Browsing by Author "Smith, Tania"

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    Beating a Dead Elephant: Rhetorical Appeals of the Romneys’ and Obamas’ 2012 National Convention Speeches
    (2016-01-08) Jette, Ashley; Smith, Tania; Melnyk, George; Clarke, Michael Tavel
    This thesis examines the rhetorical strategies used in the speeches of Mitt and Ann Romney, and Barack and Michelle Obama at the 2012 Republican and Democratic National Conventions. It does so in order to gain insight into the communications strategies of each of the major political parties, and project about the future directions of The Republican Party. The method of this study involves a comparative rhetorical analysis of the four speeches mentioned, and examines the rhetorical strategies used in each of these speeches. Similarities and differences were observed between the ways that each speaker appealed to Americans of lower socioeconomic status, female voters, and Christian voters. Additionally, news media and other online sources were used to contextualize each speech, and gauge audience responses to them. This study hypothesizes that in order to continue to contend with the Democratic Party, the Republican Party may need to alter its rhetoric to be more appealing to diverse groups of voters.
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    Canadian Alumni Magazines: A rhetorical analysis of social sciences and humanities storytelling
    (2019-09-19) Aalbers, Emily; Smith, Tania; Stowe, Lisa; Eiserman, Jennifer
    This research project examines the process and product of social sciences and humanities research storytelling in Canadian alumni magazines at research intensive universities. This research is conducted in order to broaden the field of knowledge of what influences the selection and crafting of these stories. Using rhetorical theory as a foundation, I engage a three-tiered methodological approach to expand upon different layers of the process. By reviewing the rhetorical situation, I identify the constraints influencing the production of alumni magazines. Through a rhetorical analysis, I demonstrate the ways ethos is established for both institutions and researchers, the techniques engaged to build pathos through first person storytelling and visual cues, and identify how style is engaged to enhance both ethos and pathos. Finally, by conducting interviews with editors of the magazines I find that while there are many similarities in their approaches, such as influences and story sourcing, there are also differences, such as editorial review processes.
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    Preaching to the Choir: Models of Citizenship and Concepts of Democracy in Reception of ‘Get Out the Vote’ Posters
    (2019-04-22) Berenstein, Ofer; Schneider, Barbara; Felske, Lorry W.; Smith, Tania; Bakardjieva, Maria; Sutherland, Richard
    This dissertation reports the findings of research that studied the reception of Get Out the Vote posters, by Canadian citizens of voting age, via an interdisciplinary theoretical framework. The study’s main finding is that the reception of Get Out the Vote posters is better explained by an intersection of personal Concepts of Democracy (Saward, 2003) and personal Civic Models Concepts of Citizenship (Dalton, 2009) than it is by audience reception theories or voter turnout theories separately. The study begins with theoretical and methodological reviews in chapters one through three. Chapter four explores audience reception of posters vis-a-vis demographic factors using Hall’s Encoding/Decoding model (1980), Morley’s Reading Types model (1980) Tomkins’ Affect Theory (1995) and the photo elicitation data generation method (Harper, 2002). Chapter five explores the role of Concepts of Democracy (Saward, 2003) in meaning-making vis-a-vis reception of visual elements. Chapter six explores the role of Civic Models Concepts of Citizenship (Dalton, 2009) in meaning-making vis-a-vis reception of slogans. Chapter seven creates a system of four Political Character Types from the intersection of the two concepts: • “Choir members” who tend to internalize the intended message positively. • Libertarians who oppose the intended message or negotiate its meaning negatively. • Activists who negotiate their meaning of the intended message in a positive manner. • Inattentive citizens who oppose voting encouragement messages or ridicule them. Chapter eight reports of the theoretical and methodological research conclusions. It also reports on practical findings and future recommendations for producers of Get Out the Vote posters.
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    The Endurance of the Frankenstein Myth:A History of Ideas
    (2017) Prescod, Ronald; Smith, Tania; Felske, Lorry; Forlini, Stefania
    The term “Frankenstein foods” is an interesting and unique phenomenon. The term represents ideas and themes transported over two hundred years from the novel Frankenstein (Shelley, 1818) to contemporary critical discourse about biotechnology. Most studies of Frankenstein’s endurance have focused on the novel’s intrinsic literary form, that is, its reception history, adaptations, interpretations, its publication, or its canonical status as a classic. However, this thesis is a history of ideas that offers a unique examination of Frankenstein’s endurance in mythical form as the Frankenstein myth. A thematic network reveals a chain of ideologies that connects the original Frankenstein myth to contemporary discourse about biotechnology.
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    The Portmanteau Papers
    (2016) Bryan, Dawn Margaret; Van Herk, Aritha; Bishop, Edward; Mayr, Suzette; Oakleaf, David; Smith, Tania
    The Portmanteau Papers is a creative exploration, in novel form, of the social environments, narrative structures, and language that attend the so-called rise of the novel of the eighteenth century. This long-form fiction begins with the prints of William Hogarth, which it investigates as a visual analogue to the narrative patterns employed by period authors. By rereading and recreating selected elements of narrative implicit in Hogarth’s prints, the text of The Portmanteau Papers animates the tensions between modern and period prose forms. In doing so, the novel considers scholarship’s understanding of the on-going relationship between the contemporary novel and its eighteenth-century antecedents. Ultimately, the work argues for a theory of genre that includes the implications of artistic practice in addition to more usual formal or historical-cultural definitions. The story of The Portmanteau Papers explores the varied social and material contexts of eighteenth-century print culture, animating the range of contributions made by printers, booksellers, visual artists, authors, and readers. The Portmanteau Papers also creatively represents the contributions of women authors, especially novelist Sarah Scott, to the development of the novel, extending significant research done in this area over the last thirty years.