writing, Maria Cirello

English

This is an English language arts lesson for second through fourth graders (Grades 2-4) on publishing writing. Through this lesson, students will be able to respond to literature by socially interacting with their peers, gain an understanding of a tagline story through this lesson. In addition, they will come up with their own tagline story/poem/song/script. The lesson is tiered into three levels where students are grouped by ability. In each level students will receive a task card and can choose the activity that is of most interest to them.

Grades 3-5 Genres In Literature, Angela Imbriano

English

This is an English language arts lesson for grades three through five on studying genres in literature. Through this lesson students will gain an understanding of the literary elements of each genre, improve comprehension by interpreting, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating written text in order to categorize. Students will also be able to identify characteristics of different genres, select genres that interest them, and be able to compare and contrast different works of literature with each other. This lesson spans over ten days and offers a variety of projects using a tic-tack-toe chart on three tiered levels where students can choose …

Parsing The Plagiary Scandals In History And Law, Arthur Austin

The University of New Hampshire Law Review

[Excerpt] “In 2002 the history of History was scandal. The narrative started when a Pulitzer Prize winning professor was caught foisting bogus Vietnam War exploits as background for classroom discussion. His fantasy lapse prefaced a more serious irregularity—the author of the Bancroft Prize book award was accused of falsifying key research documents. The award was rescinded. The year reached a crescendo with two plagiarism cases “that shook the history profession to its core.”

Stephen Ambrose and Doris Kearns Goodwin were “crossover” celebrities: esteemed academics—Pulitzer winners—with careers embellished by a public intellectual reputation. The media nurtured a Greek Tragedy —two superstars …

Totally Devoted: Developing A Holistic Spiritual Formation Course For Western Christian College, Stanley N. Helton

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This thesis reports research results from a learning community composed of faculty, support staff, ministry leaders, and students who collaborated in a professor’s development of a new course proposal in Christian spiritual formation at Western Christian College in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. The professor used qualitative research methods in the analysis and evaluation of the data produced by the group. The outcome of the project was ethnographic data that informed the creation of the course proposal that included new course application, course syllabus with course schedule, planned activities, bibliography, initial classroom assignments, and initial assessment tools.

Communicative Violence In Romantic Relationships, Christina L. Moore

Honors Theses

Verbal abuse occurs in college relationships, but this form of abuse lacks a clear definition and definitive characteristics. I studied the dialogue that surrounds verbal abuse. I was interested in how verbal abuse was discussed instead of the specific details of the experiences. Verbal abuse was purposely studied separately from physical abuse. Prior research and legal statutes were reviewed before conducting this study. Through the use of focus groups, one-on-one interviews and key informant interviews a broader perspective of verbal abuse was gained. The six salient themes to emerge were (1) how to protect one’s identity, (2) characteristics of the …

Lines Of Nation, Lines Of Flight : Retroping Immigration Policy, Jessica Thaller

Honors Theses

This thesis studies the rhetoric of U.S. immigration policy, specifically as related to Mexican immigration to the United States. Using Kent Ono and John Sloop’s theory of discourse, it examines the rhetoric employed in the Secure Fence Act (SFA) of 2006 and its turns towards wartime rhetoric, immigrant dehumanization, and immigrant deviance. It then contradicts these turns to those seen in the rhetoric of Hometown Associations (HTAs), “outlaw” discourses that operate by systems of logic different from the dominant logic of the SFA. HTAs emphasize family/cultural connections, unique financial considerations, and the liminal existence of the immigrant. More importantly, they …

Developing A Model For An Incarnational Ministry At The Webb Chapel Church Of Christ, L. Bert Alexander

Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations

This doctor of ministry thesis presents the results of a project to promote the development of an incarnational ministry at the Webb Chapel Church of Christ. This intervention employed a team of Webb Chapel opinion leaders representative of various subgroups of the congregation. In the fall of 2008, this group met for eight sessions to discuss the self-emptying practices of Jesus and the need for his followers to emulate those self-emptying practices in their individual lives. Through interaction in the eight sessions, the group developed a model by which self-emptying practices could be implemented at Webb Chapel. Evaluation of the …

