ORCID
0009-0001-8685-8635
Keywords
Maya Angelou, erasure poetry, rhetoric, decoding
Abstract
This thesis will demonstrate how rhetorical strategies can present social change through descriptive elements of persuasion. Using foundational rhetorical concepts, including ethos, logos, and pathos, it will connect concerns of inequality to the work of Maya Angelou, who can validate the impact intersectionality has within the use of rhetoric. Having been a victim of racism, sexual abuse, and economic disadvantages, she used her voice to break the silence for women. This thesis will showcase the impact of rhetorical techniques through digital media by creating a website featuring visual data and mapping by decoding Maya Angelou's work to demonstrate the power of applying effective rhetorical strategies to enact positive change. Additionally, pattern and observation theory will be used to analyze Angelou’s recitation to determine key phrases emphasized to highlight in the erasure poems. It identifies repetition within Maya Angelou's poetry and nonfiction that persuaded her audience to consider her argument for inclusion and identifies critical social justice issues that many individuals otherwise neglect. Decoding through methods such as word cloud mapping will be used to determine repetition within the poems, and this data will be used to help generate keywords for the blackout poetry. Additionally, dissecting the different types of repetition, including Anaphora and Epiphora, will further enhance the ideology behind rhetoric in language, written communication, and speech. I Know Why the Caged Birds Sing, published in 1969, continues to spark debate as it remains one of the top banned books of this decade. My website, sites.google.com/view/decodingmayaangelouslegacy, incorporates digital media through live recitations depicting her most important subjects by decoding embodied practices and audience reactions. A digital story will be created of the final erasure poems to show a collection representing Maya Angelou’s story and positive social change and argue for her work to remain heard.
Completion Date
2024
Semester
Fall
Committee Chair
Brenckle, Martha
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
College
College of Arts and Humanities
Department
Writing and Rhetoric
Degree Program
Rhetoric and Composition
Format
Identifier
DP0029055
Language
English
Release Date
December 2024
Access Status
Dissertation/Thesis
STARS Citation
Beckman, Emery, "Decoding and Generating Poetry: Using Feminist Theory and Digital Media to Demonstrate Maya Angelou's Writing as Activism" (2024). Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024. 9.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2024/9
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