Critical and Cultural Studies Commons^™

The Post-Nuclear Family And The Depoliticization Of Unplanned Pregnancy In Knocked Up, Juno, And Waitress, Kristen Hoerl, Casey Ryan Kelly

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This essay explores three films from 2007, Knocked Up, Juno, and Waitress, which foreground young women’s unplanned pregnancies. These movies depoliticize women’s reproduction and motherhood through narratives that rearticulate the meaning of choice. Bypassing the subject of abortion, the women’s decisions revolve around their choice of heterosexual partners and investment in romantic relationships. Although they question the viability of the nuclear family for single pregnant women, these films represent new iterations of post-feminism that ultimately restore conservative ideas that valorize pregnancy and motherhood as women’s imperatives. We conclude by addressing how these movies present a distorted and …

Changing Mutual Perception Of Television News Viewers And Program Makers In India- A Case Study Of Cnn-Ibn And Its Unique Initiative Of Citizen Journalism, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

The Indian television system is one of the most extensive systems in the world. Terrestrial broadcasting, which has been the sole preserve of the government, provides television coverage to over 90% of India's 900 million people. By the end of 1996 nearly 50 million households had television sets. International satellite broadcasting, introduced in 1991, has swept across the country because of the rapid proliferation of small scale cable systems. By the end of 1996, Indians could view dozens of foreign and local channels and the competition for audiences and advertising revenues was one of the hottest in the world. In …

Constitutive Discourse Of Turkish Nationalism: Atatürk’S Nutuk And The Rhetorical Construction Of The “Turkish People”, Aysel Morin, Ronald Lee

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This article explores the “Great Speech” Nutuk, delivered in 1927 by Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In analyzing Nutuk and its rhetorical features, we identify the mythic underpinnings Atatürk employed to construct a modern “Turkish people.” We use this case to further our understanding of the constitutive discourses of nationalism. We believe Atatürk’s Nutuk provides a profitable discourse to think with as we attempt to understand Muslim nations and their negotiation of modernity.

Community Radio:History,Growth,Challenges And Current Status Of It With Special Reference To India, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

Community radio is a type of radio service that caters to the interests of a certain area, broadcasting content that is popular to a local audience but which may often be overlooked by commercial or mass-media broadcasters. Modern-day community radio stations often serve their listeners by offering a variety of content that is not necessarily provided by the larger commercial radio stations. Community radio outlets may carry news and information programming geared toward the local area, particularly immigrant or minority groups that are poorly served by other major media outlets. Philosophically two distinct approaches to community radio can be discerned, …

Transmitting Relational Worldviews: The Relationship Between Mother-Daughter Memorable Messages And Adult Daughters’ Romantic Relational Schemata, Jody Koenig Kellas

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study investigates memorable messages that daughters report hearing from their mothers about romantic relationships to examine the development of meaning in the content of parent-child communication and the ways in which these messages may affect and reflect adult daughters’ relational worldviews. Findings from a study involving 149 adult daughters revealed 4 supra-categories of memorable messages: value self, characteristics of a good relationship, warnings, and value the sanctity of love. Moreover, statistical analyses reveal that memorable message types significantly related to daughter’s romantic relationship schemata as operationalized by Fitzpatrick’s (1988) couple types. Both message and couple type predicted intergenerational transmission.

Model Citizen: Exploring The Portrayal Of Unconventional Models On Television Shows In Relation To Women's Self Image, Nicole Jenelle James

All Capstone Projects

According to the renowned Mayo Clinic, having a low self-image can lead people to suffer harmful: physical, emotional, and behavioral consequences. Much of women’s selfimage is reliant on comparing themselves to the media’s perception of beauty. In an effort to bolster American women’s self-esteem, a workshop is proposed to explore the relation between portrayal of unconventional models on television shows and women’s/viewer’s self-image.

Sexuality, Exoticism, And Iconoclasm In The Media Age: The Strange Case Of The Buddha Bikini, James Shields

Faculty Contributions to Books

No abstract provided.

History Of Communication And Its Application In Multicultaral,Multilingual Social System In India Across Ages, Ratnesh Dwivedi Mr

Ratnesh Dwivedi

The history of communication dates back to the earliest signs of cavemen.Communication can range from very subtle processes of exchange, to full conversations and mass communication. Human communication was revolutionized with speech perhaps 200,000 years ago, Symbols were developed about 30,000 years ago and writing about 7,000. On a much shorter scale, there have been major developments in the field of telecommunication in the past few centuries.

We're Marching Toward Intolerance, Michael I. Niman Ph.D.

Michael I Niman Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Pluralisme Dan Masyarakat Pasca-Politik, Fransisca Sse Seda

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

No abstract provided.

Beragam Islam, Beragam Ekspresi: Islam Indonesia Dalam Praktik, Oki Rahadianto Sutopo

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

No abstract provided.