The Curious Case Of Jim Mcgreevey, Justin Eckstein

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

This project examines the apologetic discourse surrounding James Edward "Jim" McGreevey's August 12, 2004 resignation as governor of New Jersey. A cursory reading of the allegations McGreevey faced reveals a curious incongruity between the initial accusations of corruption and his apologizing for being homosexual. In short, McGreevey stood accused of corruption for a number of terrible cabinet appointments. Yet, he apologized for being gay and having a "consensual" affair with his former director of Homeland Security, Golan Cipel. Through a close reading of the texts, I decipher how McGreevey's apology modified the public's understanding of the events that lead to …

The Cuban Missile Crisis Speech: An Analysis Of Text Evolution, Ashlyn Gentry

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

On October 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy delivered a televised speech announcing the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba. This speech has been a subject of scholarship in the field of communication, yet no critic has performed a comprehensive analysis of its multiple drafts and their relationship to the final version. By using a comparative analysis, one can examine the process of presidential decision-making, the translation of those decisions into prose, and the strategic language used to communicate a particular message. This project follows the evolution of Kennedy's address, tracing the changes from one draft to the next, in …

If You Don't Like It, You Must Not Get It: Exploring The Limits Of Polysemy In Family Guy's Satire, Christopher A. Medjesky

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Out of context, many of the unenlightened comments that come from characters on shows like The Simpsons, Family Guy or South Park seem offensive and prejudiced. However, many assume the audience rejects the more problematic elements of these characters' actions because the audience interprets the texts satirically. Little research has been conducted, however, to determine if these shows position readers to negotiate a progressive meaning from the story. I worry that those who passively view the texts may produce meanings that reinforce stereotypes and prejudices. Furthermore, proponents of media literacy have advocated the use of satirical texts without the benefit …

Are They For Real? Activism And Ironic Identities, Amber Day

English and Cultural Studies Journal Articles

A new breed of political activist has begun to appear on the streets and in the news. They are no longer trying to out-shout their opponents, but are agreeing with them instead, enthusiastically taking their adversary’s position to exaggerated extremes. It is a practice here termed “identity-nabbing,” in which participants pretend to be someone they are not, appearing in public as exaggerated caricatures of their opponents or ambiguously co-opting some of their power. This paper focuses on three groups in particular: The Billionaires for Bush, Reverend Billy, and the Yes Men. Each group stages elaborate, ironically humorous stunts as a …

The Sound Bites Of George W. Bush During The 2004 Presidential Election Examined And Unpacked, Jack Mckelvey

Theses Digitization Project

Three sound bites, Whatever it takes (55 seconds), Safer, Stronger (30 seconds), and War on Terror (30 seconds), of President George W. Bush during the presidential election of 2004 will be explored and unpacked.

United States Media Portrayals Of The Developing World: A Semiotic Analysis Of The One Campaign's Internet Web Site, Lindsey Marie Haussamen

Theses Digitization Project

The goal of this research was to examine how the One organization's web site either supports or rejects established literature that concludes that U.S. media contains negative representations of the developing world.

Can Patriotism Be Carved In Stone?: A Critical Analysis Of Mt. Rushmore's Orientation Films, Teresa Bergman

College of the Pacific Faculty Articles

This essay examines the three orientation films that have been shown at the Mt. Rushmore National Memorial since 1965, and analyzes how these films interpret the memorial as a patriotic symbol. Although the site was originally conceived to celebrate U.S. imperialism, each film moves away from that interpretation. This analysis tracks how these films’ interpretations of this patriotic icon have evolved to suit contemporary political exigencies rather than a fixed definition of Mt. Rushmore. I draw on memory studies, rhetoric, historical theory, and documentary film theory to examine the changing representations of nationalism and patriotism in these films.

