Department of Communication (CIS), General

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Browsing Department of Communication (CIS), General by Subject "African American studies"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Communicating the reality of dating in childfree, heterosexual, professional African American women who never married
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2015) Walton, Michelle Marie; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Communication related to the dating experiences of childfree, heterosexual, and professional African American women who never married were examined. Using an interview research method prescribed by Irvin Seidman, a sample of six women from this demographic participated in two separate in-depth interviews. The first interview covered career, family, and dating; the second addressed marriage, children, and parenting. Results generated three primary themes from across the data sample impacting this dating lifestyle: stable parental marriage examples, a career that enables singleness, and skepticism about marital happiness. Additionally, three secondary themes were identified from parts of the sample: a lack of the right partner, a lingering desire for children and spiritual/religious doctrine. The findings were theoretically aligned with the social construction of reality, whereby communication from a group of individuals sharing an experience establishes their situation’s authenticity versus upholding the perceived understanding held by society. Practical implications of depression, interracial dating and social stressors offered additional understanding of this study. Further research through a larger study sample, as well as applying social learning theory through secondary analysis to examine modeling of the sample’s long-term parental marriages provide additional opportunities from this investigation. Furthermore, new research offering an African American male response to data, topics regarding emerging adults and a subsequent examination of a similar LGBTQ demographic may provide an interesting comparison in light of newly-legalized marriage equality. Over all, this research addressed and accounted for current limitations in existing literature on the subject matter.
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    King's return to the Mall: public memory and the rhetoric of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Walker, Jefferson Douglas Greene; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    In recent years many scholars have taken up the rhetorical study of sites of memory, observing how museums, memorials, and other commemorative sites function to cultivate public memory. This study situates itself in this field of research by examining the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Through a multi-faceted rhetorical analysis of the site's visual and textual components, surrounding landscape, and supporting texts, this study reveals multiple critical, popular, privileged, and vernacular interpretations of the site and King's memory. I contend that the Memorial and its related texts, notably including its dedication ceremony, help universalize and institutionalize King's memory, creating a contentious rhetorical battleground where various people contest the "ownership" and use of King's memory. This study complements the field of memory studies, as well as scholarly knowledge on King's public memory. In Chapter Two, a review of public memory literature details the study's theoretical framework. Chapter Three's historical-contextual analysis recounts the Memorial's history and collects many official and critical interpretations of the site. Chapter Four presents my own critical interpretation of the Memorial's visual and textual elements, along with its surrounding landscape, offering a composite reading of the site. In Chapter Five I examine the site's dedication ceremony as supplementary rhetoric to the site, observing how privileged rhetors interpreted, politicized, and helped institutionalize King's memory. Chapter Six concludes the study by offering implications, limitations, and directions for future research.
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    Of mules and pearls: the lived experiences of black single mothers
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Ross, Jacqueline DeShawn; Boylorn, Robin M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Black women are one of the most silenced groups in our society and are often judged for their behaviors in comparison to White women. This judgment is most prevalent regarding motherhood, specifically single motherhood. Most research on Black single mothers focuses on the quantity of Black single mother headed households in the Black community as opposed to the true quality of life that Black single mothers provide for their children. This study, which includes interactive interviews and autoethnography, focuses on the ways that Black women self-define as single mothers and reimagine their family dynamics in the wake of White pseudo-traditional family standards.
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    Rhetoric of commonality: an Afrocentric analysis of Jesse Jackson's discourse and performance at the 1984 and 1988 Democratic National conventions
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2013) Fox, Kyle R.; Black, Jason Edward; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    Despite the vast research by rhetorical scholars on political communication, scant attention has been paid to contemporary black political speech, which is becoming increasingly present. The present study provides an analysis of Jesse Jackson's 1984 and 1988 Democratic National Convention (DNC) discourse to discover how his rhetoric conforms to an Afrocentric rhetorical ideology. This study also examines how Jackson's performance of gender and race identity functions in the dominant American political sphere, employing three representative identities of black masculinity, the race man, the new black aesthetic, and the nigga. The significance of this study is punctuated by the idea Jackson used a culture-centered rhetorical approach to capture diverse audiences, when delivering speeches of major importance, while embracing his identity. Through examining his most popular pieces of discourse from 1984 and 1988, this study first attempts to analyze Jackson's rhetoric using the method of rhetorical criticism, specifically, Afrocentricity to examine his speech text. Second, this study examines Jackson's rhetorical performance of his black masculine identity. As a result, Jackson's discourse and rhetorical performance of his identity offers implications concerning Afrocentricity and black masculinity.
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    You and me will never part: a study of Black women's best friendships
    (University of Alabama Libraries, 2012) Shambly, Tamica; Boylorn, Robin M.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
    The existing literature on women's friendship lacks information about Black women's friendships. Few researchers (e.g., Goins, 2011; Denton, 1990) have looked specifically at Black women's friendship and the role they play in Black women's lives. This project answers the call set forth by Houston (2002) and others for more work to be done in interpersonal communication about African Americans from within the African American community. This project found that Black women's best friend relationships begin with similarities, loyalty, understanding and dependability. Once the women become best friends, they must be honest, loyal/trustworthy, understanding, positive, and spend time together. They maintain their friendship with open communication within their friendship, the modes of communication they choose, and the topics of conversations that they have.