Orwellian Language And The Politics Of Tribal Termination (1953–1960), Casey Ryan Kelly

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

From 1953 to 1960, the federal government terminated sovereign recognition for 109 American Indian nations. Termination was a haphazard policy of assimilation that had disastrous consequences for Indian land and culture. Nonetheless, termination cloaked latent motivations for Indian land within individual rights rhetoric that was at odds with Indian sovereignty. Termination highlights the rhetorical features of social control under capitalism portrayed in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949), in which opposing principles are fused and inverted. This essay critiques termination’s Orwellian language to show how ideographs of social liberation are refashioned by the state to subvert Indian sovereignty and popular dissent.

Bp's Dumb Investors Demand Their Dividends, Michael I. Niman Ph.D.

Michael I Niman Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

The World’S Most Perfectly Developed Man: Charles Atlas, Physical Culture, And The Inscription Of American Masculinity, Jacqueline Reich

CMS Faculty Publications

The major wave of Italian immigration between the nineteenth and twentieth centuries coincided with the growth of the physical culture movement in the United States. A principal participant in both phenomena was the Italian male, with a particularly fascinating case being that of the bodybuilder and fitness guru Charles Atlas. Born Angelo Siciliano in Calabria, Italy, Atlas provides an interesting window into how the Southern immigrant became American and how that Americanization was written on the muscled, male body. This article examines how Siciliano/Atlas transformed himself into the world’s most perfect white man at a time when Italians’ whiteness was …

The Isleño Décima: Media And Memory In Spanish-Speaking South Louisiana, Jeanne Gillespie

JEANNE GILLESPIE

From the early fifteenth century to the end of the eighteenth century, the Spanish colonial process involved the settling of vast tracks of land. From their first colonial experiment in the Canary Islands in 1402, the Spanish administration learned that it was sometimes more effective to import assimilated settlers from already established colonial possessions than to attempt massive conversion and cultural assimilation. To shore up the vast spaces of the northern Gulf Coast, particularly "West Florida" and eastern Texas, the Spanish governors sent for colonists including groups of Canary Islanders who settled outposts along the Red River, as well as …

Hands On Hips, Smiles On Lips! Gender, Race, And The Performance Of Spirit In Cheerleading, Laura Grindstaff, Emily West

Emily E. West

Cheerleading has long been synonymous with “spirit” because of its traditional sideline role in supporting school sports programs. In recent decades, however, cheerleading has become more athletic and competitive - even a sport in its own right. This paper is an ethnographic exploration of the emotional dimensions of cheerleading in light of these changes. We argue that spirit is a regulating but also flexible concept that is deployed in order to manage and uphold ideologies of emotion, and that these ideologies are central to how cheerleading reproduces racialized gender difference. On the one hand, the performance guidelines for spirit stabilize …

It's Enouch To Make You Die Laughing, Michael I. Niman Ph.D.

Michael I Niman Ph.D.

No abstract provided.

Responses Of Young Adult Grandchildren To Grandparents’ Painful Self-Disclosures, Craig Frowler, Jordan Soliz

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study examined grandchildren’s relational and communicative responses to grandparents’ painful self-disclosures (PSDs). From the perspective of young adult grandchildren (N = 297), dis-comfort with PSDs is more significant in differentiating positive and negative aspects of the grandparent-grandchild relationship than simply the occurrence of such disclosures. Furthermore, results reveal that the family communication environment and communicative responsiveness of the grandchild are important factors in predicting discomfort with PSDs as well as grandchildren’s communication with grandparents.

Feminist Criticism: The Importance Of Sharing The Native Female Journey, Michelle Newfield

Communication Studies

The female Native American perspective is grossly neglected in mainstream media. Sadly, stereotypical images romanticize Native American women in a light that disallows them to be taken seriously in a modernized world. The fact is that the majority of women with American Indian ancestry do not live on reservations; they make up a considerable part of the general population.

There is an unfortunate “invisibility of Native women in comparison to men,” and “Native women are often represented by popular culture within the Plains Indian context, the generic Indian. Omnipresent is the ‘squaw’ who is portrayed as servant, concubine, beast of …

The Politics Of Snow, Michael I. Niman Ph.D.

Michael I Niman Ph.D.

‘Snowpocalypse’ isn’t an act of god; it’s a combination of anti-tax southerners and a changing climate, says Michael I. Niman

Ruang-Ruang Sosial Pekerja Ekonomi Bawah Tanah (Underground Economy), Erna Ermawati Chotim

Masyarakat: Jurnal Sosiologi

No abstract provided.

Manifest Greatness The Final Original Version By Emmanuel Mario B Santos Aka Marc Guerrero, Emmanuel Mario B. Santos Aka Marc Guerrero

Emmanuel Mario B Santos aka Marc Guerrero

MANIFEST GREATNESS vf24jan2010 WE COME TOGETHER THERE OUGHT TO BE NO POOR WE TAKE CHARGE.