Session 11 - “Dangerous Things”: A Symbolic Domain For Killer Bees, Daniel E. Lebas

International Symposium on Technology and Society

Viewing usage of words in culture as key symbols, Sherry B. Ortner's indicators were applied to an analysis of the lay-public’s use of "killer bee", "Africanized Honey Bee", and "honey bee". While conducting social impact study in southern Nevada, the author noticed that informants were not associating "killer bee" with "honey bee" imagery. Interviews were conducted with residents in the community of Boulder City, Nevada focusing upon symbolic linkage between the expressions: honey bee, killer bee and Africanized Honey Bee. It was determined that people do not link these expressions together in the same symbolic domain. Ethnohistory of the human/bee …

Accounts Of Violence From Arabs And Israelis On Abc-Tv’S Panel Discussion From Jerusalem, Richard Buttny, Donald G. Ellis

Communication and Rhetorical Studies - All Scholarship

The North American network, ABC-Television, broadcast the news-panel program, Nightline, from Jerusalem during the beginning days of the Second Intifada. One of the main themes of this discussion was the violence, pain, and trauma—the civilians killed or wounded, the military’s actions, and how it all started. Even the horrible facts of violence must be told or narrated and discussed for its morality, causes, consequences, responsibility, and political ramifications. In this sense, violence is discursive. How violence gets told, how versions get constructed or contested is our focus. Participants used the communicative practices of invoking membership categories and activity terms and …

Composition Heuristics And Theories And A Proposed Heuristic For Business Writing, Katharine Louise Peake

Theses Digitization Project

This work questions the usefulness of heuristic procedures, within composition in general writing in business in particular, as an effective aid to the generation of written, non-fiction discourse.

'Time In A Bottle': Temporal Discontinuities In Narratives Of Diaspora, Emily Churilla

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

The concepts of home have been, and continue to be, the foundation of much of the contention surrounding all sides of discourse regarding diaspora and immigration - through both viewing the home as threatened and defiled as well as redefining the imagined reality of home. It is the impasse of working around and against the frame of Western temporality and space from within the trope of home that this paper will explore; specifically how narratives of diasporic subjectivity disrupt and threaten normalized constructs of origin and time, history, and identity. Because to only consider the question of "home" leaves a …

Threatening Bodies Resisting Containment: Enemy Combatants, War Protestors And Same-Sex Couples, Mary K. Bloodsworth-Lugo, Carmen R. Lugo-Lugo

Reconstruction: Studies in Contemporary Culture

The U.S.-launched "War on Terror" has been a major driving force in political discourses during the last few years, including presidential discourse. Since September 11, 2001, presidential rhetoric has systematically entangled international efforts, such as "the War on Terror" and the War in Iraq, with domestic issues, such as same-sex marriages and civil unions. In so doing, international and domestic threats have been effectively merged into one, and in the process, specific bodies have been constructed as "terrorist" agents in need of strict containment (for example, enemy combatant bodies, war protestor bodies, and the bodies of same-sex couples). This paper …

Encyclopedia Of Gender And Technology, Priscilla Finley

Library Faculty Research

This encyclopedia compiles 213 four- to five-page entries making observations about the role of gender in human interaction with information technology and the IT profession. Intended as a preliminary research agenda encompassing essays on gender and IT education and the workplace, the volume contains many essays that simply survey struggles faced by women in many parts of the world who interact with the Internet or telecommunications technology.

Motivation And Identification: A Burkean Rhetorical Analysis Of The Mission Statements Of A Class Of Higher Education Organizations, Mark Razor

All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this study was to understand higher education organizations as if they were texts and from that perspective to determine how motive was expressed and community was created through the mission statements of a class of higher education organizations. The mission statements of Carnegie comprehensive doctoral institutions of higher education with a medical and/or veterinary school were rhetorically analyzed and the results organized into groups much as chemists organized elements into the periodic table. In addition to rhetorical studies, organizational studies were employed, especially those that employed Identification Theory. This study provides a model for understanding complex institutions, …