Abstract

This research seeks to understand how activists are encouraging audiences to identify with their work in digital spaces through a case study of Beyonce Knowles-Carter's activism. The current scholarship surrounding digital activism is extensive and has offered a detailed look at individual tools used in activist movements, but there is a lack of research that recognizes the complex network of tools that are often used by an activist or activist group. To address this gap in the research, this thesis offers an analysis of three specific activist tools used by Beyonce to encourage her fans and other audiences to identify with and participate in her activism. This study investigates the methods Beyonce employs to get her multiple audiences informed and engaged through an analysis of her activist blog, the "Formation" music video, and her live performance during the 2016 Super Bowl halftime show. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to assess, from a rhetorical standpoint, how Beyonce is inviting her audiences to respond and become engaged. The analysis of these three activist tools utilizes qualitative data analysis, focusing on Burke's (1969) concept of rhetorical identification to understand how her activist messages are presented across mediums. To expand on the findings of this analysis, a reception study on Beyonce's "Formation" music video and 2016 Super Bowl performance was conducted to gauge the success of her rhetorical methods. The findings of this study recognize the need to continue looking at the multiple tools used by activists to understand the complexity of their rhetorical work online. This study also provides methods for analyzing the intertextual nature of digital activism so that further research can be done. While this study begins to address the gap in the current scholarship, more research needs to be done to study the current rhetorical practices of digital activists.

Notes

If this is your thesis or dissertation, and want to learn how to access it or for more information about readership statistics, contact us at STARS@ucf.edu

Graduation Date

2017

Semester

Spring

Advisor

Jones, Natasha

Degree

Master of Arts (M.A.)

College

College of Arts and Humanities

Department

Writing and Rhetoric

Degree Program

English; Rhetoric and Composition

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0006557

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0006557

Language

English

Release Date

May 2018

Length of Campus-only Access

1 year

Access Status

Masters Thesis (Open Access)

Download

Share

COinS