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Speech and Rhetorical Studies Commons™

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Communication Technology and New Media

2021

Articles 1 - 8 of 8

Full-Text Articles in Speech and Rhetorical Studies

The Future Is Full Of Monsters: Queer Survival One Click At A Twine, 'Aolani N. Robinson Dec 2021

The Future Is Full Of Monsters: Queer Survival One Click At A Twine, 'Aolani N. Robinson

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

Spurred by a desire to explore queer rhetoric through interactive forms of media, this project analyzed the game-making program Twine to uncover how independent queer creators use the tool to explore queer survival against time, capitalism, and constrained identities. A more accessible platform than other game-making tools, Twine’s unique interactivity puts the ability to make interactive games and stories into the hands of indie marginalized creators who are often overlooked in both mainstream gaming and queer rhetorics (Anthropy, 2012). Thus, this thesis contributes to queer rhetoric, game studies, and trans rhetorics by exploring the strategies indie Twine creators use in …

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Leveraging The Rhetorical Energies Of Machines: Covid-19, Misinformation, And Persuasive Labor, Miles C. Coleman Sep 2021

Leveraging The Rhetorical Energies Of Machines: Covid-19, Misinformation, And Persuasive Labor, Miles C. Coleman

Human-Machine Communication

The rampant misinformation amid the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates an obvious need for persuasion. This article draws on the fields of digital rhetoric and rhetoric of science, technology, and medicine to explore the persuasive threats and opportunities machine communicators pose to public health. As a specific case, Alexa and the machine’s performative similarities to the Oracle at Delphi are tracked alongside the voice-based assistant’s further resonances with the discourses of expert systems to develop an account of the machine’s rhetorical energies. From here, machine communicators are discussed as optimal deliverers of inoculations against misinformation in light of the fact that their …

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Connecting Through Comments: A Thematic Analysis Of Blogging Comments, Megan N. Bell Jul 2021

Connecting Through Comments: A Thematic Analysis Of Blogging Comments, Megan N. Bell

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

There are millions of blogs available for readers and a lack of existing research on the interactions occurring through the comment-based dialogue between bloggers and their readers. This study examines the comments from 14 blog posts from a well-established lifestyle blog, which yielded 640 unique comments, 25 emergent themes, and three categories for thematic analysis. An inductive approach was used to identify the emergent themes from the blog comments. The results of the study suggest interactions are occurring primarily between the blogger and their readers, with minimal reader-to-reader interaction taking place.

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Geographically Dispersed Community Networks: Exploring Social Networking Site Experiences And Relationships In The Intercollegiate Forensics Community, Julie L. G. Walker Jul 2021

Geographically Dispersed Community Networks: Exploring Social Networking Site Experiences And Relationships In The Intercollegiate Forensics Community, Julie L. G. Walker

Communication and Theater Association of Minnesota Journal

A survey administered to current intercollegiate forensics competitors indicated members of the geographically dispersed forensics community extend existing community spaces using social networking sites (SNS). Results indicate participants connected and interacted with team members, fellow competitors, and judges using multiple SNS about forensics and non-forensics related topics. Participants reported differing levels of self-monitoring behaviors, which manifested in emphasizing or stifling particular personality attributes. Emphasized attributes included the participant’s education level, professionalism, or consistency with perceived community values. Stifled content included competitive secrets, politics, profanity, and other negative personal images. Experienced competitors noted the overwhelmingly positive impacts on competitive success of …

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Presidential Rhetoric And Media's Contribution To The Subjective Nature Of Truth In American Democracy, Bianca Miccolis May 2021

Presidential Rhetoric And Media's Contribution To The Subjective Nature Of Truth In American Democracy, Bianca Miccolis

English Honors Theses

This thesis examines the role of media on the subjectivity of truth in presidential rhetoric and its ethical implications. In my three case studies, I find that there is some form of deception by each president in their chosen form of media. I analyze Roosevelt’s use of the radio, which he uses to hide his disability and gain more executive power to combat the Great Depression. I examine Reagan’s use of television and how he fabricates an intimate relationship with the American people to enact tax reform. Finally, I investigate Trump’s use of Twitter to deflect negative publicity as he …

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Controversy, Coverage And Cancel Culture: The Daily Mississippian's Reporting Of The 2018 Ed Meek Controversy, And Related Findings, Mason Thomas Scioneaux Apr 2021

Controversy, Coverage And Cancel Culture: The Daily Mississippian's Reporting Of The 2018 Ed Meek Controversy, And Related Findings, Mason Thomas Scioneaux

Honors Theses

As this thesis reflects a body of work completed by a journalism student near the conclusion of a journalism education at the University of Mississippi, I approached research and writing in that way. I interviewed three people, for an hour each, and the things I learned in those interviews greatly affected the conclusions I reached with this thesis. My full transcripts from those interviews are located in Appendices A-C. I also did a lot of scouring through articles of The Daily Mississippian from fall 2018 and otherwise; I looked at every single edition of the paper from that semester, both …

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Navigating Conversations Of Environmentalism On Social Media: From The Apocalyptic To The Aesthetic, Megan Provenzale Apr 2021

Navigating Conversations Of Environmentalism On Social Media: From The Apocalyptic To The Aesthetic, Megan Provenzale

All HCAS Student Capstones, Theses, and Dissertations

This project examines environmental discourse and rhetorical appeals used on Instagram by environmental influencers and addresses the lack of scholarship about social mobile commerce, Instagram, and the popularity of “eco-influencers.” My research applies post-composition studies, circulation, and visual rhetoric to two eco-influencers, Greta Thunberg (@gretathunbeerg) and Jessica Clifton (@impactforgood). I argue that Thunberg and Clifton employ aesthetic and apocalyptic rhetoric to educate and communicate with their following about reducing their carbon footprint and reversing climate change. By collecting three months of Instagram posts employed by each influencer, I identify patterns related to environmentalism, stylistic choices in captions, and presentation of …

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2021 International Crisis And Risk Communication Conference Program, Conference Organizers Jan 2021

2021 International Crisis And Risk Communication Conference Program, Conference Organizers

International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference

Program to the to the 11th Annual International Crisis and Risk Communication Conference sponsored by the Nicholson School of Communication and Media.

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