Vilification In Fox's "24", Shara M. Drew

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This paper explores vilification in the popular counterterrorism show, Fox’s "24." A critical, in-depth analysis of three prominent antagonists from the show illustrates the different ways in which they are vilified. Each of the three characters is examined to understand which type of villain he or she embodies in "24," which of the show’s moral codes the villain affronts, and how he or she is punished or treated as a result. The analysis considers the broadcast of the show’s first six seasons in relation to neoconservative and Christian Right values that characterized the George W. Bush administration after 9/11. It …

A Taste For Greeting Cards: Distinction Within A Denigrated Cultural Form, Emily West

Emily E. West

Greeting cards are a denigrated product category in the United States, and yet consumers use them at high rates across taste formations. Consumers with relatively high cultural capital place a premium on originality in their self-expression, hence greeting cards present a consumption problem because they are a mode of expressing the self through mass-produced means. Based on interviews with 51 people, I show that consumers with higher cultural capital are more likely to prioritize card design over sentiment; select smaller, simpler designs and sentiments; prefer cards that are handmade, look handmade, or remind them of fine art; and are more …

Expressing The Self Through Greeting Card Sentiment: Working Theories Of Authentic Communication In A Commercial Form, Emily West

Emily E. West

As mass produced vehicles of sentiment, greeting cards draw attention to the use of socially constructed codes for communicating, even feeling, emotion. This paper describes the results of interviews with fifty-one greeting card consumers, focusing on what makes greeting cards ‘personal’ for them, despite their mass-produced nature. Consumers negotiate their relationships with pre-printed sentiments differently depending on whether their allegiance is stronger to an expressive individualist understanding of authenticity or a ritual perspective, and these allegiances tend to reflect cultural capital. Specifically, suspicion of pre-printed sentiments is common among people with higher cultural capital, while this is the feature of …

Reality Nations: An International Comparison Of The Historical Reality Genre, Emily West

Emily E. West

When 1900 House (Hoppe, 2000) premiered in the UK in 2000, a hybrid television form was born that would spawn spin-offs and imitators over the next several years in several other countries. These series place people in historical settings, asking them to leave their 21st century lives behind, and live within the material and social constraints of the past for a period of three or four months. For this chapter I examine a sample of seven historical reality mini-series that aired between 2000 and 2005 in English-speaking countries, ranging from four to eight episodes each. As existing scholarship on the …

Discursive Struggles In Families Formed Through Visible Adoption: An Exploration Of Dialectical Unity, Meredith Marko Harrigan, Dawn O. Braithwaite

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Grounded in the interpretive paradigm and framed by relational dialectics theory, the present study addressed the question: What discourses interpenetrate to reflect dialectical unity as parents communicate about their child’s adoption? Interviews with 40 parents across 31 visibly adoptive families—families with an obvious lack of biological connection—highlighted four instances of dialectical unity resulting from the following discursive struggles: (a) pride and imperfection; (b) love, constraint, and sacrifice; (c) difference, pride, and enrichment; and (d) legitimacy, expansion, similarity, and difference. Each struggle contains seemingly disparate discourses that, in combination, contribute to how parents discursively make sense of adoption. Practical implications of …

Constructing Family: A Typology Of Voluntary Kin, Dawn O. Braithwaite, Betsy Wackernagel Bach, Leslie A. Baxter, Rebecca Diverniero, Joshua R. Hammonds, Angela M. Hosek, Erin K. Willer, Bianca M. Wolf

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

This study explored how participants discursively rendered voluntary kin relationships sensical and legitimate. Interpretive analyses of 110 interviews revealed four main types of voluntary kin: (i) substitute family, (ii) supplemental family, (iii) convenience family, and (iv) extended family. These types were rendered sensical and legitimated by drawing on the discourse of the traditional family. Except for the extended family, three of four voluntary kin family types were justified by an attributed deficit in the blood and legal family. Because voluntary kin relationships are not based on the traditional criteria of association by blood or law, members experience them as potentially …

Exploring Links Between Well-Being And Interactional Sense-Making In Married Couples’ Jointly Told Stories Of Stress, Jody Koenig Kellas, April R. Trees, Paul Schrodt, Cassandra Leclair-Underberg, Erin K. Willer

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Narrative theorizing suggests that narrating stress, difficulty, or trauma can be beneficial for improved mental health, yet extant research tends to consider narrating stress as an individual or psychological construct. However, in close relationships, people often experience shared stressors and jointly tell their shared stories of difficulty to others. Thus, joint storytelling processes likely also relate to individual health. We tested this expectation using a series of actor-partner interdependence models and path analyses in a study that included 68 couples’ video-recorded joint storytelling interactions. Findings primarily indicate relationships between husbands’, wives’, and couples’ storytelling behaviors and husbands’ mental health. Generally …

Face Needs, Intragroup Status, And Women’S Reactions To Socially Aggressive Face Threats, Erin K. Willer, Jordan Soliz

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

Given the potential negative consequences of being a recipient of such behavior, the role of positive face needs, intragroup status, and the face-threatening nature of social aggression in predicting cor-relates of negative affect experienced as a result of being a target of SAFTs, including the face threat of the response, forgiveness, and well-being was investigated. On the basis of the survey responses from 199 college-aged women, findings indicated that targets’ positive face needs and intragroup status are directly and indirectly associated with forgiveness and overall well-being. Implications for these findings in relation to theorizing about face and intragroup identity as …