ASU Electronic Theses and Dissertations
This collection includes most of the ASU Theses and Dissertations from 2011 to present. ASU Theses and Dissertations are available in downloadable PDF format; however, a small percentage of items are under embargo. Information about the dissertations/theses includes degree information, committee members, an abstract, supporting data or media.
In addition to the electronic theses found in the ASU Digital Repository, ASU Theses and Dissertations can be found in the ASU Library Catalog.
Dissertations and Theses granted by Arizona State University are archived and made available through a joint effort of the ASU Graduate College and the ASU Libraries. For more information or questions about this collection contact or visit the Digital Repository ETD Library Guide or contact the ASU Graduate College at gradformat@asu.edu.
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- All Subjects: Rhetoric
Description
California's Proposition 8 revoked the right to marriage for that state's gay and lesbian population. Proposition 8 was a devastating defeat for gay marriage movements across the nation. The primary rhetorical strategy of the No on 8 campaign was a reliance on a Civil Rights analogy that constructed the gay and lesbian movement for marriage as a civil right akin to those fought for by African Americans in the 1950s and 1960s. Analogizing the gay and lesbian struggle for gay marriage with the racial struggles of the Civil Rights Movement exposed a complicated relationship between communities of color and gay and lesbian communities. This project reads critical rhetoric and intersectionality together to craft a critical intersectional rhetoric to better understand the potentialities and pitfalls of analogizing the gay rights with Civil Rights. I analyze television ads, communiques of No on 8 leadership, as well as state level and national court decisions related to gay marriage to argue alternative frameworks that move away from analogizing and move towards coalition building.
ContributorsKelsey, Michelle L (Author) / Brouwer, Daniel C (Thesis advisor) / Carlson, A. Cheree (Committee member) / Milller, Keith (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Using models identified by communications scholars Herbert W. Simons and Charles J. Stewart, a rhetorical analysis was conducted on contemporary Tea Party Movement (TPM) artifacts in an attempt to gauge the movement's authenticity as it relates to grassroots advocacy versus astroturfing. The models provided a theoretical framework in which the functions of social movement leaders were analyzed, as well as the rhetorical phases of a movement. Additionally, the notions of advocacy and astroturfing were defined and the concepts compared and contrasted. Used in conjunction with one another the models provided a framework in which TPM artifacts could be analyzed. Analysis was conducted on the websites for the Tea Party Patriots and Tea Party Express, a one-month sample of Sarah Palin FaceBook posts, two speeches delivered by Michelle Bachmann, and finally one speech given by Palin. Examples for each of the necessary rhetorical components identified were found within TPM sources, thus leading to the conclusion that the TPM operates primarily as a grassroots advocacy movement.
ContributorsZukowski, Kassandra (Author) / Holmer Nadesan, Majia (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Eric Ramsey, Ramsey (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Treating the Pro-Life Movement as a monolithic entity creates a blind spot regarding the cognitive effect of the fetal personhood rhetorical framework. This study applies an interpretive lens, using legal and discourse analysis as tools, to provide a critical analysis of personhood laws and web content to shed light on how linguistic patterns construct, and are informed by, worldview. Examining variations in proposed Human Life Amendments—and asking how, or if, proposed bills achieve their specified aim—reveals tension in state and federal jurisdiction of abortion regulations. It also exposes conflicts concerning tactical preferences for attaining fetal personhood and ending abortion that are useful to differentiating the Pro-Life and Personhood Movements.
Framing and discursive practices of the Personhood Movement reflect a ‘black and white’ mentality and an overly-simplified worldview. Movement cognition is shaped by patterns of omission and exclusion, inclusion, repetition, troubling phrases, and the power of labels. The linguistic choices demonstrate, constitute, and reinforce the dominant narratives of the movement and are integral to advocacy, praxis, and legislative efforts. While the struggle to pass personhood-compliant legislation has not been successful, the rhetorical practices and representational framework of the Personhood Movement have succeeded in altering the national discourse surrounding beginnings of life and abortion. The extreme views of the Personhood Movement reconstitute the middle—making tactics of the mainstream Pro-Life Movement seem moderate and reasonable by comparison, which allows dangerous legislation to slide by under the radar.
Framing and discursive practices of the Personhood Movement reflect a ‘black and white’ mentality and an overly-simplified worldview. Movement cognition is shaped by patterns of omission and exclusion, inclusion, repetition, troubling phrases, and the power of labels. The linguistic choices demonstrate, constitute, and reinforce the dominant narratives of the movement and are integral to advocacy, praxis, and legislative efforts. While the struggle to pass personhood-compliant legislation has not been successful, the rhetorical practices and representational framework of the Personhood Movement have succeeded in altering the national discourse surrounding beginnings of life and abortion. The extreme views of the Personhood Movement reconstitute the middle—making tactics of the mainstream Pro-Life Movement seem moderate and reasonable by comparison, which allows dangerous legislation to slide by under the radar.
ContributorsDay, Sarah Lee (Author) / Behl, Natasha (Thesis advisor) / Mean, Lindsey (Committee member) / Nadesan, Majia (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018